Zen and Japanese Culture

One of the leading twentieth-century works on Zen, this book is a valuable source for those wishing to understand Zen concepts in the context of Japanese life and art. In simple, often poetic, language, Daisetz Suzuki describes what Zen is, how it evolved, and how its emphasis on primitive simplicity and self-effacement have helped to shape an aesthetics found throughout Japanese culture. He explores the surprising role of Zen in the philosophy of the samurai, and subtly portrays the relationship between Zen and swordsmanship, haiku, tea ceremonies, and the Japanese love of nature. Suzuki's contemplative discussion is enhanced by anecdotes, poetry, and illustrations showing silk screens, calligraphy, and examples of architecture.

One of this century's leading works on Zen, this book is a valuable source for those wishing to understand its concepts in the context of Japanese life and art. In simple, often poetic, language, Daisetz Suzuki describes what Zen is, how it evolved, and how its emphasis on primitive simplicity and self-effacement have helped to shape an aesthetics found throughout Japanese culture. He explores the surprising role of Zen in the philosophy of the samurai, and subtly portrays the relationship between Zen and swordsmanship, haiku, tea ceremonies, and the Japanese love of nature. Suzuki's contemplative discussion is enhanced by anecdotes, poetry, and illustrations showing silk screens, calligraphy, and examples of architecture. Source: show more Princeton University Pr, 1970 edition show less

When I was practising aikido, I must have read this book about twenty times.

If there is one Suzuki to have on your shelf it is this one.

Zen Buddhism, Japanese Culture

from dust jacket

Zen is often difficult for westerners to grasp except superficially. Westerners tend to regard something as real only if it can be verbalized. Zen, as Skuzuki stresses, is above all a practical philosophy and way of life; it was not meant to stay on a page for academic contemplation. It is essentially beyond verbalization, but very real.

'Striclty speaking,' explains Suzuki, 'Zen has no philosophy of its own. Its teaching is concentrated on an intuitive experience, and the intellectual content of this experience can be supplied by a system of thought not necessarily Buddhistic.'

Therefore, rather than examine Zen abstractly, in Zen and Japanese Culture Suzuki explains it in the context of cultural matrix, with fruitful show more results. He examines Zen's relation to the art of swordsmanship, to the samuai's code of honor and conduct (bushido), to haiku poetry, to feeling for nature in visual art and architecture, and to the ceremony and art of tea. In this way, Zen and Japanese Culture goes a long way toward illuminating the mysteries and apparent paradoxes of Zen.

Zen is revealed more as a stance towards life than a set of propositions and rules-a stance involving a special relationship to life, death, one's body, and one's mind. Seeing Zen's effect on a whole culture helps us understand its real meaning in practical terms, and its power to inspire grace, dignity, and beauty.

Contents

Preface
List of Plates
Chronology
I What Is Zen?
II General Remarks on Japanese Art Culture
III Zen and the Study of Confucianism
IV Zen and the Samurai
V Zen and Swordsmanship I
VI Zen and Swordsmanship II
VII Zen and Haiku
VIII Zen and the Art of Tea I
IX Zen and the Art of Tea II
X Rikyu and Other Teamen
XI Love of Nature
Appendices
I Two Mondo from the 'Hekigan-shu'
II The Vimalakirti Sutra
III 'Yama-uba,' a No Play
IV The Swordsman and the Cat
V Chuang-tzu
Bibliography
Index show less

Todo un clásico en la materia, el presente libro, escrito en forma de delicioso ensayo, está entereamente dedicado a captar indicios reveladores de cómo y por qué ciertos aspectos del "espíritu del zen" se están dejando sentir en la actualidad, y de una manera tan contundente, en toda la civilización occidental. De este modo, y tras una breve exposición sobre el significado del zen, Suzuki se dedica a examinar de forma detallada diversos aspectos del arte y la vida japoneses influidos por esta disciplina budista -el culto a la esgrima, la ceremonia del té, la forma poética del haiku y el amor por la naturaleza-, analizando también la relación existente entre zen y confucianismo, el papel del zen en la tradición de los show more samurais y el arte japonés, etc., todo ello sintetizado en sesenta y nueve ilustraciones. Y así, en una cultura, la nuestra, en la que el acelerado ritmo de la vida cotidiana se da por supuesto como norma universal, en una civilización en la que el interés por la posesión de "cosas" ha llegado a un nivel nunca antes conocido, las viejas y bellas virtudes japonesas, tal como Suzuki las describe, acaban desprendiendo un aroma inefablemente tranquilizador. show less