Diasetz Teitaro Suzuki was born in Japan in 1870, received his philosophical training as a Buddhist disciple at the great Zen monastery at Kamakura, and was a distinguished professor of Buddhist philosophy at Otani University, in Kyoto, Japan. Dr. Suzuki dedicated his life to the study of Zen Buddhism and to the interpretation and effective communication of its philosophy and concepts to the Western reader. He passed away in 1966.

In An Introduction to Zen Buddhism, one of his most popular and respected works, Suzuki explains concepts and terminology such as satori, zazen, and koans, as well as the various elements of this philosophy. But while Mr. Suzuki takes nothing for granted concerning the reader’s understanding of the fundamentals, he does not give a merely rudimentary overview. All of his insights,

What is most important about D.T. Suzuki's work, however—and what comes across so powerfully in this book, is his unparalleled ability to communicate the experiential aspect of Zen. The intensity here with which Zen philosophy comes to life is without parallel in the entire canon of Buddhist literature. Suzuki stands apart from all other Zen Buddhist teachers and writers before or since mainly because of his exceptional ability to eloquently capture in words the seemingly inexpressible essence of Zen. Where so many other men have failed, he has succeeded, and succeeded brilliantly. Suzuki was a master at teaching by example and anecdote, and this book is a good example of that technique.

The pressure of his imminent departure turned out to be what was needed. Suzuki realized that the Zen retreat scheduled for just before he was due to leave Japan might be his very last opportunity, in the immediate future at least, of solving the koan he was working on. Determined to solve the puzzle, he redoubled his efforts and threw all his energies into one final attempt to reach an understanding of the concept that had thus far eluded him.

But what Mr. Suzuki strives to make very clear in his book is that seeing who you really are does not mean that you now know what everyone is thinking, or what is going to happen next year. You don’t necessarily develop any special intellectual powers, which can be both confusing and a distraction. Realization is in fact simpler and more available than this. What is given in the present moment, given not to a separate person but arising within the edgeless space of awareness, is seen and understood by a Zen Buddhist to be enough for that particular moment. (Suzuki 145)

As a religious philosopher he stands second to none in the Twentieth Century, and has left behind a fine legacy of work for future generations to read and contemplate.

It is what the English philosopher Douglas Harding calls ‘alert idiocy’. To grasp the fundamental principle of existence one must ultimately recognize and understand that deep down one knows nothing, yet paradoxically this nothingness is in fact the infinitely wise, loving, and dynamic source of all things.

Suzuki, in his concise and assuring style, convinces us through a number of insightful examples, that gradually, each in our own way, we can discover that living from the Source, which often feels like living from Not-knowing, has an uncanny wisdom about it. It can be trusted. Others have experienced this revelation, and so

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