A Zen Life — D. T. Suzuki
A documentary film about Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki (1870-1966), the man who introduced Zen Buddhism to the West:
“D.T. Suzuki had an excellent grasp of written and spoken English, combined with an exhaustive knowledge of Eastern and Western religions and philosophies. He was highly successful at getting Westerners to appreciate the Japanese mentality, and Japanese to understand Western logic. The effect he had on Western psychoanalysis, philosophy, religious thinking, and the arts was profound. His numerous writings in English and Japanese serve as an inspiration even today.”
East & West
D.T. Suzuki excelled at explaining Eastern concepts and ways of thinking to Western intellectuals. He felt that Westerners, who view reality based on dichotomy and opposition, should learn from the East, where there is no “duality.”
Life & Death
One of the most difficult concepts to comprehend in Zen is that life and death are one and the same. Western philosophers from ancient times have grappled with the same problem. If you live the absolute moment, there is neither life nor death. As Suzuki explained it, the question is not “to be or not to be.” It is “to be and not to be.”
(Above excerpts from: The D. T. Suzuki Documentary Project)
zenteaone.org 