Mysticism, Christian and Buddhist E-Book

Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki

• Herausgeber: Youcanprint
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2017

Beschreibung

In the first four essays in this collection, D. T. Suzuki reads Meister Eckhart with the eye of a master, pointing out where his understanding deeply coincides with that of Zen Buddhism. Next, he takes on a subject Christians often find difficult, the question of transmigration or reincarnation. Suzuki then compares the dimensionality of the crucifixion with that of enlightenment. In the later essays, Suzuki moves on to the Pure Land tradition of Buddhism, and in particular to the works of Rennyo (1415-1499) and the poetry of Asahara Saichi (1850-1932), for which he provides a rare translation.

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

CONTENTS

PREFACE

SECTION ONE

MEISTER ECKHART AND BUDDHISM

THE BASIS OF BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY

"A LITTLE POINT" AND SATORI

LIVING IN THE LIGHT OF ETERNITY

APPENDICES TO PART 1

TRANSMIGRATION

CRUCIFIXION AND ENLIGHTENMENT

SECTION TWO

KONO-MAMA ("I AM THAT I AM")

APPENDICES TO PART 2

NOTES ON "NAMU-AMIDA-BUTSU"

RENNYO'S LETTERS

FROM SAICHI'S JOURNALS

1. NYORAI 148 AND SAICHI 149

2. OYA-SAMA154

3. THE NEMBUTSU 158

4. THE KI AND THE HŌ 159

5. THE PURE LAND, THIS WORLD AND HELL 161

6. THE FREE GIFT 163 96

7. THE HEART-SEARCHINGS 165

8. POVERTY 169

9. THE INNER LIFE 170

MYSTICISM:

CHRISTIAN AND BUDDHIST

By

DAISETZ TEITARO SUZUKI

(VOLUME TWELVE OF THE WORLD PERSPECTIVES SERIES)

1957

Mysticism, Christian and Buddhist by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki.

© 2017 [all rights reserved]

PREFACE

This book has no pretension to be a thorough, systematic study of the subject. It is more or less a collection of studies the author has written from time to time in the course of his readings, especially of Meister Eckhart as representative of Christian mysticism. For Eckhart's thoughts come most closely to those of Zen and Shin. Zen and Shin superficially differ: one is known as Jiriki, the "self-power" school, while the other is Tariki, the "other-power" school. But there is something common to both, which will be felt by the reader. Eckhart, Zen, and Shin thus can be grouped together as belonging to the great school of mysticism. The underlying chain of relationship among the three may not be always obvious in the following pages. The author's hope, however, is that they are provocative enough to induce Western scholars to take up the subject for their study.

The author wishes to acknowledge his debts to the two English translations of Meister Eckhart, the first by C. de B. Evans and the second by Raymond B. Blakney, from which he has very liberally quoted.

DAISETZ T. SUZUKI

New York, 1957

SECTION ONE

MEISTER ECKHART AND BUDDHISM

There are two English translations of Eckhart, one British and the other American. The British, in two volumes, is by C. de B. Evans, published by John M. Watkins, London, 1924. The American translation is by Raymond B. Blakney, published by Harper & Brothers, New York, 1941. Neither of them is a complete translation of all of Eckhart's known works in German. Franz Pfeiffer published in 1857 a collection of Eckhart's works, chiefly in the High German dialect of Strassburg of the fourteenth century. This edition was reprinted in 1914. Blakney's and Evans' translations are mainly based on the Pfeiffer edition. In the present book, "Blakney" refers to the Blakney translation and "Evans" to the Evans, Vol. I, while "Pfeiffer" means his German edition of 1914.

I

IN THE following pages I attempt to call the reader's attention to the closeness of

Meister Eckhart's way of thinking to that of Mahāyāna Buddhism, especially of Zen Buddhism. The attempt is only a tentative and sketchy one, far from being systematic and exhaustive. But I hope the reader will find something in it which evokes his curiosity enough to undertake further studies of this fascinating topic.

When I first read--which was more than a half century ago--a little book containing a few of Meister Eckhart's sermons, they impressed me profoundly, for I never expected that any Christian thinker ancient or modern could or would cherish such daring thoughts as expressed in those sermons. While I do not remember which sermons made up the contents of the little book, the ideas expounded there closely approached Buddhist thoughts, so closely indeed, that one could stamp them almost definitely as coming out of Buddhist speculations. As far as I can judge, Eckhart seems to be an extraordinary "Christian."

While refraining from going into details we can say at least this: Eckhart's

Christianity is unique and has many points which make us hesitate to classify him as belonging to the type we generally associate with rationalized modernism or with conservative traditionalism. He stands on his own experiences which emerged from a rich, deep, religious personality. He attempts to reconcile them with the historical type of Christianity modeled after legends and mythology. He tries to give an "esoteric" or inner meaning to them, and by so doing he enters fields which were not touched by most of his historical predecessors.