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D. T. Suzuki

D. T. Suzuki

1870 CE–1966 CE · Modern · Kanazawa

1870–1966 CE

Daisetsu Teitarō Suzuki (1870–1966 CE) was a Japanese scholar and lay practitioner who, more than anyone, introduced Zen Buddhism to the English-speaking world. Born in Kanazawa and trained at Engaku-ji in Kamakura, he spent years in the United States and produced a large body of writing and translation on Zen (and on Pure Land 'Shin' Buddhism), shaping Western perceptions of Buddhism through much of the 20th century. His interpretation has since been critically reassessed by scholars, but his influence is undeniable. He is thoroughly documented.

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Did you know?

  • Two Buddhists at the 1893 Chicago Parliament

    At the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893, the Sri Lankan revivalist Anagārika Dharmapāla (1864–1933) addressed the delegates in person at age 29 — while the paper presented for the Japanese Zen master Soyen Shaku had been translated into English by his young student, the future writer D. T. Suzuki (1870–1966), then in his early twenties.

    How we know

    World's Parliament of Religions, Chicago (Sept 11–27, 1893): Anagārika Dharmapāla (b. 17 Sept 1864, d. 1933) spoke in person; Soyen Shaku's paper "The Law of Cause and Effect as Taught by Buddha," translated by D. T. Suzuki (b. 18 Oct 1870, d. 1966; then 22), was read aloud by an organizer.

    Meet Anagārika Dharmapāla →

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Kanazawa

What they did here

Birthplace of D. T. Suzuki.

About Kanazawa

Kanazawa, in Ishikawa Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast, was the birthplace, in 1870, of D. T. Suzuki (Suzuki Daisetsu), the scholar and writer who did more than any other single figure to introduce Zen Buddhism to the English-speaking world.

See other sages who lived in Kanazawa→

The world in their lifetime

Thinkers and teachers of other traditions whose lives overlapped with D. T. Suzuki’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.

Works(2)