Selected Works of D.T. Suzuki, Volume II

Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki is considered a key figure in the introduction of Buddhism to the non-Asian world. Many in the West encountered Buddhism for the very first time through his writings and teaching, and for nearly a century his work and legacy have contributed to the ongoing religious and cultural interchange between Japan and the rest of the world. Volume 2 of the collected works of D.T. Suzuki brings together his writings on Pure Land Buddhism. Suzuki had a long and abiding interest in this strand of Buddhism, particularly Japanese Shin Buddhism, which he wrote about frequently throughout his life. At the center of the Pure Land tradition is the Buddha Amida and his miraculous, transcendent realm known as the paradise or "land of bliss," where sentient beings should aspire to be born in their next life and where liberation and enlightenment are assured to all. Suzuki, by highlighting certain themes in Pure Land Buddhism and de-emphasizing others, shifted its focus from a future, otherworldly goal to religious experience in the present, wherein one realizes the non-duality between the Buddha and oneself and between the paradise and this world. His cogent, distinctive, and thought-provoking interpretations helped to stimulate new understandings of Pure Land Buddhism quite different from traditional doctrine.