A ZEN LIFE - D.T. Suzuki The man who introduced Zen Buddhism to the West
A film by Michael Goldberg
77 minutes, DVD 2006, Japan Inter-Culture Foundation Purchase Now
English, and Japanese subtitled in English
View the "A ZEN Life Film Trailer" (FlashPlayer required)
“What makes this film unique and special are the ample personal accounts by those who knew Suzuki.” Michiko Yusa (University of Western Washington), published on H-Buddhism (December, 2009) via H-Net Humanities and Social Sciences ONLINE [read full review]
“ He’s probably the most culturally significant Japanese person, in international terms, in all of history.” Gary Snyder
Winner of the Chris Award in Religion, 2006
Columbus International Film & Video Festival
Special Features include:
32 page Supplementary Text which includes quotes from Dr. Suzuki's lectures published for the first time.
SPECIAL BONUS FEATURE: A recently discovered interview of Dr. Suzuki by Huston Smith, 1955
Description
courtesy of Hayashida / Suzuki family
Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki (1870~1966) was one of the 20th century’s most important writers and thinkers. During his long and extraordinarily fruitful life Suzuki became the first voice of Japanese Buddhism, especially Zen, to the Western World. He traveled and lectured around the world and has had a major impact on religious, artistic and philosophical thinking that continues to this day.
D.T. Suzuki’s landmark books, “An Introduction to Zen Buddhism” (1934) and “Zen and Japanese Culture” (1959) changed the world of arts and letters profoundly. More than 30 of his books remain in print.
A ZEN LIFE is the first documentary film to present the extraordinary life of D.T. Suzuki. This vivid portrait of the man and his times includes rare footage of Suzuki himself and reminiscences by many whose lives and thinking he influenced.
Donald Richie
being interviewed in the film
Gary Snyder
being interviewed in the film
Interviewed in A ZEN LIFE are poet Gary Snyder, religious philosopher Huston Smith, author Donald Richie, psychiatrist Albert Stunkard. and Suzuki’s long-time assistant Mihoko Okamura and many others.
Numerous important figures of the 20th Century acknowledged Suzuki’s impact on their work and thought including Carl Jung, Erich Fromm, Martin Heidegger, Merce Cunningham, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, John Cage, and Alan Watts.
