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More on A ZEN LIFE - D.T. Suzuki, the Film
A film by Michael Goldberg
 

 

 

 
Huston Smith - A ZEN LIFE
Huston Smith
interviews D.T. Suzuki on NBC
photo by Mihoko Okamura
 
 
 
 

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.


Comments

"What makes this film unique and special are the ample personal accounts by those who knew Suzuki. As such, it secures a very special place in the Suzuki archive. Through these personal accounts, the viewer has the rare privilege to be permitted a virtual glimpse into what it would have been like to encounter Suzuki personally. The film also reveals the depth of Suzuki's humanity. The wisdom and insight contained in this film are so inexhaustible that one must watch it over and over again."
Michiko Yusa (University of Western Washington), published on H-Buddhism (December, 2009) via H-Net Humanities and Social Sciences ONLINE [read full review]

"Anyone interested in the impact of Zen Buddhism in the West, or the life of one of its most distinguished representatives, will be intrigued and affected by the film’s alluring intersection of biography, history and transformative ideas."
San Francisco Film Society and Indie Wire, 2006

Donald Richie - A ZEN LIFE
D.T. Suzuki with Erich Fromm
photo by Mihoko Okamura



"His teachings were traditional but radical, and influenced many, including Jung, Fromm, Ginsberg, Merton and Heidegger. And Suzuki’s long life, explored through archival footage and interviews, exemplifies a path of both inner stillness and answering life’s call."
Tikkun Magazine, 2006

"A Zen Life portrays the late Suzuki through archival footage and photographs. But what is most touching and possibly most profound about the doc is the way he lives on in the memories of his students and friends. The interviewees show themselves to be extensions of Suzuki’s teachings by describing the grains of knowledge he provided them – and explaining how the seeds took root."
San Francisco Bay Guardian

"If one wants to understand what Zen teaches, this DVD does not intend to offer an answer; rather, it presupposes a minimum knowledge of Zen. However, a first-time viewer can still benefit from the film, under proper guidance of an instructor, as Suzuki touches on important Zen ideas."
Michiko Yusa (University of Western Washington), published on H-Buddhism (December, 2009) via H-Net Humanities and Social Sciences ONLINE [read full review]


Interviewees
appearing in the English version:

Robert AITKEN one of the first American Zen masters
BANDO, Shojun Chief Priest of Ho-onji Temple
William Theodore de BARY Professor Emeritus, Columbia University
Alwin and Blouke, CARUS son and grandson of Paul Carus
Phil COUSINEAU author
Marjorie EDEL active at East-West Philosophers' Conference 1959 & 1964
Frederick FRANCK Christian/Buddhist author
Dr. HINOHARA, Shigeaki Chair, Board of Trustees, St-Lukes Hospital
INOUE, Zenjo former Chief Priest of Tokeiji Temple
Newton ISHIURA DT Suzuki's secretary in Hawaii, 1949
Bill JOHNSTON Jesuit father
Elsie MITCHELL co-founder, Cambridge Buddhist Association, USA
NAKAGAWA, Luliko & NAKADA, Nagako DT Suzuki's grand-daughters
ODA, Hiroko research assistant to DT Suzuki at Matsugaoka Bunko
Mihoko OKAMURA Dr. Suzuki's personal secretary the last 15 years of his life.
Donald RICHIE film and literary critic
Huston SMITH scholar of religious traditions, USA
Gary SNYDER poet
Dr. Albert STUNKARD psychoanalyst, USA
SATO, Taira Director, Threewheels Shin Buddhist Temple, London, England
HINO, Kenshi whose divinity student father was conscripted in WW-II

Also appearing:

John CAGE
Erich FROMM
Thomas MERTON

A ZEN LIFE - D.T. Suzuki (surrounded by Friends and Memories) **

 

Also see: www.azenlife-film.org

MORE on D. T. Suzuki, the Man

PURCHASE A ZEN LIFE - D.T. Suzuki, the DVD


**Photo credits from far left, clockwise:
Robert Aitken, Fr. Bill Johnston, D.T. Suzuki (Home Movie by Jeannette Speiden Griggs), D.T. Suzuki (Zen & Psychoanalysis Seminar, Erich Fromm's, Cuernavaca), Mihoko Okamura, Bando Shojun, Frederick Franck, Sato Taira, '64 East-West Philosophers Converence (University of Hawaii), Elsie Mitchell - from A ZEN LIFE - D.T. Suzuki

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videos@martygrossfilms.com or tel. 416 536 3355


 

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