SWEDENBORG: BUDDHA OF THE NORTH

Description

Written in an attempt to introduce Swedenborg’s spiritual visions to the East, Suzuki wrote this book after visiting the Swedenborg Society, London, in 1910. In this key text, written by the man who brought Zen to the West, similarities are outlined between Swedenborg and the Buddha and the broader connections between mysticism and Zen, East and West.

Author bio

DAISETSU TEITARO SUZUKI (1870-1966) was an internationally known Japanese Zen Buddhist scholar.  He lived in the USA from 1897 to 1908 where he met his future wife, Beatrice Lane (who had studied under William James, among others).  It may have been through her that he first encountered Swedenborg’s works.  He translated Heaven and Hell, The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, Divine Love and Wisdom and DivineProvidence into Japanese and was a Vice-President of the 1910 International Swedenborg Congress.  He also wrote a long essay on Swedenborg, Suedenborugu.  He described him as ‘the Buddha of the North’.

References:  D T Suzuki, Swedenborg: Buddha of the North, (Swedenborg Foundation, 1996) and ‘Suzuki on Swedenborg’ in Testimony to the Invisible.

Additional Information

This book can be purchased from the Swedenborg Society in London, however, if you are in the USA, you can order directly from the Swedenborg Foundation.