Public talk by Dr. Victor Hori: D.T. Suzuki and the Invention of Zen Tradition

Public talk, D.T. Suzuki and the Invention of Zen Tradition, by Dr. Victor Hori, October 10, 2018, 1:00 p.m.

D.T. Suzuki died in 1966. During his lifetime, he was lauded as the authority on Japanese Zen Buddhism. In the 50 years since his death, critics have castigated him severely and destroyed his reputation, claiming his Zen is both an “invented tradition” and an expression of Japanese nationalism. Can anything be said in his defence?

Victor Sōgen Hori is the author and co-author of numerous books and articles, including Zen Sand: The Book of Capping Phrases for Zen Koan Practice (University of Hawai'i Press, 2003), Lectures On The Ten Oxherding Pictures (University of Hawai'i Press, 2004), Wild Geese: Buddhism in Canada (McGill Queen’s University Press, 2010) and Flowers on the Rock: Global and Local Buddhisms in Canada (McGill-Queen’s UP 2014). After taking a doctorate in Western philosophy at Stanford University, Victor Sōgen Hori received ordination as a Rinzai Zen monk and thereafter spent 13 years in a Japanese Zen monastery. In 1994, he came to McGill University as the professor in Japanese Religion and Buddhist Studies. In 2015, he retired and now lives in Victoria, B.C.