An Introduction to Zen Buddhism

A book review.

An Introduction to Zen Buddhism

by D. T. Suzuki

published: 1987.09.01

ISBN: 0802130550

genre: Philosophy

reviewed:1999.08.07

For a variety of reasons, I've been attempting to learn something of Buddhism over the last few years. I picked this small book up for two reasons: it had a number of raving reviews, and it had a forward by noted 19th C. Western philospher Carl Jung.

What I thought would be an introduction to Zen Buddhism instead seemed like an apologia for a Christian audience. The series of difficult articles assembled here seem to point to the mysterious nature of Zen as its strength, and then attempts to draw analogies to Christianity. This might be a worth-while endeavour, but it certainly isn't an introduction to Zen Buddhism that I could follow.

If anyone out there has some better sources along those lines, send me a note.