Good News In History, September 11
Good News In History, September 11 132 years ago today, Roshi Soyen Shaku arrived to teach the doctrine of Zen to the United States. Shaku’s arrival was not on a lark, but rather coincided with the World Conference of Religions, at which he delivered a speech titled “The Law of Cause and Effect as Taught by Lord Buddha”. Though unable to speak English, he encountered an American publisher named Paul Carus, who asked Shaku to send a Zen practitioner knowledgeable in English to the US to write an introductory volume for American audiences. READ more about his influence on American Buddhism… (1893) Soyen Shaku, Zen Buddhist monk (1860–1919) In response to Carus’ request, Roshi Shaku sent Daisetsu Suzuki to work with Carus at Open Court Publishing. Suzuki, a student of Shaku, would far exceed in fame his master, and become the first and one of the greatest authority of Zen Buddhism in the West, one anchored by his prolific skills and output as a translator. In 1905, Shaku returned to America …
