Karl Friedrich von Dürckheim

Dürckheim

Cat-fight alert!

For those with a near-term historical interest in Zen Buddhism, Prof. Karl Baier has provided the second of three articles entitled, "A Zen Nazi in Wartime Japan." The current article focuses on Count Karl Friedrich von Dürckheim (1896-1988), a German diplomat, psychotherapist and, by some reckonings, a Zen master.

Baier is a professor at the University of Vienna (Institute for the Study of Religions). His article appears in The Asia-Pacific Journal under the somewhat daunting title, "The Formation and Principles of Count Dürckheim's Nazi Worldview and his Interpretation of Japanese Spirit and Zen." Brian Victoria, a Zen monk and author of "Zen at War," has written a forward. Victoria is likewise the author of the first and third (yet to be published) essays comprising the series.

D.T. Suzuki

The series itself is an analysis of the relationship between D.T. Suzuki (1870-1966) and the Nazis. Suzuki was known for his books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin and lectured widely in the United States and Europe. He was, if not precisely a friend, at least acquainted with Dürckheim, the Nazi envoy sent to Japan in 1938 in part because his Jewish heritage was something of an embarrassment to the Nazis. The two men shared some intersecting philosophies and outlooks. Each was, in some measure, a thread in the tapestry of the other.

I know, I know ... get to the cat-fight part.

The cat fight is being played out far from the madding crowd, in a world of scholarship that is beyond this mere mortal. Zen and scholarship like to play down their cat fights ... they're so serene, dontcha know ... but that doesn't mean the cat fights don't go on. In this one, Brian Victoria has chosen to research and analyze D.T. Suzuki and his links, obvious and otherwise, to the militarism of World War II. Victoria's detractors find his efforts reprehensible if not downright apostate. The vitriol, while swathed in apparently thoughtful and caring words, is both loud and acidic ... but terribly thoughtful, dontcha know. Some of the battle rests on conclusions reached. Some of the battle rests on translation or mis-translation, depending on the point of view. And some of the battle seems to rest on an apoplectic reaction to anyone challenging Suzuki's pre-emininent and well-shined aura.

In all of this, I have to admit, I am in no position to claim to understand it all ... or be unbiased. I find Victoria's writing careful and clear without the usual academic pedantry. But the matters are so many and so delicate that, well, my eyes glaze over when trying to keep up. I love a good cat fight as well as the next person, but I hate having to think too hard about it. I'll settle for intellectual clarity and a willingness to research and some reasoned conclusions, all of which Victoria strikes me as having. Intellectual courage appeals to me ... even if I don't understand all of its facets.

The Formation and Principles of Count Dürckheim’s Nazi Worldview and his interpretation of Japanese Spirit and Zen - See more at: http://japanfocus.org/-Karl-Baier/4041#sthash.L0GkMffQ.dpuf

The Formation and Principles of Count Dürckheim’s Nazi Worldview and his interpretation of Japanese Spirit and Zen - See more at: http://japanfocus.org/-Karl-Baier/4041#sthash.L0GkMffQ.dpuf

Count Karlfried Dürckheim (1896 –1988)

Count Karlfried Dürckheim (1896 –1988)

Count Karlfried Dürckheim (1896 –1988)