True Person and Compassion — D. T. Suzuki’s Appreciation of Lin-chi and Chao-chou

Abstract

In memory of Daisetz Teitarō Suzuki (1870–1966), I would like here to consider his appreciation and interpretation of the Lin-chi Lu¹ and the Chao-chou Lu² on the basis of what Suzuki regarded as the idea of ‘man’ or ‘person’ (nin in Japanese, jên in Chinese), an idea he found common to both works. The Lin-chi Lu and Chao-chou Lu are two Zen classics recording respectively the sayings of Lin-chi I-hsüan (Ja: Rinzai Gigen, d. 866) and Chao-chou Ts’ung-shen (Ja: Jōshu Jūshin, 778–897). Traditionally called ‘King of Zen Records’,³ Suzuki once remarked that the Lin-chi Lu is ‘regarded by many as the strongest Zen treatise we have.’⁴ Yet, the collection of Zen sayings and anecdotes he prized most was the Chao-chou Lu, which, in Suzuki’s evaluation not only possesses the same vital Zen realization as does the Lin-chi Lu, but also expresses vividly the compassionate aspect of Zen.