belonging to the common heritage of the CHAN
SCHOOL, which they call Zen(zenshu). The word Zen,
however, has also become part of the secular lexicon.
Often appearing in the form of “the Zen of x” or “Zen
and the art of x,” the idea of Zen is pervasive in pop-
ular culture. In this context, Zen often denotes a
sense of liberation, spontaneity, and oneness with the
world that can be sought not only in highly techni-
cal forms of meditative practice but also in archery,
gardening, tea ceremonies, and even the most mun-
dane matters, such as motorcycle maintenance. No
longer referring in a more technical sense to any spe-
cific Buddhist tradition in Asia, Zen is, as Alan Watts
(1915–1973) puts it, “an ultimate standpoint from
which ‘anything goes.’ ”
This highly romanticized vision of Zen owes much
to the writings of D. T. SUZUKI(1870–1966) and Beat
generation authors, such as Watts, Gary Snyder
(1930– ), Jack Kerouac (1922–1969), and Allen Gins-
berg (1926–1997). In his now classic novel, The
Dharma Bums,Kerouac, for instance, sings of a “ruck-
sack revolution” led by young American “Zen lu-
natics” armed with nothing but poetry and “visions
of eternal freedom.” Above all else, those who pro-
moted this ideal of Zen as an alternative lifestyle
vehemently opposed the rampant consumerism, ma-
terialism, and positivism of mid- to late-twentieth-
century America and bemoaned the growing sense of
alienation from nature and spirituality. Beatniks, hip-
pies, and countercultural intellectuals celebrated a
new “Zen” spirituality that ostensibly relied less on
rational thought and more on the immediate, “mys-
tical” experience of being.
Historians generally locate the origins of this par-
ticular understanding of Zen in a Buddhist reform
movement that took place in Meiji (1868–1912) and
post-Meiji Japan. Shortly after the emperor was re-
stored to power in 1868, Buddhism came under heavy
attack as a foreign, corrupt, and superstitious creed. As
a result, numerous temples were abandoned and thou-
sands of monks were returned to lay status under the
slogan of haibutsu kishaku, “exterminate Buddhism
and destroy S ́akyamuni.” In response to this threat,
Zen apologists sought to defend their faith by advo-
cating what they called a New Buddhism (shin bukkyo)
that was thoroughly modern, nonsectarian, and so-
cially engaged. In order to demonstrate their support
of the colonial policies and military expansion of the
newfound Japanese empire, adherents of New Bud-
dhism went so far as to portray their new faith as con-
sistent with bushido(the way of the warrior), which
they defined as the essence of Japanese culture.
A leading figure of this movement was the Rinzai
priest Shaku Soen (1859–1919) who, in 1893, visited
Chicago as a representative of Zen at the World Par-
liament of Religions. In his Sermons of a Buddhist Ab-
bot,the first book on Zen to appear in English, Soen
presented Buddhism as a rational and scientific reli-
gion well-suited to modern sensibilities. As in the case
of all other so-called universal religions, Zen was no
longer a strictly clerical concern but rather a spiritual
insight accessible to all. Like his teacher Imagita
Kosen (1816–1892) before him, Soen taught lay dis-
ciples at a zazen(seated meditation) society known as
Ryomokyokai in Tokyo and at the monastery En-
gakuji in Kamakura, where he served as abbot. Among
those who found themselves studying meditation un-
der Soen at Engakuji was the young D. T. Suzuki.
With the help of Paul Carus (1852–1919), a strong
proponent of “religion of science,” Suzuki carried on
Soen’s efforts to bring Zen into the modern world.
Drawing upon the notion of “pure experience” (jun-
sui keiken) from the writings of the American philoso-
pher William James (1842–1910) and Nishida Kitaro
(1870–1945), Suzuki moved beyond Carus’s and
Soen’s interest in the unity of rationality and faith and
began to emphasize instead the importance of a mys-
tical experience that underlies all religious truth. As the
unmediated, direct experience of being, or what he
called “isness” (kono mama), Zen experience, accord-
ing to Suzuki, was beyond dualism and intellectual-
ization, and hence was superior to all other forms of
religious experience. Furthermore, by identifying Zen
experience with the uniqueness of Japanese culture
Suzuki was able to firmly establish a nationalistic dis-
course couched in seemingly benign and universalistic
religious terms.
Hisamatsu Shin’ichi (1889–1980), a fellow Zen na-
tionalist, similarly argued that the Japanese mind, un-
like the discursive and logical mind of the West, was
predisposed toward an “intuitive” mode of under-
standing and an innate love for nature and tranquility.
Despite the lack of historical evidence to substantiate
their claims, Suzuki and Hisamatsu described tradi-
tional Japanese art, most notably haikupoetry, stone
gardens, and Noh drama, as quintessential expressions
of Zen awakening (SATORI). For both Suzuki and Hisa-
matsu, Zen, and therefore Japanese culture, are unique
in that they express the experience of awakening di-
rectly and immediately without having recourse to es-
tablished conventions or discursive thought.ZEN, POPULARCONCEPTIONS OF