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Articles

Buddhism in Canada

John S. Harding, Victor Sōgen Hori, and Alexander Soucy, “Buddhism in Canada” chapter in Oliver Abenayaka and Asanga Tilakaratne, eds., 2600 Years of Sambuddhatva: Global Journey of Awakening (The Ministry of Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs, Government of Sri Lanka, 2012).  

D. T. Suzuki and the Invention of Tradition

Victor Sōgen Hori, The Eastern Buddhist 47/2: 41- 81 (Eastern Buddhist Society, 2019).

D.T. Suzuki died in 1966. During his lifetime, he was lauded as the authority on Japanese Zen Buddhism. In the 50 years since his death, critics have castigated him severely and destroyed his reputation, claiming his Zen is both an “invented tradition” and an expression of Japanese nationalism. Can anything be said in his defence?

Trailblazers of Global Buddhist Networks

John S. Harding, Contemporary Buddhism 17/2: 393 – 404 (Taylor & Francis Group, 2016)

Abstract
This paper surveys the travels and networks of several Buddhist figures early in the modernization of this increasingly global tradition. Revisiting renowned Buddhist representatives, such as Shaku Sōen and Anagarika Dharmapala, reinforces the prominence of principal nodes in this expanding network—both in terms of seminal reformers and crucial arenas of encounter, such as Meiji Japan and Ceylon at the end of the nineteenth century. This study asserts the significant and compounding effect of early cross-cultural encounters at a formative period for modern Buddhism. Although the importance of face-to-face meeting—and the subsequent publications, correspondence, and travels—spanned relationships within and beyond Asia, the paper nevertheless suggests an Asian centre of gravity for Buddhism’s modernization and global dissemination.