Open AccessTHE RELIGION OF NO RELIGION: JUNG’S PSYCHOLOGY IN THE HISTORY OF ZEN BUDDHISM IN THE 20TH CENTURY
Author(s) -
Oliver Knox
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
phanês
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2631-6463
pISSN - 2631-6455
DOI - 10.32724/phanes.2021.knox
Subject(s) - buddhism , psyche , spirituality , narrative , popularity , religious studies , philosophy , psychology of religion , psychoanalysis , religious experience , epistemology , psychology , theology , social psychology , medicine , linguistics , alternative medicine , pathology
In the 1930s, Zen Buddhism was hardly known outside Japan. By the1960s, it had become by far the most popular form of Buddhism in Europeand the United States. Its popularity was born from the general belief thatZen responded to the psychological and religious needs of the individualwithout incurring the criticisms customarily levelled against religion. Zenwas imagined as a practical spirituality that accepted all religions andreligious symbols as expressions of a universal psychological truth. Zenwas not itself a religion, but a ‘super-religion’ that had understood the innermechanics of the psyche’s natural religion-making function. Three authorsin particular, namely D. T. Suzuki, Friedrich Spiegelberg and Alan Watts,were pivotal in the formation of this narrative. Using Jung’s psychologicalmodel as their conceptual basis, they promoted a vision of Zen Buddhismthat laid the foundations for the ‘Zen Boom’ of the 1950s and 60s. Thisarticle will examine the pivotal role played by Jung’s psychology in theformation of this narrative.KEYWORDSZen Buddhism, D. T. Suzuki, Alan Watts, Friedrich Spiegelberg, TheReligion of no Religion.