[Buddha-l] liturgical languages

[Stuart Lachs]

Dan Lusthaus wrote:
> If one reads the portrait and activities of Yasutani up to, during, and
> after WW II in Brian Victoria's _Zen War Stories_, Kapleau's break from
him
> might be viewed in a different light, perhaps something to be applauded
> rather than denigrated. A fanatical, ultranationalistic,
ultramilitaristic,
> virulently antisemitic authoritarian, Yasutani turns out to be something
> quite different from what most folks fantasize Zen masters to be.

> Bravo, Philip!

I doubt the Yasutani/ Kapleau break had anything to do with Brian Victoria's
description of Yasutani as an ultrnationalist, ultramilitaristic,
antisemite.... At least Kapleau never mentions any of these aspects that
Brian has brought to light. "Zen At War" came dozens of years after their
split.  In fact, Kapleau did not break with Yasutani, Yasutani broke with
him. That is the story as told by Koun Yamada and in Kapleau's reply he does
not contradict this. In fact he kind of apolgizes to Yasutani. In other
writings Kapleau is clearly sorry for the break and feels it is his fault.
No where in any of his writings does he criticize Yasutani for anything.

Dan, I am certainly no apologist for Yasutani nor do I view Zen
masters/roshi in the mythological fashion they are presented, so I hope you
are not reading that into my post. If anything, I am usually accused of
being too hard or cynical when it comes  Zen masters. I was accused of being
a "roshi basher" by Bob Thurman at Columbia for being critical of guess who?
Yes, our man Yasutani.

Yasutani's  antisemiticism however, has to be put in context. There were no
Jews in Japan when Yasutani wrote his antisemitic words. Antisemitic
writings in Japan post WWI and thru WWII I think were really anti-modern  or
anti anything that smelled of progressive such as: ideas of social equality,
psychology, sociology, individualism, unions, socialism,
communism,...Clearly, Yasutani was an arch conservative as Brian well shows
so it is not surprising he would hate anything that smelled of being
progressive or that would call into question the emperor system and/or the
extreme hierarchy of the system at that time. According to Brian, Yasutani's
teacher Harada was supposedly worse. I guess the lineage was getting watered
down quickly.

Stuart

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