An early-20th-century English-language presentation of Zen Buddhism by Kaiten Nukariya, a professor of Buddhist studies at Keio University in Tokyo, written before D.T. Suzuki's similar projects reached a Western audience. The book traces Zen's origins in Mahayana Buddhism, its transmission from China to Japan through Bodhidharma and the successive patriarchs, and its uptake by the samurai class, distinguishing it throughout from Theravada and from popular Western misconceptions.
Nukariya organises the book around three interlocking inquiries: the historical record of Zen in China and Japan, the philosophical foundations of Mahayana doctrine (Buddha-nature, the nature of self, enlightenment), and the practical discipline of Zazen and mental training. Writing for an English readership with no prior background, he avoids technical jargon while arguing that Zen is not a school among schools but the living core of Mahayana experience. The book appeared in 1913 as Volume IV of Luzac's Oriental Religions Series and was the first systematic English-language study of Zen predating D.T. Suzuki's Essays in Zen Buddhism (1927).
It is the divine light, the inner heaven, the key to all moral treasures, the centre of thought and consciousness, the source of all influence and power.
p. 133 · Chapter VI, "Enlightenment" — §7, "The Awakening of the Innermost Wisdom"
First lines
So far as I know, no book is written on Zen in English or in any other European language, except 'The Sermons of a Buddhist Abbot,' by Shaku So-yen. Since its foundation some fourteen hundred years ago, no author in China or Japan has undertaken a systematic explanation of it, owing to the fact that it is believed to have a hidden meaning entirely beyond expression.
Contents
Introduction
Chapter I: History of Zen in China
Chapter II: History of Zen in Japan
Chapter III: The Universe is the Scripture of Zen
Chapter IV: Buddha, the Universal Spirit
Chapter V: The Nature of Man
Chapter VI: Enlightenment
Chapter VII: Life
Chapter VIII: The Training of the Mind and the Practice of Meditation
Reception
Less culturally influential than D.T. Suzuki's later writings, which displaced it as the standard Western introduction to Zen by the 1930s. Valued by historians of Zen for its early articulation of Mahayana doctrine for an English readership and as a primary source for how Japanese Buddhist scholars chose to present Zen during the Meiji-era encounter with the West. Now in the public domain and available freely via Project Gutenberg and the Internet Archive, with continuous reprint via small presses and limited contemporary critical literature.
Frequently asked
What is The Religion of the Samurai about?
It is Kaiten Nukariya's 1913 account of Zen Buddhism written for a Western audience. The book traces Zen's Mahayana origins in India, its transmission through China via Bodhidharma and the patriarchs, and its adoption by the Japanese samurai class, while explaining the underlying philosophy of enlightenment and the practice of Zazen.
How does Nukariya distinguish Zen from other forms of Buddhism?
Nukariya presents Zen as the living core of Mahayana Buddhism, distinct from Theravada (Hinayana) in its emphasis on Buddha-nature inherent in every being, and from popular devotional Buddhism in its rejection of scriptural authority in favour of direct experience. He argues Zen holds a unique position among world religions by treating the universe itself as scripture.
Why was The Religion of the Samurai historically significant?
Published in 1913 as part of Luzac's Oriental Religions Series, it was the first systematic English-language study of Zen, written by a Japanese Buddhist scholar. It introduced Mahayana concepts to Western readers before D.T. Suzuki's more influential Essays in Zen Buddhism (1927) reached the same audience.