The Jung-Hisamatsu Dialogue A Closer Look and Commentary

In 1958 Japanese Zen master and professor of philosophy Shin'ichi Hisamatsu and C. G. Jung held a historic meeting at Jung's home in Küsnacht, Switzerland. Hisamatsu was touring the world and meeting with leading figures in the disciplines of psychology and philosophy, not unlike the tradi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJung journal Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 48 - 68
Main Author Sibilla, Warren W.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Routledge 02.07.2024
Subjects
analytical psychology
collective unconscious
East-West dialogue
mind
self
Zen Buddhism
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Summary:In 1958 Japanese Zen master and professor of philosophy Shin'ichi Hisamatsu and C. G. Jung held a historic meeting at Jung's home in Küsnacht, Switzerland. Hisamatsu was touring the world and meeting with leading figures in the disciplines of psychology and philosophy, not unlike the traditional practice of accomplished Zen masters taking extended pilgrimages to test, deepen, and refine their enlightenment experiences. This meeting has received scant professional attention at least in part because Jung asked that it not be formally published. Nonetheless, Hisamatsu did publish their dialogue in Japanese and, thereafter, several translations followed. Commenting on their dialogue many months afterward, Hisamatsu summarized the meeting by highlighting three central areas of interface between Zen Buddhism and analytical psychology: 1) The relationship between "No Mind" in Zen and the unconscious; 2) The similarities and differences in what is meant by the "Self/self" in both disciplines; and 3) The means of identifying and seeking to relieve human suffering. This paper looks more closely at these junctures by briefly highlighting their theoretical implications and, in doing so, seeks to further the dialogue between Zen Buddhism and analytical psychology.
ISSN:1934-2039
1934-2047
DOI:10.1080/19342039.2024.2369506