Karlfried Graf Dürckheim
Encyclopedia
Karl Friedrich Alfred Heinrich Ferdinand Maria Graf Eckbrecht von Dürckheim-Montmartin (October 24, 1896 – December 28, 1988) was a German
diplomat
, psychotherapist and Zen
-Master.
. He was a descendant of old Bavaria
n nobility whose parents still had a fortune, eventually lost during bad economic times.
In his early twenties, he was reading in the Tao Te Ching
of Lao-Tzu.
Meister Eckhart
became very important for him. "I recognize in Eckhart my master, the master. But we can only approach him if we eliminate the conceptual consciousness."
Dürckheim was a professor at Kiel
for a few years. Then it was discovered that he had a Jewish grandmother. Eventually he became an envoy for Nazi Germany
's foreign ministry under Joachim von Ribbentrop
. Before World War II
, in 1938, he was sent to Japan
, residing there for eight years.
After the war, Tokyo
was occupied by Americans. Dürckheim went into hiding in Karuizawa and was arrested on October 30, 1945 by agents of the US Counter-Intelligence Corps. He was imprisoned for a year and a half in Sugamo Prison
. "That time of captivity was precious to me because I could exercise zazen
meditation and remain in immobility for hours." Graf "Duerckheim" is identified by Albert Stunkard in Zen Teaching, Zen Practice, (Weatherhill 2000) edited by Kenneth Kraft, as the person who suggested to Stunkard that he should visit D.T. Suzuki in Kita Kamakura, not far from the Sugamo prison. That visit started a chain reaction of visitors to the Suzuki residence, one of whom was Philip Kapleau
, author of The Three Pillars of Zen and founder of the Rochester Zen Center
. Dürckheim thus was directly responsible for launching Zen into the American mainstream.
Along with psychologist Maria Hippius, Dürckheim founded the "Center of existential and psychological formation and encounter" in the early 1950s. It was located in the Black Forest
village of Todtmoos-Rutte. His books were based on his conferences, and were influential in Europe.
Dürckheim's "Initiation Therapy" dealt with the encounter between the profane, mundane, "little" self — the ego — and the true Self. "The therapist is not the one who heals, that is, who intervenes with his own skills; he is a therapist in the original meaning of the word: a companion on the way."
Dürckheim died in Todtmoos
.
– from "The Way of Transformation"
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
diplomat
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, psychotherapist and Zen
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
-Master.
Life and work
Dürckheim was born in MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. He was a descendant of old Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n nobility whose parents still had a fortune, eventually lost during bad economic times.
In his early twenties, he was reading in the Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching
The Tao Te Ching, Dao De Jing, or Daodejing , also simply referred to as the Laozi, whose authorship has been attributed to Laozi, is a Chinese classic text...
of Lao-Tzu.
"Suddenly it happened! I was listening and lightning went through me. The veil was torn asunder, I was awake! I had just experienced 'It'. Everything existed and nothing existed. Another Reality had broken through this world. I myself existed and did not exist..."
"I had experienced that which is spoken of in all centuries: individuals, in whatever stage of their lives, have had an experience which struck them with the force of lightning and linked them once and for all to the circuits of True Life."
Meister Eckhart
Meister Eckhart
Eckhart von Hochheim O.P. , commonly known as Meister Eckhart, was a German theologian, philosopher and mystic, born near Gotha, in the Landgraviate of Thuringia in the Holy Roman Empire. Meister is German for "Master", referring to the academic title Magister in theologia he obtained in Paris...
became very important for him. "I recognize in Eckhart my master, the master. But we can only approach him if we eliminate the conceptual consciousness."
Dürckheim was a professor at Kiel
University of Kiel
The University of Kiel is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the Academia Holsatorum Chiloniensis by Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and has approximately 23,000 students today...
for a few years. Then it was discovered that he had a Jewish grandmother. Eventually he became an envoy for Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
's foreign ministry under Joachim von Ribbentrop
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Ulrich Friedrich Wilhelm Joachim von Ribbentrop was Foreign Minister of Germany from 1938 until 1945. He was later hanged for war crimes after the Nuremberg Trials.-Early life:...
. Before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in 1938, he was sent to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, residing there for eight years.
After the war, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
was occupied by Americans. Dürckheim went into hiding in Karuizawa and was arrested on October 30, 1945 by agents of the US Counter-Intelligence Corps. He was imprisoned for a year and a half in Sugamo Prison
Sugamo Prison
Sugamo Prison was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima ward of Tokyo, Japan-History:...
. "That time of captivity was precious to me because I could exercise zazen
Zazen
In Zen Buddhism, zazen is a meditative discipline practitioners perform to calm the body and the mind, and be able to concentrate enough to experience insight into the nature of existence and thereby gain enlightenment .- Significance :Zazen is considered the heart of Zen Buddhist practice...
meditation and remain in immobility for hours." Graf "Duerckheim" is identified by Albert Stunkard in Zen Teaching, Zen Practice, (Weatherhill 2000) edited by Kenneth Kraft, as the person who suggested to Stunkard that he should visit D.T. Suzuki in Kita Kamakura, not far from the Sugamo prison. That visit started a chain reaction of visitors to the Suzuki residence, one of whom was Philip Kapleau
Philip Kapleau
Philip Kapleau was a teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, a blending of Japanese Sōtō and Rinzai schools.-Early life:...
, author of The Three Pillars of Zen and founder of the Rochester Zen Center
Rochester Zen Center
The Rochester Zen Center is a Sōtō and Rinzai Zen Buddhist sangha in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage, located in Rochester, New York and established in 1966 by Philip Kapleau. It is one of the oldest Zen centers in the United States. The history of the Rochester Zen Center begins overseas with the...
. Dürckheim thus was directly responsible for launching Zen into the American mainstream.
Along with psychologist Maria Hippius, Dürckheim founded the "Center of existential and psychological formation and encounter" in the early 1950s. It was located in the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
village of Todtmoos-Rutte. His books were based on his conferences, and were influential in Europe.
"What I am doing is not the transmission of Zen Buddhism; on the contrary, that which I seek after is something universally human which comes from our origins and happens to be more emphasized in eastern practices than in the western."
Dürckheim's "Initiation Therapy" dealt with the encounter between the profane, mundane, "little" self — the ego — and the true Self. "The therapist is not the one who heals, that is, who intervenes with his own skills; he is a therapist in the original meaning of the word: a companion on the way."
Dürckheim died in Todtmoos
Todtmoos
Todtmoos is a village in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg in Germany.-External links:...
.
Quotations
"The man, who, being really on the Way, falls upon hard times in the world will not, as a consequence, turn to that friend who offers him refuge and comfort and encourages his old self to survive. Rather, he will seek out someone who will faithfully and inexorably help him to risk himself, so that he may endure the suffering and pass courageously through it. Only to the extent that man exposes himself over and over again to annihilation, can that which is indestructible arise within him. In this lies the dignity of daring."– from "The Way of Transformation"
Books
- Hara: The Vital Center of Man, Inner Traditions, 2004. English. 4th Ed. 216 pp. ISBN 1594770247
- Zen and Us. Arkana PublishingArkana PublishingArkana Publishing is a publishing imprint of Penguin Group of mainly esoteric literature.-Authors:* Carlos Castaneda* Alfred Douglas* Michael Baigent* Karlfried Graf Dürckheim* P. D. Ouspensky...
, 1991. English. 144 pp. ASIN: B00072HEP0 - The Call for the Master. Penguin BooksPenguin BooksPenguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
, 1993. 176 pp. ISBN 0140193456 - Absolute Living: The Otherworldly in the World and the Path to Maturity. ArkanaArkana PublishingArkana Publishing is a publishing imprint of Penguin Group of mainly esoteric literature.-Authors:* Carlos Castaneda* Alfred Douglas* Michael Baigent* Karlfried Graf Dürckheim* P. D. Ouspensky...
, 1992. 224 pp. ISBN 0140194525 - The Way of Transformation: Daily Life as Spiritual Exercise (London: Allen & UnwinAllen & UnwinAllen & Unwin, formerly a major British publishing house, is now an independent book publisher and distributor based in Australia. The Australian directors have been the sole owners of the Allen & Unwin name since effecting a management buy out at the time the UK parent company, Unwin Hyman, was...
, 1988) - The Japanese cult of tranquility. RiderRider (imprint)Rider is a publishing imprint of Ebury Publishing, a Random House division. The list was started by William Rider & Son in Britain in 1908 when he took over the occult publisher Phillip Wellby...
, 1960. English. 106 pp. ASIN: B0006AXFRE.
Terminology note
- Regarding personal names, GrafGrafGraf is a historical German noble title equal in rank to a count or a British earl...
is a German title, translated as CountCountA count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
, not a first or middle name. The feminine form is Gräfin.
External links
- Description of 'Becoming Real: Essays on the Teachings of a Master' by Nottingham
- The Dürckheim Centre (in German)