Volker Zotz (born October 28, 1956 in Landau in der Pfalz, Germany

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...

) is an eminent Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

n philosopher, and a prolific author in German language.

Zotz studied philosophy

Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...

, history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 and Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 at the University of Vienna

University of Vienna

The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...

 in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 from 1978 to 1985. His doctoral thesis

Thesis

A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...

 was entitled "Zur Rezeption, Interpretation und Kritik des Buddhismus im deutschen Sprachraum" („The influence of Buddhism in German philosophy, literature, and culture“). He is regarded as a leading expert on Buddhist and Confucian

Confucianism

Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...

 philosophy and the influence of Buddhism in German and Western Culture.

Zotz has been a teacher of Buddhist philosophy at the University of Vienna. 1989-1999 he was a teacher and researcher at Ryukoku University

Ryukoku University

is a private university located in Kyoto, Japan.It was founded as a school for Buddhist monks of the Nishi Hongan-ji denomination in 1639, and became a secularized university in 1876. Professors and students of the university established the famed literary magazine Chūōkōron in 1887. It has three...

 and Otani University

Otani University

is a private Buddhist university located in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The university was founded in 1901 as "Shinshū University" in Tokyo with Kiyozawa Manshi as the president.-Notable alumni and faculty:*Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki*Kaneko Daiei*Keido Fukushima...

 in Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

, 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...

. In 1999 Zotz was appointed professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 of philosophy at the University of Luxembourg

University of Luxembourg

thumb|Campus LimpertsbergThe University of Luxembourg is the only university in Luxembourg, founded on 13 August 2003. Prior to that, there were several higher educational institutions such as the cour universitaire or the IST that offered one or two years of academic studies...

, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

.

Besides his scholarly work, Volker Zotz’s European audience knows him as author and publicist. The volume, Buddha, is the most popular book on its topic in Germany and Austria, and is regularly reprinted and translated into several languages. His book “Die neue Wirtschaftsmacht am Ganges” (The Emerging Economic Power on the Ganges, 2006) is a very varied and in-depth guide to the economic power India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 and its people

Zotz was a major disciple of Lama Anagarika Govinda

Lama Anagarika Govinda

Lama Anagarika Govinda , born Ernst Lothar Hoffman was the founder of the order of the Arya Maitreya Mandala and an expositor of Tibetan Buddhism, Abhidharma, Buddhist Meditation as well as other aspects of Buddhism...

. In the early 1990s Zotz initiated a study centre called Komyoji in Austria which is an attempt at describing a cross-cultural philosophy of religion. Since 1994 Zotz has been the driving force behind many of Komyoji’s educational programs, such as workshops explaining various philosophical and theological topics.

Volker Zotz is married to the Austrian writer and anthropologist Birgit Zotz

Birgit Zotz

Birgit Zotz is an Austrian writer, cultural anthropologist and an expert on the subject of hospitality management studies.- Life :...

.

Select bibliography

• Maitreya. Kontemplationen über den Buddha der Zukunft. Mit einem Vorwort von Lama Anagarika Govinda
  Lama Anagarika Govinda
  Lama Anagarika Govinda , born Ernst Lothar Hoffman was the founder of the order of the Arya Maitreya Mandala and an expositor of Tibetan Buddhism, Abhidharma, Buddhist Meditation as well as other aspects of Buddhism...
  
  . Hannoversch Münden 1984 (ISBN 3-87998-054-3)
• Zur Rezeption, Interpretation und Kritik des Buddhismus im deutschen Sprachraum vom Fin-de-Siècle bis 1930. Historische Skizze und Hauptmotive. Wien: Phil. Diss., 1986.
• Maitréja. Elmélkedések a jövö Buddhájáról. Körösi Csoma Sandor Buddhológiai Intézet, Budapest 1986
• Freiheit und Glück. Buddhas Lehren für das tägliche Leben. München 1987 (ISBN 3-8138-0090-3).
• André Breton. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1990 (ISBN 3-499-50374-3)
• Erleuchtung im Alltag. München 1990, (ISBN 3-8138-0175-6)
• Buddha. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1991, 6. Auflage 2001 (ISBN 3-499-50477-4)
• André Breton. Préface de José Pierre. Paris: Édition d'art Somogy, 1991 (ISBN 2-85056-199-1)
• Der Buddha im Reinen Land. Shin-Buddhismus in Japan. Diederichs, München 1991 (ISBN 3-424-01120-7)
• Buddha. Votobia, Olomouc 1995 (ISBN 80-85885-72-7)
• Geschichte der buddhistischen Philosophie. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 1996 (ISBN 3-499-55537-9)
• Buddha. Hangilsa, Seoul 1997 (ISBN 89-356-0136-5)
• Mit Buddha das Leben meistern. Buddhismus für Praktiker. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1999, 4. Auflage 2003 (ISBN 3-499-60586-4)
• Konfuzius. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2000 (ISBN 3-499-50555-X)
• Auf den glückseligen Inseln. Buddhismus in der deutschen Kultur. Theseus, Berlin 2000 (ISBN 3-89620-151-4)
• Totus tuus. Marianisches Lesebuch zur Luxemburger Muttergottes-Oktave. Kairos, Luxembourg 2004, ISBN 2-9599829-9-1.
• Die neue Wirtschaftsmacht am Ganges. Redline, Heidelberg 2006, ISBN 3-636-01373-4
• Buda, Maestro de Vida. Ellago Ediciones 2006, ISBN 84-95881-87-X
• Konfuzius für den Westen. Neue Sehnsucht nach alten Werten. O.W. Barth 2007, ISBN 978-3-502-61164-6

External links

• official website
• Volker Zotz in National Library of Luxemburg catalogue
• Volker Zotz: Konfuzius (article)
• Volker Zotz: Einführung zu Totus tuus (article)
• Jens Heise on Volker Zotz: Geschichte der buddhistischen Philosophie (review)