Zen at War Zen at War Zen at War is a book written by Brian Daizen Victoria, first published in 1997. The second edition appeared in 2006. The book meticulously documents Zen Buddhism's support of Japanese militarism from the time of the Meiji Restoration through the World War II and the post-War period. It describes the influence of state policy on Buddhism in Japan, and particularly the influence of Zen on the military of the Empire of Japan. A famous quote is from Harada Daiun Sogaku: "[If ordered to] march: tramp, tramp, or shoot: bang, bang. This is the manifestation of the highest
Buddhism in the West the East Asian Mahayana traditions in the West is Zen Buddhism, which was boosted by post-war popularity among the counterculture and influential figures like Shunryu Suzuki. Today it is a popular type of convert Buddhism, in various forms such as Japanese Zen, Vietnamese Thien and Korean Seon. According to Hughes Seager, in America, Zen is "primarily a movement of laity who practice monastic disciplines." The "flagship" institutions of Zen in the United States include the Soto Zen San Francisco Zen Center of Shunryu Suzuki and the Zen Center of Los Angeles of Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi, as well as the Rinzai