Buddha is Dead: Nietzsche and the Dawn of European ZEN

by Manu Bazzano

Drawing on Zen as well as on Nietzsche's thought and its ramifications in and for western culture, this book is a fervent call for a re-visioning of philosophy as vocation. The author is critical of the status quo and committed to intellectual integrity; the result is a creative and adventurous enterprise which is no longer exclusively identified with academia or with the methodology of logic. Filtered through Nietzsche's hammer -- by which he sounded out gods old and new -- Buddhism in the West can avoid the pitfalls which emerged during its gestation period in the twentieth century: otherworldly spiritualism, conservatism, denial of the body. The philosophy of European Zen advocated by Manu Bazzano in 'Buddha is Dead: Nietzsche and the Dawn of European Zen' is an unconditional affirmation of living and dying to their fullest. It is an extraordinary fertile viewpoint that will be appreciated by all those who are interested in Eastern philosophy and religions, and who seek
life-affirming wisdom.

261 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Born in Calabria (Italy), Manu has been active in the student movement and the Italian radical left of the nineteen seventies. A pupil of philosopher Romano Madera, he graduated in philosophy in 1980. He first encountered the Dharma in 1978 in the person of Lama Yeshe at the Lama Tzong Khapa Institute in Pomaia, Italy.

He became a disciple of Osho, the Indian mystic, between 1980 and 1992, who gave him the name Prem Dipamo, and wrote many of the songs popular in music groups and darshans. He left Italy for good in 1984, travelled extensively and lived for several years in Germany, India and the United States.

Manu found his home in London in 1990. He fronted a band DÆDALO, between 1990 and 1996, releasing several albums (both with the band and as a solo artist) and working with renowned musicians such as John Etheridge, Colin Bentley, Jamie West-Oram, Tri Hadi, Roger Askew, Chris Baker, Michael Klein, Olly Blanchflower, and the poet Jeremy Reed. He was the founder of the hAZy mOOn club, showcasing new talent as well as established artists such as guitarists John Renbourn and Bert Jansch, poets Carole Satyamurti and Ruth Padel and comedian Simon Munnery.

Manu edited Hazy Moon the Zen Review, publishing Zen Buddhist talks and poetry, including works by authors such as Ken Jones and Subhaga Gaetano Failla. He has published several books and numerous articles and papers worldwide.

Manu studied Zen within the White Plum Asangha (an international community founded by Zen Master Taizan Maezumi) between 1996 and 2006 and was ordained as a Zen monk in 2004. He trained in Person-Centred counseling and psychotherapy and studied Alfred Adler's Individual Psychology.

An international lecturer and workshop facilitator, Manu has presented his work in a wide variety of settings, integrating Zen practice with contemporary psychotherapy and the world of ethics, culture, and the arts.