Volker Zotz

Volker Zotz (Volker Helmut Manfred Zotz) (born October 28, 1956 in Landau in der Pfalz, Germany) is an eminent Austrian philosopher, and a prolific author in German language.

Zotz studied philosophy, history and Buddhism at the University of Vienna in Vienna from 1978 to 1985. His doctoral thesis 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 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 and Otani University in Kyoto, Japan. In 1999 Zotz was appointed professor of philosophy at the University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.

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 and its people

Zotz was a major disciple of Lama Anagarika Govinda. 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.

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