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Podcast by Alexis karpouzos
Zen Buddhism and Western Philosophy—two paths, yet one Truth. One rooted in the silence of the mind, the other in the vastness of thought. Both search for the same essence, but one remains still, while the other moves, explores, questions.
Zen does not speak in words; it is the art of direct experience, of being here, now, in this very moment, beyond all concepts. It teaches us to see directly into the nature of things, without the filter of language, without the veil of thought.
Western Philosophy, on the other hand, has journeyed through the labyrinth of logic and reason, seeking to unravel the mysteries of existence with the tools of the mind. From Heraclitus to Hegel, from Plato to Nietzsche, it has been a path of inquiry, a dialogue with the unknown.
Yet, in this dialogue, something extraordinary happens: they converge. Zen and Philosophy—two seemingly different ways—lead us to the same place. A place where thought dissolves, where self disappears, and where the infinite reveals itself in its purest form.
This is where my own philosophy enters: the understanding that all things are interconnected, that the boundaries between self and other, East and West, mind and matter, are but illusions. In the unity of existence, there is no separation—there is only the eternal, indivisible Whole. The journey is not to acquire knowledge, but to remember what we already are: pure awareness, free from the confines of the ego and the distinctions of thought.
Let us, together, explore this meeting. Let us listen to the silence that speaks, and to the mind that is still, and awaken to the realization that there is no East, no West, no self—only the eternal presence of Being. Here, in this moment, there is no difference between the one who asks and the truth that answers. They are one, as all things are one."
Zen Buddhism and Western Philosophy—two paths, yet one Truth. One rooted in the silence of the mind, the other in the vastness of thought. Both search for the same essence, but one remains still, while the other moves, explores, questions.
Zen does not speak in words; it is the art of direct experience, of being here, now, in this very moment, beyond all concepts. It teaches us to see directly into the nature of things, without the filter of language, without the veil of thought.
Western Philosophy, on the other hand, has journeyed through the labyrinth of logic and reason, seeking to unravel the mysteries of existence with the tools of the mind. From Heraclitus to Hegel, from Plato to Nietzsche, it has been a path of inquiry, a dialogue with the unknown.
Yet, in this dialogue, something extraordinary happens: they converge. Zen and Philosophy—two seemingly different ways—lead us to the same place. A place where thought dissolves, where self disappears, and where the infinite reveals itself in its purest form.
This is where my own philosophy enters: the understanding that all things are interconnected, that the boundaries between self and other, East and West, mind and matter, are but illusions. In the unity of existence, there is no separation—there is only the eternal, indivisible Whole. The journey is not to acquire knowledge, but to remember what we already are: pure awareness, free from the confines of the ego and the distinctions of thought.
Let us, together, explore this meeting. Let us listen to the silence that speaks, and to the mind that is still, and awaken to the realization that there is no East, no West, no self—only the eternal presence of Being. Here, in this moment, there is no difference between the one who asks and the truth that answers. They are one, as all things are one."
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00:00Η πιθότητα του Ζεν είναι φορικά μισαντεστωμένη,
00:03ειδικά όταν η δοκτρίνηση της ουσιαστικής δεντροφής
00:05είναι δημιουργίας ως φιλοσοφικού νιχυλισμού.
00:10Σατζέμ's αντιπροτήση
00:11αποτελεί την ασφαλή του Ζεν,
00:13που δεν είναι απαραμένο
00:15στην αρκή δυαλία του ίδιου και του ίδιου.
00:18Αν το πρόβλημα,
00:20Ζεν παρακολουθεί αυτές τις τερμές,
00:22δηλαδή ότι η ίδια
00:23δεν υπάρχει εξελισμένο στην υγιεινότητα
00:26και δεν υπάρχει εξελισμένο στην υγιεινότητα,
00:28αλλά σε ένα πρόβλημα
00:29όπου αυτές τις δυστικτήσεις
00:30δημιουργούν να υπάρχουν εξελισμένο δυαλία.
00:34Τι, η αρκή δυαλία του Ζεν
00:36δεν είναι η αρκή δυαλία του ασφαλίου,
00:38αλλά η αρκή δυαλία που υπάρχει όλα.
00:42Στην Ζεν παρακολουθεί το κοινότητα της Βουδαϊκής
00:45ηλικία του Βουδαϊκού
00:46εξελισμένος αυτόν τον παραδοξο.
00:47Είναι σημαντικό τεράγιο για αρκή δυαλία του αρκούς
00:52και ασφαλίζει το Ζεν και το Ζεν και το Ζεν
00:56σε ένα τελειομένο τρόπο.
00:58Αυτό δεν είναι μια λογική αρκή δυαλία,
01:00αλλά μια λογική παραδοξική λόγική,
01:03η λόγική του Ζεν και το Ζεν.
01:06Στην Ζεν εξελισμένη,
01:08η Ζεν και η Ζεν και η Ζεν και η Ζεν
01:10δεν εξελισμένονται από τον άλλο,
01:12αλλά συμφωνίζουν,
01:13αναφερνούν μια δύστητη δημήθεια της Υραλίας.
01:15Η Βουλία, τελευταία,
01:18δεν είναι ένα τελειομένο μεταφυσικό κονσεπτώ,
01:21αλλά η δυναμική πραγματική πραγματική
01:22που παραδοχεί όλα τα φαινόμενα,
01:25δώσουν τους ζωή και το σημαντικό.
01:27Αυτή η Ζεν έχει σημαντική σημαντική.
01:31Στον κόσμο της μονέντης και της βοβλισμίας,
01:34όπου οι δημοσιογραφικές δυαλίες
01:35έχουν στήκονται και η νιχιλισμή
01:37φορήνει ως το τελειομένο του ανθρώπου,
01:40Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
01:46Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
01:50Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
01:53Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
01:55Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
02:25Δέμονταση της ενίσαιρας αιπλέτης
02:27και της λόγ neceserσης της κάναρας
02:29και να δημιουργήσουμε την κανέναρη
02:31εiserlaυηθήτcience π απλήγραφική
02:33Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
02:35Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
02:36Από αυτή την εוצασία,
02:37Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
02:37Α anim banda
02:48Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
02:53Υποτιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
02:54Όλοι αυτοί, όλοι φαινόμενοι, όλοι στιγμούνται με όλοι άλλοι.
03:00Αυτή η εμπιρικά δημιουργία, η οποία μεταφέρει τη φιλοσοφική θεωρία και γίνει τη ζωή εμπρακτική πρακτήση,
03:07είναι εξπρέστηκε με τον τρόπο «Εντερδεπένδευση».
03:11Ο άνθρωπος δεν είναι ένα κερδίδι, αυτοδομένο σύμφωνοι, αλλά ένα νόδι σε έναν εμφανιστικό δημιουργία των δημιουργίων.
03:17When Zen speaks of emptiness, sunyata, it does not mean that things are non-existent,
03:25but that they exist only in relation to others, while still maintaining their own-ness or particularity.
03:32A flower, for example, is not just a flower. Within it are the sun, the rain, the soil, the air, time, the labor of the farmer.
03:42Remove these, and the flower ceases to exist as a distinct being.
03:47The uniqueness of each being is recognized and exists only in coexistence with others.
03:54In this way, Zen teaches us that every form of life is inseparably bound to the whole of the cosmos.
04:01The experience of this interdependence has deep existential and ethical consequences.
04:07First, it dismantles the illusion of isolated existence, which often breeds arrogance or despair.
04:14Second, it cultivates compassion.
04:18If I and you are not absolutely separate, then caring for the other is simultaneously caring for the self.
04:26In this light, kindness is not a moral imperative, but a natural expression of the unity of life.
04:33Zen calls us to live with awareness of this interdependence.
04:39Daily meditation practice is not withdrawal from the world, but a return to the deeper experience of unity with it.
04:47In every breath, every sound, every glance, the continuous interweaving of all things is revealed.
04:53Then, the individual recognizes that there is no inside and outside, but only the open, shared life that includes everything.
05:03Thus, interdependence in Zen is not merely a philosophical doctrine, but a way of seeing the world as a fabric of mutual relations,
05:12inviting us to live with humility, gratitude and compassion.
05:15The Buddhists emphasize emptiness, and say that all things are empty.
05:20While this is a central point in Buddhism generally, and in Zen in particular,
05:25it can be misleading, or at least very difficult for Western thought to grasp.
05:29The phrase, all things are empty, might be better rendered as, all things are exactly as they are.
05:37A pine tree is a pine tree.
05:39Bamboo is bamboo.
05:40A dog is a dog.
05:42A cat is a cat.
05:43You are you.
05:45I am I.
05:46She is she.
05:48Everything is different from everything else.
05:50And yet, since each being maintains its uniqueness and particularity,
05:55they are free from conflict with one another.
05:57This is the meaning of saying that all things are empty.
06:01A pine tree does not feel superior to bamboo.
06:04Bamboo does not feel inferior to a pine tree.
06:07A dog does not feel superior to a cat, nor a cat inferior to a dog.
06:13Humans may believe that plants and animals entertain such thoughts,
06:17but this is merely a projection of human capacities onto non-human dimensions.
06:21In reality, plants and animals live naturally, without judgments of value.
06:27Humans, however, are different.
06:30We constantly compare ourselves to others.
06:33Why is he so smart?
06:34Why am I not so gifted?
06:36Why is she so beautiful?
06:39Why am I not as beautiful?
06:41Some feel superior, others inferior.
06:45This happens because, unlike plants and animals,
06:47we humans possess self-consciousness,
06:50and through it, we look at ourselves from the outside,
06:54comparing ourselves with others.
06:56Thus, although we are ourselves,
06:59we are not truly ourselves,
07:01since we view ourselves from the outside.
07:03In daily life, there are moments when we are here with ourselves,
07:08moments of vague unity.
07:11But at other times, we are there,
07:13seeing ourselves from outside.
07:15We swing between here and there,
07:18moment by moment,
07:19homeless, without a place to settle.
07:22There is always a rift within us.
07:24Plants and animals, on the other hand,
07:27are exactly as they are,
07:29because they lack self-consciousness.
07:32This is the essential difference between humans and other beings.
07:35This characteristic of humans has a positive aspect.
07:38Because we have self-awareness,
07:40and are constantly thinking,
07:42we can plan, reflect, imagine ideals,
07:45and thus create culture, science, art, and so on.
07:48Yet, this positive side is also problematic,
07:53for in seeing ourselves from the outside,
07:55we become divided from ourselves.
07:57We are here and there,
07:59inside and outside.
08:02This constant oscillation
08:03produces our fundamental anxiety,
08:05which plants and animals do not have.
08:09Only human beings are not exactly as they are.
08:12D.T. Suzuki often spoke of beings as they are.
08:16Plants and animals live their own-ness.
08:20But we humans are separated from it.
08:23We are never fully as we are.
08:26As long as we move between here and there,
08:29inside and outside,
08:30comparing ourselves with others,
08:32we are restless.
08:34This anxiety is not accidental
08:36or peculiar to some individuals.
08:38It belongs to being human itself.
08:41Strictly speaking,
08:42it is not that we have this anxiety,
08:44but rather that we are this anxiety.
08:48How can we overcome this fundamental anxiety
08:51and return to our own-ness?
08:54This is the task of religion.
08:56In Genesis,
08:57after every act of creation,
08:59God saw that it was good.
09:01When He created Adam and Eve,
09:03He blessed them
09:04and saw that they too were good.
09:06But good here cannot be merely moral.
09:11Rather,
09:11it affirms that creation is ontologically good,
09:14that all things are in their own state.
09:18God created a tree exactly as a tree
09:20and it was good.
09:22A bird exactly as a bird.
09:24A fish exactly as a fish.
09:27Adam is Adam.
09:29Eve is Eve.
09:30They are good
09:31because they are as they are.
09:33A well-known Zen saying states
09:37Before one studies Zen,
09:40mountains are mountains
09:41and rivers are rivers.
09:43After some understanding,
09:45mountains are not mountains
09:46and rivers are not rivers.
09:49When one is enlightened,
09:51mountains are truly mountains
09:52and rivers are truly rivers.
09:54This short passage
09:57illustrates the central Mahayana
09:58Buddhist doctrine
09:59of absolute emptiness,
10:01Sunyata.
10:03Before studying Zen,
10:04one affirms the existence
10:05of mountains and rivers,
10:07differentiates them
10:07and most importantly,
10:09objectifies them.
10:10They are external realities
10:12set apart from the subject,
10:13the self.
10:15This duality of subject and object
10:16obstructs the realization
10:18of the true self
10:19or Buddha nature.
10:21Inquiring to the self
10:22in objectified terms
10:23leads to infinite regression.
10:26Who am I?
10:27Who sees these mountains?
10:29Each subject
10:29becomes object in turn.
10:32Liberation requires
10:33an existential realization
10:34that Buddha nature
10:36lies beyond objectifying thought,
10:38beyond subject-object dichotomy.
10:41This emptying of duality
10:43is the perception
10:44of non-differentiation.
10:46The second phrase,
10:48mountains are not mountains,
10:50marks the stage
10:50of non-differentiation
10:51after some insight.
10:53But even here,
10:54a subtle duality remains,
10:56differentiation
10:57versus non-differentiation.
11:00To realize Buddha nature
11:01requires negating
11:02even this non-differentiation,
11:05an absolute negation,
11:06which paradoxically
11:07is also absolute affirmation.
11:10This paradox of affirmation-negation
11:12or the logic of being-non-being
11:14is the essence
11:15of Buddha nature.
11:17What is Buddha nature?
11:18Dogen reinterpreted
11:20the traditional doctrine
11:21that all sentient beings
11:22have Buddha nature,
11:24arguing instead
11:25that all beings,
11:26sentient and non-sentient,
11:28are Buddha nature.
11:29He sought to undermine
11:31the tendency
11:31to objectify Buddha nature
11:33as a kind of substantial essence.
11:36For Dogen,
11:37Buddha nature
11:37is not an essence
11:38humans possess,
11:39but a dynamic unfolding
11:40of existence itself.
11:42Traditionally,
11:44liberation meant
11:45realizing an inner essence
11:47beyond ordinary existence.
11:49But for Dogen,
11:50this objectifies Buddha nature
11:51and traps us in duality.
11:54Instead,
11:55Buddha nature
11:56is identical
11:56with the transient
11:57phenomena
11:57of everyday life,
11:59grass,
12:00trees,
12:01stones.
12:02Impermanence itself
12:03is Buddha nature.
12:05Its essence
12:05is revealed
12:06in the momentary arising
12:07and passing
12:08of ordinary things.
12:09While philosophical aspects
12:11of Zen matter,
12:12Zen theorists
12:13insist
12:14knowledge
12:14must be realized
12:16in daily life.
12:18If impermanence itself
12:19is Buddha nature,
12:20how should one practice?
12:22Dogen answered
12:23through Shikantaza,
12:25just sitting.
12:27Practice
12:27and enlightenment
12:28are one.
12:29Practice
12:30is enlightenment.
12:31Enlightenment
12:32is practice.
12:34This view
12:34frees meditation
12:35from ego-centered
12:36intention.
12:38Shikantaza
12:38is regarded
12:39as the purest practice.
12:41Western philosophy,
12:42from its
12:43ancient Greek beginnings
12:44to modern
12:44and contemporary developments,
12:47has sought
12:47to understand reality
12:48through concepts
12:49such as
12:50being,
12:51essence,
12:51truth,
12:52and reason.
12:54Yet,
12:55the tradition
12:55is not monolithic.
12:57Within it,
12:58critical analysis
12:59of Western philosophy
13:00have emerged,
13:01from Nietzsche
13:02and Heidegger
13:02to postmodern thinkers
13:04and even comparative dialogue
13:06with Eastern traditions
13:07like Buddhism
13:08that challenge
13:09its foundations.
13:12These critiques
13:12highlight
13:13both the achievements
13:14and the limitations
13:15of Western philosophy,
13:17exposing its
13:17metaphysical assumptions
13:18and its tendency
13:20toward dualism,
13:21objectification
13:22and abstraction.
13:25Examining
13:25these critiques
13:26allows us
13:27to understand
13:27the relationship
13:28between traditional
13:29and critical thought
13:30as well as
13:31the differences
13:32and similarities
13:33in their approaches.
13:35Western philosophy
13:35is marked
13:36by an internal
13:37dynamic
13:38of self-criticism.
13:40Thinkers like
13:40Descartes,
13:41Kant,
13:42Hegel,
13:43Nietzsche,
13:44Heidegger,
13:45Derrida
13:45and Foucault
13:46do not simply
13:47abandon philosophy
13:48but interrogate
13:49its foundations.
13:51This creates
13:51a paradoxical relationship.
13:54Critical analysis
13:54arise from within
13:56the Western tradition
13:57even as they
13:58destabilize it.
13:59Nietzsche
14:00critiqued
14:01Western metaphysics
14:02as
14:02Platonism
14:03for the masses,
14:04arguing that
14:05Christianity
14:05and philosophy
14:06both denied
14:07life
14:08in favor
14:08of illusory
14:09transcendent
14:10ideals.
14:12Yet,
14:12he used
14:12the tools
14:13of philosophy
14:13philology,
14:15logic
14:15and genealogy
14:16to expose
14:17these illusions.
14:19Heidegger
14:20continued
14:20this self-critical
14:21turn,
14:22arguing that
14:23Western philosophy
14:24had forgotten
14:24the question
14:25of being
14:25by reducing
14:27it to beings
14:27and their
14:28attributes.
14:29His project
14:30of destruction
14:31aimed not
14:32at destroying
14:32philosophy
14:33but at
14:34retrieving
14:34its hidden
14:35origins.
14:37Postmodern
14:37thinkers
14:37such as
14:38Derrida
14:38and Lyotard
14:39pushed
14:40this critique
14:40further,
14:41deconstructing
14:42claims of
14:42absolute truth,
14:44universal
14:44reason
14:44and grand
14:45narratives.
14:47Thus,
14:47the relationship
14:48is dialectical.
14:50Western
14:50philosophy
14:50sustains
14:51itself
14:51by
14:52critiquing
14:52itself.
14:53critical
14:54analysis
14:55is not
14:55external
14:56opposition
14:56but
14:57philosophy
14:58reflecting
14:58on its
14:59own
14:59limits.
15:01One of the
15:01clearest
15:01differences
15:02between
15:02traditional
15:03Western
15:03philosophy
15:04and its
15:05critical
15:05analysis
15:06lies
15:06in their stance
15:07toward
15:07metaphysics.
15:09Traditional
15:10philosophy
15:10Plato,
15:12Aristotle,
15:12Aquinas,
15:13Descartes,
15:14Kant
15:14generally
15:15affirms
15:16stable
15:16foundations
15:17eternal
15:18forms,
15:19substance,
15:20God
15:20or the
15:21categories
15:21of reason.
15:23Knowledge
15:23is grounded
15:24in universal
15:25structures
15:26and truth
15:27is conceived
15:27as correspondence
15:28to reality.
15:31Critical
15:31philosophy
15:31challenges
15:32these
15:32assumptions.
15:34Nietzsche's
15:35Death of God
15:35dismantles
15:36transcendent
15:37foundations.
15:39Heidegger's
15:39Critico
15:40metaphysics
15:40rejects
15:41the dominance
15:42of presence,
15:43substance
15:43and fixed
15:44essences.
15:46Derrida
15:47argues that
15:47meaning is
15:48always
15:48deferred
15:49undermining
15:51metaphysical
15:52notions
15:52of closure
15:53and identity.
15:55This
15:55difference
15:56is not
15:56merely
15:57theoretical
15:57but
15:58existential.
16:00Traditional
16:00metaphysics
16:01seeks
16:01security
16:02in permanence.
16:03Critical
16:04thought
16:04accepts
16:05impermanence,
16:06flux
16:06and the
16:07instability
16:07of meaning.
16:08despite
16:09their
16:09opposition,
16:11critical
16:11analysis
16:11share
16:12important
16:12similarities
16:13with the
16:13tradition
16:14they
16:14critique.
16:16Shared
16:16language
16:16and
16:17concepts
16:17Even
16:18when
16:19Nietzsche
16:19rejects
16:19Platonism,
16:21he uses
16:21the
16:21Platonic
16:22framework
16:22of
16:22truth
16:23versus
16:23appearance
16:24to
16:24overturn
16:25it.
16:26Derrida
16:26deconstructs
16:27concepts
16:28like
16:28logos,
16:29presence
16:29and
16:29truth,
16:30but
16:30these
16:31are
16:31inherited
16:31from
16:32Greek
16:32philosophy.
16:34Commitment
16:35to rational
16:35inquiry.
16:37Whether
16:37affirming
16:37or
16:38deconstructing
16:38metaphysics,
16:40both sides
16:40rely on
16:41argument,
16:41reflection
16:42and
16:42textual
16:43engagement.
16:44Nietzsche's
16:45aphorisms,
16:46Heidegger's
16:46etymologies
16:47and Derrida's
16:48close readings
16:49remain
16:49philosophical
16:50in method.
16:52Concerned
16:53with
16:53truth
16:53Even
16:54when denying
16:55absolute
16:56truth,
16:57critical
16:57philosophy
16:57still seeks
16:58authenticity,
16:59openness
17:00or justice.
17:00Heidegger
17:02showed
17:02a more
17:03primordial
17:03truth
17:04of being.
17:05Derrida
17:05insisted
17:06on
17:06an
17:06anti-constructible
17:07justice.
17:09The
17:09quest
17:09for
17:09truth
17:10remains
17:10though
17:11redefined.
17:13Interestingly,
17:14the
17:14analytical
17:14analysis
17:15of
17:15Western
17:15philosophy
17:16often
17:16converts
17:17with
17:17non-Western
17:17traditions.
17:19For
17:19example,
17:20Buddhism
17:20and Zen
17:21emphasizing
17:21permanence,
17:22emptiness
17:23and
17:23interdependence,
17:25challenging
17:25the
17:25Western
17:25fixation
17:26on
17:27substance
17:27and
17:27permanence.
17:29Heidegger's
17:29nothingness
17:30and Nietzsche's
17:31innocence
17:32of
17:32becoming
17:32resonate
17:33with
17:33these
17:34ideas
17:34though
17:35they
17:35remain
17:35embedded
17:35in
17:36Western
17:36categories.
17:38Whitehead's
17:39process
17:39philosophy
17:39emphasizes
17:40relationality
17:41and
17:41becoming
17:42akin
17:43to
17:43Buddhist
17:43interdependence
17:44though
17:45he
17:45retains
17:45a
17:45metaphysical
17:46god
17:46that
17:47reintroduces
17:48dualism.
17:49These
17:50comparisons
17:50reveal
17:51that
17:51Western
17:51self-critique
17:52often
17:53parallels
17:53insights
17:54long
17:54developed
17:55in
17:55other
17:55traditions
17:56highlighting
17:57both
17:57its
17:57originality
17:58and
17:59its
17:59limitations.
18:00critical
18:01analysis
18:02of
18:02Western
18:02philosophy
18:03reveal
18:04a complex
18:04interplay
18:05of
18:05continuity
18:06and
18:06rapture.
18:07They
18:07are
18:08born
18:08within
18:08the
18:08tradition
18:09but
18:09move
18:09against
18:10its
18:10dominant
18:11metaphysical
18:11tendencies
18:12challenging
18:13concepts
18:13and
18:15true.
18:16Yet
18:17they
18:17remain
18:17deeply
18:18indebted
18:18to the
18:19very
18:19heritage
18:19they
18:20critique
18:20inheriting
18:21its
18:21language
18:22methods
18:22and
18:23quest
18:23for
18:23meaning.
18:25Their
18:25differences
18:25lie in
18:26their rejection
18:27of
18:27metaphysical
18:27foundations
18:28while
18:29their
18:29similarities
18:29rest
18:30in
18:30their
18:31said
18:31philosophical
18:31commitment
18:32to
18:32rational
18:33critique.
18:34Taken
18:35together
18:35they
18:36illustrate
18:36that
18:36philosophy
18:37is not
18:37static
18:37but
18:38a
18:38living
18:38dialogue
18:39with
18:39itself
18:39always
18:40reinterpreting
18:41re-questioning
18:42and re-imagining
18:43its own
18:44possibilities.
18:46Zen thinkers
18:46analyze
18:47Western
18:47philosophy
18:48and theology
18:48through the
18:49logic
18:50of being
18:50non-being.
18:53Western
18:53thought
18:53traditionally
18:54privileges
18:55the positive
18:55being
18:56life
18:57permanence
18:58while
18:58treating
18:59non-being
19:00death
19:00impermanence
19:01as derivative.
19:03Eastern
19:04thought
19:04especially
19:04Buddhism
19:05gives
19:06equal weight
19:06to both.
19:08Zen's
19:08nothingness
19:09is not
19:10relative
19:10non-being
19:11but absolute
19:12nothingness
19:12the original
19:13ground
19:14prior to
19:14positive
19:15negative
19:15division.
19:17This
19:17contrasts
19:18with
19:18Western
19:19metaphysics
19:19for example
19:20Platonism
19:21reality
19:22as transcendent
19:23forms
19:23and
19:24Christianity
19:24God
19:25beyond
19:25the
19:26world.
19:27Zen
19:27instead
19:28affirms
19:29what
19:29Nishitani
19:29Keiji
19:30called
19:30a
19:31trans
19:31descendence.
19:33Nietzsche
19:33for example
19:34exposed
19:35Western
19:35metaphysics
19:35and
19:36Christianity
19:36as
19:37false
19:37constructs
19:38erected
19:39to avoid
19:39nothingness.
19:41he erred
19:41facing the void
19:42directly
19:43what he called
19:44the innocence
19:45of becoming.
19:47Yet
19:47Zen
19:47critics
19:48note
19:48Nietzsche
19:48still posits
19:49reality
19:50in objectified
19:51terms
19:51life
19:52becoming
19:53thus
19:53maintaining
19:54subject-object
19:55duality.
19:57Whitehead's
19:58philosophy
19:58of universal
19:59relativity
19:59aligns
20:00more closely
20:01with
20:01Buddhist
20:02interdependence.
20:03Each
20:03entity
20:04contains
20:05all
20:05others.
20:06Yet
20:07his
20:07concept
20:07of
20:07God
20:08as
20:08primordial
20:09beyond
20:09time
20:10and
20:10space
20:10reintroduces
20:12duality
20:12between
20:13permanence
20:13and
20:13change
20:14God
20:15and
20:15world.
20:16Thus
20:17Whitehead
20:17too
20:18fails
20:18to
20:18transcend
20:19duality
20:19fully.
20:19Tillich
20:22compared
20:22the
20:22kingdom
20:23of
20:23God
20:23with
20:24nirvana
20:25Buddhism.
20:27He argued
20:27Christianity
20:28emphasizes
20:28all people
20:29united
20:29in
20:30God's
20:30kingdom
20:30while
20:31Buddhism
20:32emphasizes
20:32all
20:33things
20:33united
20:33in
20:34nirvana.
20:35This
20:36risks
20:36misunderstanding.
20:38Though
20:38Buddha
20:38nature
20:38is the
20:39presence
20:39of
20:39all
20:40phenomena
20:40realization
20:41occurs
20:42only
20:42in
20:42human
20:43consciousness.
20:44Thus
20:44humans
20:45hold
20:45a
20:45special
20:46though
20:46not
20:47superior
20:47role.
20:48Tillich
20:49by
20:49prioritizing
20:50things
20:51over
20:51humans
20:51missed
20:52Zen's
20:53logic
20:53of
20:53being
20:54non-being.
20:57Zen
20:57also
20:57critiques
20:58Tillich's
20:58engagement
20:59with
20:59modern
20:59secular
21:00movements
21:00nationalism
21:01scientist
21:02marxism
21:03humanism.
21:05Tillich
21:05approached
21:06them
21:06as a
21:06participative
21:07observer
21:07on the
21:08cultural
21:08historical
21:09level.
21:10Zen
21:10insists
21:10they
21:11must
21:11be
21:11faced
21:12existentially
21:12as a
21:13self-involved
21:14participant
21:15through
21:15religious
21:16awareness.
21:18only a
21:18religious
21:18encounter
21:19with
21:19and
21:20transcendence
21:20of
21:21nihilism
21:21makes
21:22religion
21:22tooly
21:23necessary
21:23in the
21:23modern
21:24world.
21:25Christian
21:25theology
21:26and
21:26Buddhism
21:26are
21:27two
21:27of
21:27the
21:27most
21:27influential
21:28spiritual
21:28traditions
21:29in
21:29human
21:30history.
21:31Christianity
21:32rooted in
21:33the
21:33revelation
21:33of God
21:34in
21:34Jesus
21:34Christ
21:35emphasizes
21:36faith
21:36in
21:36the
21:36divine
21:37salvation
21:38through
21:38grace
21:38and
21:39the
21:39love
21:39of
21:39God
21:40as
21:40the
21:40foundation
21:41of
21:41existence.
21:43Buddhism
21:43originating
21:44from
21:44the
21:45teachings
21:45of
21:45Siddhartha
21:46Gaotama,
21:47the Buddha,
21:48focuses on the cessation of suffering through insight into impermanence, interdependence
21:53and the realization of emptiness.
21:56At first glance, these two traditions appear to operate in radically different frameworks,
22:02one phaistic, the other non-theistic, one grounded in divine transcendence, the other
22:08in existential awakening.
22:11Yet in the modern era, dialogue between Christian theology and Buddhism has deepened, revealing areas of surprising resonance as well as irreducible difference.
22:22At the heart of Christian theology is the affirmation of a personal God, creator of heaven and earth, who reveals himself in history.
22:30For Christians, God is both transcendent and immanent, utterly beyond the world and yet intimately present within it.
22:37By contrast, Buddhism avoids metaphysical claims about a creator God.
22:43Instead, its central concern is existential, the recognition of suffering, duha, and the path to liberation.
22:51The Buddhist teaching of sunyata, emptiness, affirms that all phenomena lack permanent essence.
22:57Reality is a dynamic interplay of interdependent relations.
23:01Despite this difference, Christian theologians, such as Paul Tillich and Thomas Merton, have found meaningful parallels.
23:10Tillich argued that God should not be understood as a being among beings, but as the ground of being, a reality that cannot be objectified.
23:18This recalls the Buddhist insight that alchimate truth cannot be grasped as a fixed entity.
23:26Similarly, Merton, in dialogue with Zen thinkers, saw in emptiness not nihilism, but a spiritual depth that resonates with the Christian experience of self-emptying, kenosis, in Christ.
23:37Christian theology emphasizes salvation as a reconciliation with God, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
23:46The human problem is sin, alienation from God, and the solution is divine grace.
23:52By contrast, Buddhism identifies suffering as the central problem of existence.
23:59The cause of suffering is ignorance and detachment, and liberation, nirvana, comes through wisdom and compassionate practice.
24:08Though distinct, these paths share certain resonances.
24:12Christian mystics, such as Meister Eckhart, spoke of detachment from self and union with God, in ways that echo Buddhist teachings on letting go of clinging.
24:23Similarly, the Christian notion of agape, selfless love, resonates with the Buddhist cultivation of compassion, karuna.
24:32Both traditions insist that the transformation of the self requires not simply intellectual belief, but a radical reorientation of existence.
24:43A central point of divergence remains the role of Christ and the Buddha.
24:47In Christianity, Christ is not merely a teacher, but the incarnate word of God, the unique mediator between humanity and God.
24:55Faith in Christ is thus indispensable.
24:57In Buddhism, the Buddha is not a savior in a metaphysical sense, but an enlightened guide whose life and teachings point others toward awakening.
25:07Liberation is ultimately dependent on one's own realization of the Dharma, not on divine intervention.
25:15Yet, dialogue can also see these figures as embodying universal dimensions of human spiritual possibility.
25:20The image of Christ's self-emptying love and the Buddha's compassionate awakening can both be read as archetypes of human transformation, pointing beyond ego toward universal truth.
25:33Both Christianity and Buddhism stress the importance of community.
25:38The Christian Church is the body of Christ, where believers gather in worship and sacraments to participate in divine life.
25:44In Buddhism, the Sangha is one of the three jewels, together with Buddha and Dharma, providing support for practitioners on the path.
25:51Both traditions recognize that spiritual growth is not an isolated endeavor, but occurs within communal bonds.
26:00Practice also reveals both similarities and contrasts.
26:03Christian prayer, sacraments and liturgy emphasize relationship with God through word and ritual.
26:10Buddhist meditation emphasizes awareness, mindfulness and insight into reality as it is.
26:15Yet, Christian contemplative prayer and Buddhist meditation often converge in cultivating silence, presence and inner transformation.
26:25The dialogue between Christian theology and Buddhism has been fruitful in modern times, yet challenges remain.
26:32Christianity risks misunderstanding Buddhist emptiness as nihilism, while Buddhism may see Christian theism as attachment to an externalized metaphysical entity.
26:42Further more, Christians insist on the uniqueness of Christ as Savior, while Buddhists generally deny any absolute necessity of such mediation.
26:53Still, both traditions contribute important correctives to modern nihilism and individualism.
27:00Buddhism challenges Christianity to embrace impermanence and interdependence more fully, freeing theology from rigid dogmatism.
27:07Christianity challenges Buddhism to engage more deeply with history, love, and the dimension of the personal.
27:16Christian theology and Buddhism, though arising in vastly different cultural and metaphysical horizons,
27:23share a profound concern for the transformation of human life in the face of suffering, finitude, and meaning.
27:29Their dialogue reveals not a synthesis that erases differences, but a creative encounter that allows each to see more deeply into its own truth.
27:41Christianity reminds Buddhism of the power of love and historical embodiment.
27:46Buddhism reminds Christianity of the depth of emptiness and the radical letting go that underlies spiritual awakening.
27:53In their conversation, both traditions contribute to a richer vision of human existence,
28:00one rooted in compassion, humility, and the mystery of the ultimate.
28:04Buddhism 말
28:20Ан
28:20.
28:22.
28:24.
28:26.
28:28.