Karl Jaspers and Seung Sahn
In this paper I will be making a comparison between the thoughts of Karl Jaspers and Korean Zen master Seung Sahn on the nature of consciousness and transcendence. The essays in question by Jaspers are his essays “On the Origin of My Philosophy,” written in 1941, and his lectures on the significance of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche and “the Encompassing,” given in 1935 (p. 158). The other text being studied is The Compass of Zen, a compilation of Seung Sahn’s lectures on the three main branches of Buddhism. The Compass of Zen was begun in the 1960s as a basic text to explain the “bone,” or common essence, of Buddhism to Sahn’s Zen students. The 1960s brought a sharp rise on interest in Buddhism among Americans,
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For example, if you think about a dog, it illuminates your understanding of the dog, but not of where your thought came from. Indeed, the origin of consciousness is not something that should not be rationally understood: “the Encompassing can never be known as a particular something from which other things can be deduced” (p.227). In a slightly different interpretation of this idea, Buddhism teaches that the origin of everything is in a place before thought, and therefore beyond all form and words- pure nothingness. “Your mind is originally pure and clear; that is true holiness…attaining that everything is empty is better than some special idea of holiness” (Sahn p.40). This idea is known in Sanskrit as Samadhi, and is the state of the “unmoving mind” (Sahn p.27). Nothingness is man’s original nature, the origin of consciousness, and it is innately good. It is part of a universal essence, and therefore feels the suffering of all living beings; by channeling this innate goodness we become compassionate …show more content…
Jaspers believes that it is best to use as many approaches as possible for understanding. The use of reason is the bond that unites all modes of thought: he refers to it as “the inextinguishable urge to philosophize” (p.223). He says that philosophy is not a science; it is attaining truth via reflection. (p. 172). He follows this by saying that the failure of man to find understanding using any one system of thought produces confusion in the mind about what is really important. Buddhism also addresses the issue of confusion about what is really important; it explains this confusion as originating in “attachment” to imperfect worldly desires and things: “They don’t see that what they crave is deeply marked with impurity. This is humans’ basic delusion: our attachment leads us to crave and covet things that cannot help our lives” (Sahn
Killinger, John. "Existentalism and Human Freedom." The English Journal 50 (1961): 303-13. JSTOR. Web. 12 Aug. 2008.
classicmoviescripts/script/seventhseal.txt. Internet. 4 May 2004. Blackham, H. J. Six Existentialist Thinkers. New York: Harper, 1952. Choron, Jacques. Death and Western Thought. New York: Collier Books, 1963.
The third main spiritual path that can lead to enlightenment was established by the Indian sage Ramana Maharshi. Ramana Maharshi lived in Southern India during the first half of the 20th century. Because of the need to have guidance or a guru in many of the above spiritual paths, it is great that there is this spiritual path that can lead to enlightenment without the guidance of an enlightened teacher. The core of his teaching is that we can start asking the most fundamental question of a human being: who am I in my deepest identity? (Ramana 1902; Ramana 1995; Osborne 2000). We are not our bodies, minds, thoughts or emotions. Our soul is the witness of those things. However, we are not even our soul in the deepest sense, because our soul receives its power from an even deeper source. So, who then are we? This is the final question of all other questions we may face.
Hanshan, a legendary figure from the Chinese Tang period, is attributed with a collection of poems which are among the fines expression of Zen Buddhism, often remarking on life's short and transient nature, and the necessity of meditation as means to enlightenment. Today, there are many variations of translations of the collection of poems, some of which may be similar or different to Hanshan’s view of enlightenment. Not only does the variety of translations give different meaning to the poetry, but it also shapes different images of Hanshan, which in turn affects the reader’s experience of the poetry. The translation of the poem “High, high on from the summit of the peak” by Burton Watson is a more impelling and better translation than the Wandering Poet’s because of the use of varying diction, imagery, and structure that more effectively reflects Hanshan’s ideas of achieving Zen and enlightenment.
Ross, Kelly L. "Existentialism." The Proceedings of the Friesian School, Fourth Series. Kelly L. Ross, Ph.D., 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013.
Malachi. (2003). Existential Wars: Kierkegaard versus Nietzsche. In Soren Kierkegaard. Retrieved December 5, 2011, from http://www.sorenkierkegaard.nl/artikelen/Engels/001.%20Existential%20Wars%20Kierkegaard%20vs%20Nietzsche.pdf
Sadigh, Micah. "The Foundation of Existentialism In The Oldest Story Ever Told." Existential Anaylsis: Journal Of The Society For Existential Analysis 21.1 (2010): 76-88.
One of the most noted proponents of early French existentialism, Albert Camus, composed nearly a dozen superb literary works dealing with this philosophy. His first novel, The Stranger, and a later book, The Fall, are recognized as two masterpieces of philosophical literature, not only in the context of Camus’ own work, but in the broad scope of philosophy as well.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. “Existentialism is Humanism.” Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Ed. Walter Kaufman. Meridian Publishing
Individual consciousness is the basis of collective consciousness of the nation which influences governmental functioning. Hence, Maharishi mainly focused on enhancing the quality of individual consciousness in order to create a coherence in collective consciousness. He introduces a simple and effortless technique to unfold the full potential of the individual consciousness which is called Transcendental Meditation. When we practice Transcendental Meditation we allow our consciousness to experience its fundamental level.
This essay will attempt to answer questions coming from the Bernard Faure text assigned in class. The questions are as follows: How does Hu Shih’s approach to Chan differ from D.T. Suzuki’s? Why was the scholarship of the Japanese on Zen not objective? What does Faure mean by the teleological fallacy? What does he mean by the two alternative approaches he suggests: structural analysis and hermeneutics?
Adrian Olivas Mrs. Loeb AP Literature December 22, 2014 Following Your Own Path Sartre once said, “Life has no meaning a priori… It is up to you to give it a meaning, and value is nothing but the meaning that you choose.” Existentialism the philosophy which Satre brought into light questions ones existence. It is a philosophy promulgated in the 20th century that states, every person exists first and his nature, or essence, comes about later through the manner he chooses to live his life. This starting point is often called "the existential dilemma?
Eastern enlightenment religions have been gaining popularity throughout the western world for the past few decades, with many people attracted to a "different" way of experiencing religion. As with many other enlightenment religions, Buddhism requires disciples to understand concepts that are not readily explainable: one such concept is that of no-self. In this essay I shall discuss the no-self from a number of modern perspectives; however, as no-self is difficult to describe I shall focus on both the self and no-self. Beginning with psychological aspects, and neurophysiological research on transcendental meditation, I shall discuss the impact of modern brain science on our understanding of the self and transcendence. Next I will outline the relationship between quantum physics and non-locality, as this gives a western scientific explanation for no-self. Returning to the original source of Buddhism, I will briefly outline the discussion between Siddhartha and Vaccha regarding atman, then discuss the mind and no-self and their relationship to liberation. Finally I will summarize a few issues that the western mindset may face approaching this topic.
Sartre, Jean-Paul. “Existentialism is Humanism.” Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre. Ed. Walter Kaufman. Meridian Publishing
Elrod, John. Being and Existence in Kierkegaard’s Pseudonymous Works. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1975.