Asian Studies
January 18, 2023
Margus Ott
14 citations
The Analects, a foundational text of Chinese philosophy, contains themes that align closely with modern embodiment theory (ET), including embodiment, embeddedness, enactment, extendedness, emotivity, implicitness, emergence, joy, and apprenticeship or self-cultivation. While recent Sinological research has addressed embodiment, explicit connections to ET have been rare. The article argues that ET offers a useful framework for interpreting key themes in the Analects, and conversely, that engaging with the Chinese philosophical tradition—which has discussed embodiment for over two millennia—could enrich ET's further development.
Asian Studies
February 29, 2016
Hisaki Hashi
6 citations
In an era dominated by digital networks and constant information flow, people often engage with technology physically but without mindful awareness. This has led to a neglect of human creativity, original thinking, and the transmission of ideas necessary for innovation. The Zen Buddhist philosophy of mind offers a dynamic approach to re-creating and reconstructing human life through the concept of "mu" (無), or absolute nothingness, and "mu-shin" (無心), the mind of mu. This philosophy presents a flexible, unified activity that counters the passive consumption of digital media by reawakening creative and mindful engagement.
Asian Studies
August 10, 2016
Olga Markič, Urban Kordeš
5 citations
Mindfulness and first-person scientific approaches to consciousness research share conceptual frameworks that require careful examination to avoid misinterpretation when removed from their original contexts. The article identifies common problems including limited scope of insight, the subject-object split and excavation fallacy, challenges in researching everyday experience, and the issue of horizon. It also considers how research intention differs between science and Buddhism. The authors suggest that the two areas can mutually benefit one another: Buddhism may contribute ethical aspects to scientific research, while science may contribute open-endedness to Buddhism and other spiritual practices.
Asian Studies
January 10, 2026
Eric S. Nelson
Eduard von Hartmann, a prominent public philosopher of his era, used Buddhism as a primary but imperfect exemplar for his vision of a 'religion of the future' centered on self-redemption (autosoterism). His philosophy reconciled pessimism and a panpneumatic (all-spiritual) impersonal unconscious with rationality and individual responsibility. Hartmann interpreted Buddhism through an ethical and symbolic lens based on the unconscious, which brought him into both proximity and conflict with esoteric spiritist discourses. He advocated a resigned yet heroic embrace of suffering life, rejecting what he saw as ascetic and quietist acquiescence. His hermeneutics reveal a modernizing vision of Buddhism as a model for the future, suitably reformed to accentuate a heroic response to suffering and karma.
Asian Studies
January 18, 2023
Sebastjan Vörös
The article examines the relationship between Buddhism and science, focusing on consciousness research in cognitive neuroscience. It outlines three stances: rejection (incompatibility), acceptance (shared commonalities), and construction (compatibility achieved through historical processes). Which stance one adopts depends on how Buddhism and science are construed. The discussion narrows to consciousness research, reviewing arguments for and against collaboration between Buddhism and cognitive neuroscience, termed the 'Three Turnings of the Wheel of (Non)Interaction.' The analysis concludes with reflections on presuppositions and entailments of different stances, emphasizing the distinction between viewing Buddhism as a 'living' versus 'dead' tradition.