THE CONCEPT OF THE ILLUSORY WORLD AND THE PHENOMENON OF THE PRESENT IN ZEN BUDDHISM: CONSTRUCTING THE NOTION OF REALITY AND ITS CULTURAL MANIFESTATIONS
Філософія та політологія в контексті сучасної культури July 30, 2025 A. Meleshchuk
Zen Buddhism holds that the world is illusory and that the present moment is the only authentic dimension of reality, forming a non-conceptual mode of being. The article examines the doctrines of emptiness (śūnyatā) and illusion (māyā) as foundations for existential practices like kenshō, satori, zazen, and koan practice, which dismantle fixed notions of self and world. These principles shape Japanese cultural expressions—haiku, Noh and Kabuki theatre, and the tea ceremony—where the sacred and mundane merge. The study concludes that Zen reveals limits of representational language and offers a paradigm of religious experience without the transcendent, inviting rethinking of reality, identity, and cultural difference.