Research on the Gap between the Perception of Impermanence and Spiritual Peace: Phenomenological Reflections based on Buddhist Emptiness Concept
Wei Hu
International Journal of Education and Humanities August 16, 2026 DOI: 10.54097/rkd2vm51 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism |
| Key points | Argues that the psychological gap between intellectual grasp of impermanence and existential peace arises from embodied 'self-grasping', a pre-reflective inclination to reify the self, and that resolving it requires direct experience of emptiness through embodied non-duality rather than rational understanding alone. |
Abstract
The intellectual grasp of impermanence does not necessarily bring about a sense of peace in life and spirit, and thus a psychological and spiritual vacuum occurs. Using the idea of Emptiness (Śūnyatā) in Buddhist philosophy, Husserl's and Merleau-Ponty's phenomenological theories were combined to examine the origin and form of this gap in this paper. Although people today are aware of the fleetingness of life through their minds, they still feel deep-seated anxiety and suffering (Dukkha). Based on a phenomenological study of the structure of internal time consciousness and intentionality, this paper finds that the gap arises from a habit of embodied 'self-grasping'-a pre-reflective inclination to reify the self despite rationally knowing that it is transient. As shown in the above analysis, true spiritual freedom cannot be achieved by reason alone; otherwise, it will still be limited by the subject-object distinction. Therefore, in order to resolve this existential contradiction, one needs to take a form of embodied non-duality and experience emptiness directly. Combine the ontology of Mahayana Buddhism with enactive cognitive phenomenology to provide a theoretical foundation for linking the awareness of impermanence with genuine existential peace, and put forward an idea to add philosophy to the practice of life in the body.
Comparable studies
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| Mental balance and well-being: Building bridges between Buddhism and Western psychology. | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist Modernism and the Rhetoric of Meditative Experience | 1995 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Buddhist and Psychological Perspectives on Emotions and Well-Being | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Too Early to Tell: The Potential Impact and Challenges—Ethical and Otherwise—Inherent in the Mainstreaming of Dharma in an Increasingly Dystopian World | 2017 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| From self to nonself: The Nonself Theory | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |