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Creating an Ethics of Love: Encountering Nonduality through Buddhism and Phenomenology

Dakota Parmley

February 28, 2020 DOI: 10.15760/honors.831 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper
Topics Buddhism Philosophy of mind
Key points Argues that the investigative attitude common to Western phenomenology and Buddhist meditation can lead to a nondual encounter with Reality that, when embodied in everyday dual life, transforms practitioners and supports loving, virtuous ethical action; analyzes Heidegger and Nishida Kitarō to support this possibility and contends that rhetoric and discussion about such experiences can create confusion and delusion in non-practitioners.

Abstract

Sustained ethical action is needed now more than ever, and the attitude that Western phenomenology and Buddhist meditation practices employ in investigating experience is important for creating such action. Through investigation, one can experience a nondual Reality, which in turn can lead to embodied ethical action in light of that experience. By focusing on how there is an “arc of practice” through which one encounters Reality and transforms their action, the importance of investigating experience can be seen. The two investigative practices used in this thesis are helpful for reconnecting the practitioner to their true-nature, which is loving and virtuous, and this happens through transcendental experiences and their continued embodiment. By analyzing the philosophies of Heidegger and Nishida Kitarō, one can gain a sense of the possibility of this sort of nondual encounter with existence. By drawing out the contours of that discussion, the importance of embodying the nondual experience in every day (dual) life becomes more apparent. Such experiences have a profound capability to transform the practitioner in a loving and virtuous manner, but there are difficulties when attempting to change one’s relationship to experience and some of these difficulties will be looked at. Specifically, issues regarding rhetoric and discussion regarding these experiences are of importance, as they tend to create confusion and delusion in non-practitioners. Emphasizing action taken in light of these experiences is relevant for the ethical crises the modern world faces and dealing with them in a loving and virtuous manner.

Comparable studies

Other theoretical and historical papers on buddhism, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
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

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Buddhism Philosophy of mind Meditation