Numinous Presences in Two Buddhist Sūtras: Toward a Comparative Phenomenology
Joseph S. O’Leary
Exchange September 1, 2017 DOI: 10.1163/1572543x-12341446 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Buddhism Philosophy of mind |
| Key points | Argues that religious experiences of 'presence' can be compared phenomenologically across traditions despite their pluralism. Contends that personal presences appear even in two Buddhist scriptures devoted to impersonal emptiness, while Biblical personalism remains open to Buddhist critique and tempering, though the two approaches to ultimate reality are not expected to coincide. |
Abstract
Abstract: Experiences of ‘presence’ are common in religion. This essay attempts to approach presence along phenomenological lines, arguing that the pluralism of the phenomena and contexts referred to is not an obstacle to a methodologically open dialogue between different experiences. Despite the impersonalism of Buddhist conceptions of ultimate reality, personal presences play a considerable role even in two scriptures devoted to evoking this ultimate emptiness. Conversely the vibrant personalism of Biblical presentations of the divine does not exclude the possibility of a Buddhist critique and tempering of them, even if the two styles of approaching ultimate reality cannot be expected to coincide.
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 |