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Satori: Toward A Conceptual Analysis

Satori: Toward A Conceptual Analysis ESSAYS Avery M. Fouts California Baptist University One of the significant points of division between Zen Buddhism and Western thought is the status of the law of noncontradiction. In the West, no matter what our ontology, we have overwhelmingly regarded this law as indubitable. For example, Aristotle insists in his Metaphysics that the law of noncontradiction is the most cer- tain of all first principles, the fabric of any significant assertion since any significant assertion can be distinguished from its contradictory. In the East, however, Zen Buddhists tend to view this law as provisional, and this presents formidable barriers to communication with the West. At particular issue is the interpretation of satori, the abrupt and momentary Enlightenment experience within the Rinzai school of Zen. The West can learn much from Zen about the subtleties of unhealthy contradic- tions in consciousness. To this end, satori and the liberation found therein are phe- nomenological facts worthy of the deepest respect by the West. The problem, how- ever, is that satori seems to demand an interpretation that is irrational according to Western canons of rationality. In light of this, the purpose of this paper is to inter- pret satori in a way http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Buddhist-Christian Studies University of Hawai'I Press

Satori: Toward A Conceptual Analysis

Fouts, Avery M.
Buddhist-Christian Studies , Volume 24 – Jan 10, 2005
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16 pages

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Publisher
University of Hawai'I Press
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 The University of Hawai'i Press.
ISSN
1527-9472

Abstract

ESSAYS Avery M. Fouts California Baptist University One of the significant points of division between Zen Buddhism and Western thought is the status of the law of noncontradiction. In the West, no matter what our ontology, we have overwhelmingly regarded this law as indubitable. For example, Aristotle insists in his Metaphysics that the law of noncontradiction is the most cer- tain of all first principles, the fabric of any significant assertion since any significant assertion can be distinguished from its contradictory. In the East, however, Zen Buddhists tend to view this law as provisional, and this presents formidable barriers to communication with the West. At particular issue is the interpretation of satori, the abrupt and momentary Enlightenment experience within the Rinzai school of Zen. The West can learn much from Zen about the subtleties of unhealthy contradic- tions in consciousness. To this end, satori and the liberation found therein are phe- nomenological facts worthy of the deepest respect by the West. The problem, how- ever, is that satori seems to demand an interpretation that is irrational according to Western canons of rationality. In light of this, the purpose of this paper is to inter- pret satori in a way

Journal

Buddhist-Christian Studies – University of Hawai'I Press

Published: Jan 10, 2005

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