Schopenhauer's system of philosophy is presented as a personal and philosophic path to awareness of the relative and ultimate natures of reality relating to phenomenal experience and the thing-in-itself. Relevant topics in Kant are explicated in relation to Schopenhauer's views. A short exposition of the Buddhist paths of Abhidharma and Madhyamaka is also presented, and similarities with Schopenhauer are highlighted. Schopenhauer's system is seen to have more than passing similarity to these Buddhist teachings, especially relating to the two truths of dependent arising and emptiness.
