Wendi L. ADAMEK is a professor in the Department of Classics and Religion at the University of Calgary and holder of the Numata Chair in Buddhist Studies.
關鍵詞
kanhwa; existentialism; ambiguity; Chan; Sŏn; Simone de Beauvoir
摘要
In this paper I explore resonances and disparities between “doubt” (yi 疑) as evoked in the dialectic of Chan “examining the topic” (kanhua 看話, Kor. kanhwa) practice, and the phenomenology of ambiguity that Simone de Beauvoir (1908–1986) explored in her early work The Ethics of Ambiguity. I take de Beauvoir as a voice from the turning point into modernity, and amplify its resonance with voices from the Chan/Sŏn tradition. Comparing the challenges de Beauvoir articulates with perspectives from Chan, I engage with the following perennially irresolvable postmodern questions: How might authentic grounding for ethical practice be argued while eschewing dualistic and objectifying universal propositions? Is it possible or desirable to be completely free from existential ambiguity and doubt in the world of consequential action? Or does one at best become free to make choices whose degree of skillfulness depends on the extent to which one recognizes the infinite tension of ambiguity?
目次
Abstract Introduction 129 Phenomenology and Buddhist Resonances 130 De Beauvoir and Existential Ambiguity 135 Chan/Sŏn Practice of Doubt 142 De Beauvoir on Others, Action, and Violence 150 Conclusions 159 References 163
