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ID: 638 / 290: 1 Open Free Individual Submissions Keywords: Heidegger ;“tree” ;Buddhist thought ;“illusory flower in the sky” ;being
“Tree” and “Illusory Flower in the Sky” - A Comparison of Images in Heidegger's and Buddhist Discourses on “Being”
Yakun Liang
Shanxi University, China, People's Republic of
Heidegger used the image of "tree" many times in his series of works to discuss "being". In Buddhism, there is also "Aranya" (i.e., forest), and the image of "illusory flower in the sky" (i.e., illusory flower in the sky) is used to discuss the basic tenets such as "dependent origination and emptiness of nature". Through the comparison of the images of "tree" and "illusory flower in the sky", we try to explore the possibility of a deep dialogue between Heidegger and Buddhist thought and enrich the common expressions in Eastern and Western philosophical thoughts.Heidegger's "nothingness" is the negation of being. In Buddhism, after negating "existence" (i.e., "nothingness"), there is further negation of negation. In short, the essence of Heidegger's "nothingness" is a kind of being. In Buddhism, such an existence of "nothingness" is negated and based on the negation of "existence" and the negation of "existence" (i.e., "nothingness") - "dependent origination and emptiness of nature" and "sentient beings have come from beginningless time". Heidegger believes that "nothing (Nichts) is never nothing at all. It is also not something in the sense of an object. Nothing is being itself." And the "beginningless" beginning in "sentient beings have come from beginningless time" in Buddhism is exactly an intertextual manifestation. "Being is the foundation of beings," and "beginningless" is the way sentient beings come. "Nothingness" and "dependent origination and emptiness of nature" are a kind of "stopping," stopping the infinite questioning of the origin and the dilemma of continuous negation and negation of negation of oneself, finding a definite meaning base and "stopping," avoiding falling into nihilism and agnosticism.Although "tree" is not directly discussed in the content of "Holzwege", the title of "Holzwege" and the philosophical reflection on the forest path at the beginning of the book. In Sanskrit, "Aranya" originally means "forest, woods," and is freely translated as "quiet place," "place without disputes." Heidegger defined "the being of Dasein" or "the existential structure of Dasein" as "care" (Sorge). There is great similarity between the existential structure "care" (Sorge) of Dasein and "klesa" (affliction, delusion) in Buddhism. And Heidegger's "nothingness is the complete negation of all beings." After negating "care," nothingness can remove "obscuration" and become clear. Isn't it also a kind of clarity to practice in "Aranya" and get rid of "care" to reach the state of "no disputes"? From this perspective, Heidegger's "Holzwege" has something in common in spiritual core with "Aranya" and "bodhi tree" in Buddhism.