Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Abolish Work · 07-28-2001, 05:43 PM

Hi, I've been lurking here for a long time and I need to ask a question about something that's been bugging me for a while. I have heard a lot of people assert that Existentialism is the western equivalent of Zen buddhism. As of right now, I don't have a very deep understanding of either, but I am working on it. But after thinking about it for a while, I can't see many parallels. The biggest one I could think of was that both of them deal heavily with suffering. However this seems to be fairly superficial. Does anyone know any other similarities?

jpbrooks · 07-28-2001, 08:21 PM

Hello, Abolish Work.

I'm certainly no expert on these philosophies, but I do know that both Zen and Existentialism deal with the concept of "nothingness", and emphasize the significance of consciousness in philosophy.
But that's about all I know at this point.

[ July 28, 2001: Message edited by: jpbrooks ]

telemachus · 07-29-2001, 02:15 AM

Abolish Work:

I suggest you take a look at these links:

Existentialism;

Zen.

There are plenty of others available, depending on how much depth you want to go into.

Please don't hesitate to ask further questions.

07-28-2001, 05:43 PM	#1
Abolish Work Regular Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 169	Zen And Existentialism Hi, I've been lurking here for a long time and I need to ask a question about something that's been bugging me for a while. I have heard a lot of people assert that Existentialism is the western equivalent of Zen buddhism. As of right now, I don't have a very deep understanding of either, but I am working on it. But after thinking about it for a while, I can't see many parallels. The biggest one I could think of was that both of them deal heavily with suffering. However this seems to be fairly superficial. Does anyone know any other similarities?

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07-28-2001, 08:21 PM	#2
jpbrooks Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Chicago Posts: 774	Hello, Abolish Work. I'm certainly no expert on these philosophies, but I do know that both Zen and Existentialism deal with the concept of "nothingness", and emphasize the significance of consciousness in philosophy. But that's about all I know at this point. [ July 28, 2001: Message edited by: jpbrooks ]

07-29-2001, 02:15 AM	#3
telemachus Regular Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Far away from IIDB Posts: 218	Abolish Work: I suggest you take a look at these links: Existentialism; Zen. There are plenty of others available, depending on how much depth you want to go into. Please don't hesitate to ask further questions.

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