230117: excellent. exactly what I love most in continental philosophy: wide ranging, encompassing, open to many traditions of thought: here mostly Hegel, Heidegger, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Buber, then Zen patriarchs less familiar to the west such as Dogen, Nagarjuna, Basho, Issa. from the beginning errors of Hegel trying to fit Buddhism onto judaeo-christian framework, there is great, perceptive, examination of just how opposing western metaphysics and thought in general, is to zen...
there is religion without god, which Hegel thinks impossible. emptiness, which Hegel decides is god. there are conflicting ideas of how the world is: struggle and striving, vs letting be. there are the 'heroic' pretensions of Heidegger and Nietzsche, vs worlds preceding conceptual thought, just awareness. there is Buber's thinking buddhism is defective because its does not unite human with god in narcissistic manner, vs the more general idea of all 'sentient creatures' heading to enlightenment/liberation, in buddhism...
essential differences see to be best expressed in poems by basho and Issa, quotes by Nietzsche, Heidegger: an attitude toward the world of 'emptiness' vs 'substance', of 'wandering' vs 'dwelling', of 'friendliness' vs 'power'. I much prefer the accepting, open, friendly attitude of zen...
chapter titles are: a religion without god, emptiness, no one, dwelling nowhere, death, friendliness...
concise, encouraging book, does not require more (100 pages), this is long essay, at best. I had asked Spanish man what philosophy he read: gave me this name. this is my favourite so far...
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