Merleau-Ponty and Buddhism

Jin Y. Park is associate professor of philosophy and religion at American University.Gereon Kopf is associate professor of religion at Luther College.

• Part 1 Introduction: Philosophy, Non-Philosophy, and Comparative Philosophy Part 2 Part One: Body: Self in the Flesh of the World Chapter 3 Chapter 1. Merleau-Pontean "Flesh" and its Buddhist Interpretation Chapter 4 Chapter 2. Merleau-Pontean Body and the Buddhist Theory of Five Skandhas: Yasuo Yuasa's Philosophy of the Body Chapter 5 Chapter 3. How the Tree Sees Me: Sentience and Insentience in Tiantai and Merleau-Ponty Chapter 6 Chapter 4. The Human Body as a Boundary Symbol: A Comparison of Merleau-Ponty and Dogen Part 7 Part Two: Space: Thinking and Being in the Chiasm of Visibility Chapter 8 Chapter 5. The Double: Merleau-Ponty and Chinul on Thinking and Questioning Chapter 9 Chapter 6. The Notion of the "Words that Speak the Truth" in Merleau-Ponty and Shinran Chapter 10 Chapter 7. Self in Space: Nishida Philosophy and Phenomenology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty Chapter 11 Chapter 8. Merleau-Ponty, Cézanne, and the Basho of the Visible Chapter 12 Chapter 9. "Place of Nothingness" and the Dimension of Visibi

Merleau-Ponty and Buddhism is comparative philosophy at its best. The chapter authors clearly and insightfully draw out the resonances (as well as the often equally illuminating contrasts) between this key 20th century phenomenologist and a rich variety of Buddhist figures and schools of thought. Going beyond a simple demarcation of similarities and differences, however, the authors take advantage of the dialogical space opened up as an opportunity to engage in the practice of philosophizing itself, which in this case includes questioning the very nature (and limits) of philosophy as such. Jin Y. Park and Gereon Kopf have done scholars of phenomenology as well as those of Buddhist thought a great service in assembling and co-authoring this volume, which is bound to leave a positive and lasting impact on both fields.