Bodhi tree "criticizing Buddhism" storm -- Juequn Buddhist Translation Series

Author: (USA) Hoba, (USA) Snellen, edited by Gong Jun, translated by others
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: This book is divided into three parts. Part "Critique of the Nature and Origin of Buddhism," primarily explores the essence of critical Buddhist thought and its historical context. Paul Swanson's article "Why They Say Zen Is Not Buddhism" provides a detailed overview of the views of scholars such as Katsura and Matsumoto on critical Buddhism and the impact of their works in academic and sectarian circles. His conclusion is that critical Buddhism encompasses at least three levels of critique: philosophical, sectarian, and social. Dan Lusthaus, in his paper "Critical Buddhism and Return to the Source," employs a broader historical perspective to interpret critical Buddhism as an inevitable phenomenon of historical development and views it as an extension (or repetition) of debates on the concept of Tathagatagarbha since ancient times. In his article "Critical Philosophy Against Situational Philosophy," Katsura borrows the critical methodology of Descartes (Rene Descartes) in the history of Western philosophy and the emphasis on rhetoric by Giambattista Vico to explain the opposition between critical philosophy and situational philosophy. He criticizes Japan's recent preference for situational philosophy as a form of intellectual illness. He points out that the main danger of this illness lies in "using the voice of authority to promote one's own rhetoric." Katsura also questions whether he himself has employed the voice of authority in his writings. In my own paper "Aversion to Situational Philosophy," I attempt to clarify Katsura's critique of "situational philosophy." I examine the original meaning of the concept of "place" from various perspectives, including Aristotle's logical treatises, the thought of Giambattista Vico, the ideas of the major eighteenth-century situational philosophers criticized by Katsura, and the ideological aspects of certain East Asian traditions, such as Taoism and the Japanese philosophy of "wa," which Katsura attacks as embodying consistency or conformity.