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Nothing Transcended Nothing Transcended An examination of the metaphysical implications of interdependence Justin Shimeld, BA (Hons) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Tasmania April 2012 This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for a degree or diploma by the University or any other institution, except by way of background information and duly acknowledged in the thesis, and to the best of the my knowledge and belief no material previously published or written by another person except where due acknowledgement is made in the text of the thesis, nor does the thesis contain any material that infringes copyright. Signed: Date: Justin Shimeld 2 This thesis may be made available for loan and limited copying in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisors for all their help and support - Jeff Malpas for his feedback and insightful suggestions, Wayne Hudson for helping me to find my way and Sonam Thakchoe for all his time and wisdom. It was Sonam’s presence and attitude which inspired me to look further into Buddhism and to investigate a way out of the ‘nihilism’ of my Honours project – research which became the foundation of this thesis. I would also like to thank my two anonymous examiners for their helpful comments. A special thanks to David O’Brien, a master whose interests and drive for knowledge are unbound by any field. He has taught me so much and also read my draft, giving invaluable feedback, particularly, with regard to my use of commas, grammatical clarification! I am indebted to my friends and colleagues at the School of Philosophy at UTas who created a rich atmosphere provoking thought across diverse subjects, through papers, seminars and conversations. To Ben Cook and Cullan Joyce for their friendship and making our time in ‘The Silencium’ vibrant and enjoyable. Special thanks to James Stewart for his friendship and comments on my draft chapters. This thesis would not have been possible without the encouragement and support of my parents, Sonia and Peter, who are also PhD candidates (though all of us in different fields). I trust their respective theses will soon be complete and that our eclectic interests will continue to converge. Most importantly I must thank Anna, who has shared these PhD years with me – for her love, understanding and patience. She has been a springboard for so many ideas and I hope she is pleased with the result (even if it puts her to sleep). This thesis draws upon the work of many great thinkers, scholars and academics – where any mistakes occur they are my own. I offer this thesis as some small contribution. May all find wisdom and peace. 4 Abstract Recent debate has questioned the validity of Zen as a school of Buddhism, claiming that the characteristic justification of apparently immoral acts by ‘enlightened’ individuals cannot be reconciled with the Buddhist eight-fold path, which emphasises ‘right’ actions and states of mind. To simply dismiss Zen as deviant, however, ignores the ramifications of this problem for Buddhists more widely and overlooks parallels with the contemporary problem of nihilism. This thesis investigates the philosophical ground of the ‘Zen moral problem’ in ‘emptiness’ (śūnyatā ), through the construction of a metaphysical framework based upon the related Mahāyāna Buddhist principle: ‘interdependence’ (pratītyasamutpāda ). In order to critique the validity of Zen as philosophy, I am guided by the goal of the Buddhist soteriological project; the promise of enlightenment in order to overcome the experience of suffering. If a framework built up from base principles of Zen thought is capable of explaining and maintaining the Buddhist goal, then we must still determine how the moral problem arises. It is important to note that this thesis does not represent a Buddhist position, in a textual sense; instead it is a philosophical examination of Buddhist principles – addressing the problems that motivated specific historical positions. Rather than an analysis of these historical positions as such, the current work takes them as responses to a common concern, and makes use of them as critical examples. To this end the metaphysical framework developed here is used to analyse those foundations in contemporary thought which give rise to the moral problem. 5 Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 8 The Zen Moral Problem ........................................................................................................ 10 Metaphysical Method .......................................................................................................... 14 Thesis Outline ....................................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 1: Nihilism ......................................................................................................... 24 Nihilist Existenz .................................................................................................................... 28 Sūnyatá ................................................................................................................................. 38 The Great Doubt ................................................................................................................... 52 Chapter 2: Transcendence .............................................................................................. 58 Zen Amorality ....................................................................................................................... 60 The Buddhist Soteriological Project ..................................................................................... 72 Daoist Naturalism ................................................................................................................. 81 Metaphysics of the Four Noble Truths ................................................................................. 94 Chapter 3: Interdependent Entities ............................................................................... 101 Nāgārjuna’s Dependent Origination .................................................................................. 104 Metaphysical Framework ................................................................................................... 116 Bootstrap Universe ............................................................................................................. 133 Chapter 4: Interdependent Minds ................................................................................. 143 The Nature of Mind ............................................................................................................ 144 Groundlessness .................................................................................................................. 166 Inverted Metaphysics ......................................................................................................... 177 Chapter 5: Interpenetration .......................................................................................... 183 The Problem of Ignorance .................................................................................................. 186 Dōgen’s Metaphysics ......................................................................................................... 194 An empty Buddha-Nature .................................................................................................. 204 Flowers in the Sky............................................................................................................... 211 6 Chapter 6: Moral Implications....................................................................................... 217 Nansen’s Cat ....................................................................................................................... 219 No-Mind ............................................................................................................................. 224 The Arising of Compassion ................................................................................................. 234 Meta-Moral Principles ........................................................................................................ 243 Chapter 7: Practical Application .................................................................................... 257 Way of the Demon ............................................................................................................. 260 The Martial Art ................................................................................................................... 270 Formlessness ...................................................................................................................... 282 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 296 Bibliography ................................................................................................................. 306 7 Introduction The mind should be neither solemn nor agitated, neither pensive nor fearful; it should be straight and ample. This is the state of mind that should be sought after. The will should not be heavy, but the depth of one’s awareness should be; in this way you make your mind like water that reacts appropriately to shifting situations. Whether it is a drop or an ocean with
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