Numinous Presences in Two Buddhist Sūtras: Toward a Comparative Phenomenology

Experiences of ‘presence’ are common in religion. This essay attempts to approach presence along phenomenological lines, arguing that the pluralism of the phenomena and contexts referred to is not an obstacle to a methodologically open dialogue between different experiences. Despite the impersonalis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Exchange
Main Author: O’Leary, Joseph S. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2017
In: Exchange
RelBib Classification:AA Study of religion
AG Religious life; material religion
BL Buddhism
HA Bible
NBC Doctrine of God
Further subjects:B Phenomenology comparative theology presence Heart Sūtra Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa Sūtra triple body of Buddha
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:Experiences of ‘presence’ are common in religion. This essay attempts to approach presence along phenomenological lines, arguing that the pluralism of the phenomena and contexts referred to is not an obstacle to a methodologically open dialogue between different experiences. Despite the impersonalism of Buddhist conceptions of ultimate reality, personal presences play a considerable role even in two scriptures devoted to evoking this ultimate emptiness. Conversely the vibrant personalism of Biblical presentations of the divine does not exclude the possibility of a Buddhist critique and tempering of them, even if the two styles of approaching ultimate reality cannot be expected to coincide.
ISSN:1572-543X
Contains:In: Exchange
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/1572543X-12341446