Locating the self in kierkegaard and zen

Abstract

In a tale about the Zen master Hakuin and in a passage from Kierkegaard's Concluding Unscientific Postscript, we find curiously similar descriptions as to how the person of faith can respond to even the most demanding tribulations in this life with a sense of complete composure and equanimity. In each case, the response to adversity is rooted in an understanding of the nature of the self, and its relationship to the realms of finitude and ultimacy. A more careful examination of the Kierkegaardian and Buddhist perspectives reveals that these similar practical responses to worldly troubles are based on dramatically different concepts of the self. Kierkegaard locates the self in a subjective space where it is revealed as essentially unique, relational, situated, and valued. This position contrasts sharply with the Buddhist doctrine of anatman, or non-self, viewed both in terms of the early Buddhist annihilationist doctrine and the later Mahayana absolutist positions.