"Nada vs sunyata." The Notion of Emptiness in John of the Cross and in Zen Buddhism

It is not seldom that some authors try to compare the doctrine of Zen Buddhism with the doc­trine of Saint John of the Cross with the intention of finding some parallels. The most striking similarity seems to be the term “emptiness” (nada – John of the Cross and sunyata – Zen Buddhism). The difficu...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Rafał Sergiusz Niziński
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin 2022-06-01
Series:Verbum Vitae
Subjects:
Online Access:https://czasopisma.kul.pl/index.php/vv/article/view/13271
_version_ 1818544855151804416
author Rafał Sergiusz Niziński
author_facet Rafał Sergiusz Niziński
author_sort Rafał Sergiusz Niziński
collection DOAJ
description It is not seldom that some authors try to compare the doctrine of Zen Buddhism with the doc­trine of Saint John of the Cross with the intention of finding some parallels. The most striking similarity seems to be the term “emptiness” (nada – John of the Cross and sunyata – Zen Buddhism). The difficulty of the comparison stems from the fact that in both cases this term has an experiential meaning, i.e. it de­scribes subjective feelings one has while following the spiritual path. Therefore, the intent of the paper is to capture the metaphysical and epistemological meaning of this term in order to facilitate the com­parison. This effort has led to the conclusion that in both doctrines the essentially different meaning of emptiness reflects their different understanding of the ultimate reality. Consequently, meditational techniques which both forms of spirituality adopted to achieve the ultimate reality exclude each other, and the semantic proximity of Zen Buddhism and John of the Cross is misleading.
first_indexed 2024-12-11T22:53:54Z
format Article
id doaj.art-5dd76bc10f3d4b3c8f21e666f23dc8b5
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1644-8561
2451-280X
language deu
last_indexed 2024-12-11T22:53:54Z
publishDate 2022-06-01
publisher The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin
record_format Article
series Verbum Vitae
spelling doaj.art-5dd76bc10f3d4b3c8f21e666f23dc8b52022-12-22T00:47:20ZdeuThe John Paul II Catholic University of LublinVerbum Vitae1644-85612451-280X2022-06-0140210.31743/vv.13271"Nada vs sunyata." The Notion of Emptiness in John of the Cross and in Zen BuddhismRafał Sergiusz Niziński0Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu It is not seldom that some authors try to compare the doctrine of Zen Buddhism with the doc­trine of Saint John of the Cross with the intention of finding some parallels. The most striking similarity seems to be the term “emptiness” (nada – John of the Cross and sunyata – Zen Buddhism). The difficulty of the comparison stems from the fact that in both cases this term has an experiential meaning, i.e. it de­scribes subjective feelings one has while following the spiritual path. Therefore, the intent of the paper is to capture the metaphysical and epistemological meaning of this term in order to facilitate the com­parison. This effort has led to the conclusion that in both doctrines the essentially different meaning of emptiness reflects their different understanding of the ultimate reality. Consequently, meditational techniques which both forms of spirituality adopted to achieve the ultimate reality exclude each other, and the semantic proximity of Zen Buddhism and John of the Cross is misleading. https://czasopisma.kul.pl/index.php/vv/article/view/13271Godultimate realitycontemplationnothingnessmystical experienceZen Buddhism
spellingShingle Rafał Sergiusz Niziński
"Nada vs sunyata." The Notion of Emptiness in John of the Cross and in Zen Buddhism
Verbum Vitae
God
ultimate reality
contemplation
nothingness
mystical experience
Zen Buddhism
title "Nada vs sunyata." The Notion of Emptiness in John of the Cross and in Zen Buddhism
title_full "Nada vs sunyata." The Notion of Emptiness in John of the Cross and in Zen Buddhism
title_fullStr "Nada vs sunyata." The Notion of Emptiness in John of the Cross and in Zen Buddhism
title_full_unstemmed "Nada vs sunyata." The Notion of Emptiness in John of the Cross and in Zen Buddhism
title_short "Nada vs sunyata." The Notion of Emptiness in John of the Cross and in Zen Buddhism
title_sort nada vs sunyata the notion of emptiness in john of the cross and in zen buddhism
topic God
ultimate reality
contemplation
nothingness
mystical experience
Zen Buddhism
url https://czasopisma.kul.pl/index.php/vv/article/view/13271
work_keys_str_mv AT rafałsergiusznizinski nadavssunyatathenotionofemptinessinjohnofthecrossandinzenbuddhism