Philosophize This! Episode #235 ... The Philosophy of Zen Buddhism - Byung Chul Han
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Sep 4, 2025 Explore the intriguing critique of modern Western ideals that contribute to isolation and burnout. Discover how Zen Buddhism offers a refreshing perspective on interdependence and emptiness, challenging the notion of a fixed self. Delve into the Zen view of identity, where mindfulness and the acceptance of life's transient nature take center stage. By engaging with the works of Byung-Chul Han, listeners are invited to rethink their approach to existence and embrace a more present-focused way of living.
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Neoliberal Self-As-Enterprise
- Byung-Chul Han links neoliberal self-optimization to a transformed Western subjectivity that fuels burnout and narcissism.
- He argues the shift to self-as-enterprise makes life an endless project of value-production rather than shared meaning.
Immanence Over Transcendence
- Han reframes Zen as a religion without a transcendent god that completes experience.
- Zen claims everyday experience is already complete and doesn't need an external absolute to confer meaning.
Three Pounds Of Flax
- West retells Master Dungshan's koan where a monk asks "What is the Buddha?" and the master replies "Three pounds of flax."
- The answer aims to show enlightenment is present in mundane immediacy, not a hidden metaphysical being.
