Kierkegaardian Irony in Chan Buddhism: Playful Enactment in Ritual Encounters from a Cross-cultural Perspective

Abstract

This essay establishes a cross-cultural comparison between Kierkegaard's ironist and the figure of the Chan master, with specific reference to Kierkegaard's dissertation The Concept of Irony and the renowned gongan collection Blue Cliff Record (Biyan lu 碧巖錄). The main thesis is that the comparison makes explicit significant aspects of Chan orthopraxis, since Chan masters, as presented in the Blue Cliff Record, exemplify Kierkegaard's portrayal of the ironist. In particular, these aspects pertain to the progressive detachment from the discriminating action of karmic consciousness and self-centered thinking, toward the cultivation of a selfless stance. The first section focuses on Kierkegaard's ironist. The following sections analyze relevant gongan narratives from the Blue Cliff Record with the purpose of expounding on the relation between performative irony and the discriminating mind, playfulness, and selflessness. The final section considers the major incommensurable differences that mark the present cross-cultural dialogue.