Flight: An Existential Conception of Buddhism

by Stephen Batchelor

A concise discussion of the similarities between eastern and western thought on flight, refuge, and return. Batchelor starts with a description of the existentialist conception of Flight (as described by Heidegger and Sartre) as state of being arising from our anxiety towards our death; this escape mechanism drives us away from awareness of our Being and into the labyrinth of particular entities. He argues that this forms the allegorical substance of the story of the Siddartha's path to enlightenment, and thereby provides a bridge for the western thinker to cross over towards the wisdom of the Dharma.

Genres: Philosophy

51 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Patrick Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though more a pamphlet than a book, this brief guide tries to unify certain Existentialist concepts (Flight, anxiety, fallenness, inauthenticity) with their counterparts in Buddhist thought - and more broadly to argue for an Existentialist approach to Buddhism. It's not entirely clear whether he is trying to persuade Buddhists or existentialists of the wisdom of their counterparts, however. His outline of our flight from the anxiety of death into the shimmering, distracting maze of the particular is refreshingly perspicuous, not to mention concise. And I think he makes a powerful case that the allegorical underpinnings of story of Siddartha is meant to be a narrative depiction of this ontological discovery (at least in so far as I understand it, which is not very far).

However, his argument that the Buddhism presents an answer to this conundrum is pretty much unintelligible to the uninitiated; the clarity of his discussion comes to an abrupt and unfortunate halt. That being said, for an existentialist disposed to pursue eastern thought, Batchelor is an thoroughly winsome guide. A warm helping hand on the slippery slopes to enlightenment.