An Analysis
of the Buddha's
Paradoxical Silence:
Neither the Positive
nor Nihilistic View
Kwangsoo Park1
The ineffable realm is one of the most widely debated topics in the
distinctive religious traditions including Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism,
Christianity, Muslim Mysticism, and other religious traditions. All words,
metaphors, and symbols in Buddhist literature as well as in other religious
literature are the symbolic and metaphoric illustrations that point to what the
ineffable reality is.
The Buddha kept silent when asked some metaphysical questions. The
Buddha's silence becomes the fundamental tradition of Buddhism, and it is a
hot issue in Buddhist Studies. The Buddha's silence would be a way to avoid
either the positive or nihilistic approaches. The Buddha's silent approach
influenced M2dhyamika, Yog2c2ra and in particular, Ch'an Buddhism.
The paradoxical expression ignores the principle of non-contradiction. It
remains as a paradox illustrating the ineffable reality. The paradoxical view
follows some logical procedure: (1) either A or B; (2) neither A nor B; (3)
Kwangsoo Park is a Professor of Department of Won-Buddhism at Wonkwang University, Korea.
This paper was supported by Wonkwang University in 2006.
International Journal of Buddhist Thought & Culture February 2006, Vol.6, pp.243-264.
ⓒ 2006 International Association for Buddhist Thought & Culture
Kwangsoo Park: An Analysis of the Buddha's Paradoxical Silence
244
not neither A nor B. In the positive way, the paradoxical view admits some
validity of the words and metaphors to illustrate the ineffable reality. In
contrast, the paradoxical view admits that words, metaphors, and symbols are
not the perfect tools for illustrating the ineffable realm. Finally, it rejects the
previous formulas and uses the paradoxical logic: not neither A nor B. In this
sense, the paradoxical view is neither the positive view nor the nihilistic view.
It uses some progressive negations of the preceding syllogism in different
perspectives. The Buddha's silence is an example of the paradoxical expression
of the Buddha without relying on words to avoid either Nihilism or
Eternalism.
Key Words: Buddha's silence, Ineffable realm, Paradoxical logic,
Ch'an Buddhism, Nihilism.
I. Preface
The ineffable realm is one of the most widely debated topics in
the distinctive religious traditions including Hinduism, Buddhism,
Taoism, Christianity, Muslim Mysticism, and other religious traditions.
In the Vedic literature, Brahman is described in many different ways.1
The qualities of Brahman is illustrated with the terms nirgu!a and sagu!a
in the bhakti worship. Nirgu!a worship to the Hindu deity ascribes no
form or attributes. On the other hand, sagu!a worship ascribes qualities
to the Hindu deity (Embree, 1988:371). Nirgu!a implies the invaluable
qualities of Brahman beyond conceptualization. The state of non-duality,
in the Upanishads, is the ineffable aspect of the ultimate reality
(Brahman or 2tman) which is expressed with a short passage ‘neti neti’
or ‘not this, not that’. In the Upanishads, mok4a is the state of infinity
that is attained when one comes to know the identity of 2tman and
Brahman and the state of the elimination of all duality.
1 Brahman is illustrated in many ways in the early Hindu literatures as God, Creator, Universal
Being, or Universal Principle: (1) ‘The Lord of Creation’ in the Prasna Upanishad; (2) the source
of all creation without having any human form (Mascaró, 75); (3) In the Katha Upanishads, the
Creator of the Universe, Pure Spirity, and the Truth itself (Mascaró, 65).
International Journal of Buddhist Thought & Culture
245
In Christianity, God is beyond any finite reality including time and
space, verbal expressions, and any logical reasoning. According to Paul
Tillich, “God” in Christianity is revealed through religious symbols. For
this reason, Paul Tillich says “The object of theology is found in the
symbols of religious experience. … Theology, then, is the conceptual
interpretation, explanation, and criticism of the symbols in which a
special encounter between man and God has found expression” (Tillich,
1951:132-33, 196-97, 265ff., 1955:108).
All words, metaphors, and symbols in Buddhist literature as well
as in other religious literature are the symbolic and metaphoric
illustrations that point to what the ineffable reality is. When we follow
the Nihilistic view, there is no other way to illustrate the essential
reality beyond the dichotomic concepts or logical reasoning. Then,
consequently, one should keep silent because neither words nor
reasoning could be applied to illustrate the ineffable realm.
The Buddha kept silent when asked some metaphysical questions.
There are some famous stories about the silence of the Buddha. The
Buddha's silence becomes the fundamental tradition of Buddhism, and it
is a hot issue in Buddhist Studies. T. W. Organ in his “The Silence of