In his discussion of karma, Abe states "that the Buddhist notion of karma . . . does not imply an exclusively individualistic view of karma." (26) He further notes that "the Buddhist view of karma is ultimately rooted in avidyā--that is, of emptiness and suchness, resulting in not recognizing the impermanency of worldly things and tenaciously clinging to them as final reality." (27) This implies that the self-binding character of karma results precisely from failing to recognize the dynamic interdependence of all things; that is, from our tendency to substantialize things, including our own ego. Far from being individualistic then, the Zen doctrine of karma can be seen as pointing out the fruitlessness of creative action as long as we act in ways that are based upon a substantializing of individual things. Seen this way, the doctrine of karma is meant to diagnose the individualism that prevents us from recognizing the interdependence and unsubstantiality of all things. Further, the release from karma, in the attainment of nirvana, signifies the escape from the fundamental ignorance that causes us to see ourselves and our actions as separate from the lives of others. As Abe states it, "only when this fundamental ignorance is overcome and the self-centeredness involved in karma is broken, can one awaken to the true nature of things."(28)

We might note here also that once the interdependence of all reality is accepted, it entails that even the interdependence of saṃsāra and nirvana must be realized as well. To take the experience of nirvana as independent of the world of saṃsāra would be to substantialize the nirvanic experience itself. In this regard Abe states that:

If one abides in so-called nirvana by transcending samsara, one is not yet free from attachment, namely, attachment to nirvana itself. Being confined by the discrimination between nirvana and samsara, one is still selfishly concerned with his own salvation, forgetting the suffering of others in samsara. In nirvana one may be liberated from the dualities of birth and death, right and wrong, good and evil, etc. But even then one is not liberated from a higher-level duality, i.e., the duality of samsara and nirvana, or the duality of the secular and the sacred. (29)

The dynamic interdependence of all things spoken of by Abe entails that the experience of nirvana must take place within, and in relation, to the world of saṃsāra.

Further, once we begin with the notion the interdependence of all things, we can see that there is a collective aspect to karma. Because our lives and actions are also always interconnected with the lives and actions of others in dynamic interrelations it is impossible to disassociate our own actions and their effects from those of others. Karma is thus an intrinsically social concept, since it implies that we must recognize the manner in which all persons affect the lives of others due to the interconnectedness of all reality. The doctrine of karma would, on this reading, lead naturally to the development of a positive social philosophy since it highlights the manner in which all lives and actions are interconnected. Overcoming our ignorance of the true nature of reality would involve becoming clear about the specific ways in which the personal, political, social, and economical are related in a dynamic fashion. Nor could one take a deterministic view about the situation of individuals within society since the collective aspect of karma entails that we are all responsible for the situation of others due to this ultimate, underlying interdependence.

To summarize, I think that if we begin our treatment of Buddhism, as Abe does, with the notion of śūnyatā that accents the dynamic interdependence of all things, then we can interpret certain other Buddhist concepts in ways that allow for the positive development of a Buddhist social philosophy. More specifically, I argued that doing so results in a non-individualistic reading of the doctrines of karma and nirvana. A recognition of the collective aspect of karma and the ignorance that prevents us from seeing the dynamic interdependence of all things would lead to a diagnosis of the specific ways in which our lives are connected to others within the social sphere and how our actions effect their lives. The attainment of nirvana and the escape from the bonds of karma would then be seen not as an individual's escape from the ordinary world, but as the realization of this interconnectedness that would allow persons to overcome self-interested behavior and to work creatively within the world of samsāra.

A second hermeneutic strategy adopted by Abe turns on the place that is given to nirvana and śūnyatā in the Buddhist's life scheme. We noted that typically the attainment of nirvana and the realization of śūnyatā have been taken as the goal or end of Buddhist action and reflection. And we also saw that difficulties arise concerning the viability of a possible Buddhist social ethic when they are treated in this manner because it seems to necessarily lead to an abandonment, both practically and conceptually, of the realities and exigencies of the social world. As such, in order to recover the social force of Buddhism, Abe accents that we must interpret the attainment of nirvana and the realization of śūnyatā not as the goal or end of Buddhism, but as the ground of Buddhist life. Abe states that "śūnyatā or nirvana should not be understood as a goal or end to be attained in Buddhist life, but as the ground or the point of departure from which Buddhist life and activity can properly begin."(30) We must now examine how this change of perspective might allow for the development of a concrete Buddhist social ethic.