Similarities Between Sartre

Tang Fanshu

◆Abstract：In a turbulent social context， existentialism was born in the West， while Zen thought spread in the East. Although they are products of different periods， many similarities have been found in the comparison between Sartre's existentialism and Chinese Zen. Their common ground that arises in so many variables may be the core ideas of mankind， which are positive ideas for the past， present， and future. This article makes a comparative analysis of Sartre's existential philosophy and Chinese Zen thought， briefly describing the common points of them.

◆Keywords：Sartre; Existentialism; Chinese Zen.

Existentialism is one of the main schools of modern Western philosophy in the 20th century， emphasizing individuality， independence and subjective experience. Sartre inherited and developed the philosophy of existentialism under the influence of Kierkegaard， Nietzsche， Husserl and Heidegger. He became a master of existential philosophy. "Existence precedes essence." was the starting point of his existential philosophy. He believed that human nature was not possessed at the beginning. Only after accidental existence， people establish essence through their own actions （Webber， 2018）.

Zen began in the Wei， Jin， and the Northern and Southern Dynasties of China. During the war years， people were confused and panicked， so Zen began to take root in China. Subsequently， Zen merged with Chinese Confucian and Taoist ideas， it gradually forming with Chinese characteristics （Pan， 2000）. The core of Chinese Zen thought is the self-nature and mind， that is， to regard one's own inner heart as the essence， and to convey one's mind to another's mind， integrated with nature. The ultimate state of self-exploration and returning to self is the Buddhahood （Fang， 1995b）.

Sartre's existentialism is an irrational nihilism， having many overlaps with the Chinese Zen ideology that emphasizes "people's self-nature". This article compares Sartre's existentialism with Chinese Zen thoughts and explains the similarities between them.

Chapter 1 Existence and Essence

Exploring the relationship between existence and essence is the core content of these two types of philosophical thinking. Both of them believe that the material world is given meaning by the inner world， and the inner world cannot be separated from the outer world. It means that existence and essence are interactive and indispensable.

Sartre （1943） believed that existence precedes essence. He distinguished existence into two types： “being-in-itself” and “being-for-itself”. "Being-in-itself" refers to something beyond consciousness， which is an absolute existence. However， it cannot be truly recognized but can only be approximated by human being， accidental， aimless， having no meaning in itself. Therefore， the world is alien and absurd. "Being-for-itself" refers to the existence intended by the conscious activity， the existence of human consciousness， the peculiarly human kind of reality. Humans bring nothingness to the world and constantly achieve self-transcendence （Sartre， 1943）. In short， human consciousness cannot be separated from the material world， and the material world is valued by human consciousness. Consciousness realizes self-transcendence in the process of constantly making the world nihilistic. The material world， including the existence of human beings， is unreasonable and accidental. Therefore， people must bravely face the absurd world and obtain essence with their own consciousness and actions.

Extremely similarly， Chinese Zen believes that the existence of all things in the world is based on the existence and activity of the "mind" as the starting point and destination. The meaning of the material world depends on people's thinking. In Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch， there is a famous controversy. Two monks were arguing under the flagpole whether it was "wind moving" or "streamer moving". The Sixth Patriarch Hui-Neng， however， told them that it was "mind moving" （Hui-Neng， 2005）. It can be seen that in Zen Buddhism thinking， all substances are vanity. Humans minds have given those substances value， which is very similar to Sartre's self-making nihilism. Moreover， Zen Buddhism believes that the Buddha is in everyones heart， while the ideal is in reality （Fang， 1995a）. As a result， it opposes to abandon reality， requiring to discover the meaning of transcendence in daily life and realize the ideal spiritual realm. This is similar to Sartre's belief that human consciousness cannot be transcended without the external world.

Chapter 2 Sartre's "Reflection" and Zens "Self-thinking"

Sartre's existentialism and Chinese Zen are not only similar in the relationship between the external world and internal consciousness， but also in the formation of consciousness. It is reflected in the “reflection” of Sartre and the “self-thinking” of Zen.

Sartre （1931） divided human consciousness into two levels. The first level is "pre-reflective consciousness"， or “non-reflective consciousness”， pure， nihilistic consciousness. In short， this kind of consciousness is purely about an event， not self. The second level is “reflective-consciousness"， that is， the consciousness of people thinking about themselves or the events they participate in. It is a reflection of pre-reflective consciousness （Sartre， 1931）. Pre-reflective consciousness is a pure consciousness of the relational structure of objects. It does not directly face external substances or image consciousness， just some kind of prescriptive pure consciousness （Webber， 2018）. The pre-reflective consciousness can be transformed into an imaginary knowledge or a reflective consciousness. Generally speaking， human consciousness is from nothingness to the outside world， to inner pre-reflective consciousness， and then to reflection on pre-reflective consciousness.

Compared to Sartre's reflection， Zen is about "Wu"， that is， “self-thinking”. Coincidentally， Zen has "three realms of meditation". In the first realm， at the beginning of meditation， people see mountains as mountains and water as water; In the second realm， with epiphany， they see mountains is not mountains， seeing water is not water; In the third realm， people are fully awakened， seeing mountains is still mountains， seeing water is still water （Fang， 2007）. The three abstract realms are the process from reality to virtuality， and then to the combination of virtuality and reality. Starting from understanding matter， gradually exploring the self-consciousness， people finally understand the truth of life and realize self-transcendence. Zen's "self-thinking" has much in common with Sartre's "reflection". Both of them assert that peoples consciousness should be internalized through external knowledge and finally surpasses by self-reflection.

Chapter 3 Freedom

In addition to the similarities between the two philosophies on consciousness， their views on human behavior also have something in common， which is largely reflected in the views of freedom of human behavior. Sartre believed that people have absolute freedom， while Chinese Zen Buddhism also emphasizes human freedom.

First， Sartre believed that there was no God who designed humanity， and that no divine provisions must be observed （Baldwin， 1986）. Zen emphasizes becoming a Buddha， but Buddha is not God. Instead， it is the humans “self-nature”. Buddha is born from ones original mind， which means his own soul creates the Buddha， and his own nature is the Buddha. Hui-Neng preached， "I have a Buddha in my mind， and therefore I am a true Buddha" （Fang， 2007）. Hui-Neng meant that becoming a Buddha is not changing into another kind of Buddha body. The Buddha is the embodiment of the original soul， mind， personality and self-nature. He is the person who finds self-nature and follows nature. Hence there is no personality god who is external to all beings or has infinite mana in Zen Buddhism.

Second， Sartre believed that the world was absurd， so there was no objective substance to constrain people's free choices. Frederick C. Copleston （1948）， the writer of History of Philosophy， argues that “existentialism is the doctrine that man is free and that what he makes of himself depends on himself， on his free choices”. There is no universal humanity， the essence of human is determined and created by himself. Zen also believes that the world is void and that the self-nature is valuable. The self-nature is the natural state of man， the most essential and free state. Pursuing such a state can become a Buddha （Pi， 2001）. This kind of state is summarized in Zen Buddhism as "eating when you are hungry and sleeping when you are sleepy". It is the most natural and free form that is not trapped by external objects and not eroded by desire.

Third， from Sartres point of view， the greatest unfreedom of man is the absolute freedom that cannot be avoided. Because people inevitably continue to make choices， they must be responsible for the choices they make （Webber， 2018）. Philosophy professor Liu Qing （2014） gave an example： Nazi officer Eichmann believed that he had merely obeyed the military order and had no choice but to commit a crime. Sartre， however， believed that Eichmann had the ability to choose freely. He could choose to escape， rebel， or commit suicide. Therefore， Eichmann was just unwilling to take responsibility for his choice， which could not be the excuse for his murder. Freedom of existentialism bears many responsibilities. In comparison， Zens view of freedom is more positive. It emphasizes that as long as one conforms to nature and explores the essence of the self-nature indefinitely， "tathatā" can be achieved in the end. "Tathatā" means unlimited joy， unlimited freedom， and unlimited responsibility （Bownas， 1956）. But the monks are not afraid of responsibility because unlimited responsibility means the highest joy， and the burden no longer exists. Although on the third point， Zen shows the more optimistic outlook than Sartre's existentialism. But in general， both are the pursuit and guidance of infinite freedom and human happiness.

Chapter 4 Conclusion

During the period of social turmoil， existentialism emerged in the West， while Zen thought spread widely in the East. Human beings always look into their own minds in the midst of sufferings， seeking peace from the pain. Consequently， Sartre's existentialism and Chinese Zen thought have so much in common. These similarities may be common to human beings. Because humans longing for freedom and love for life are regardless of time and region.

Since it is a common idea， it tends to be applicable in the present. In modern society， wars and revolutions might be reduced， but peoples sufferings have not decreased. The economy is developing rapidly and material life is becoming richer and richer. People's desires are subsequently increasing. The expanding desire has led to the emergence of some extreme utilitarian values， which has caused many psychological problems. Especially young people in the contemporary world are more and more vulnerable to distorted utilitarian values， beginning to suffer from psychological problems such as anxiety and depression. The psychological state of pursuing fame and fortune has a great contradiction with Sartre's existentialism and Chinese Zen thought. Even for a materialist country like China， it is clear that the pressure brought by extreme materialism or radical utilitarianism must be criticized. Sartres existential philosophy， or Chinese Zen thought， has extended a new attitude to life in the material world. Humans can have free will， having the right to reject the material torrent， having the ability to resist the pain of desires. This kind of attitude towards life not only brings comfort to the ancients， but also brings a certain positive impact on the modern. Of course， these two ideas also have negative aspects， such as being too indifferent to external objects. People should balance their desires and mentality， aggressive but not utilitarian， freely making choices but still maintaining a sense of morality and responsibility.

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