The Tricycle Editors’ Blog Revisits Reincarnation Debate
by Danny Fisher
Stephen Batchelor (left) and Robert Thurman (right) in New York City in 1997. Photo by Tricycle: The Buddhist Review.
Over at the Tricycle Editors’ Blog, the great Phil Ryan revisits a feature from the magazine’s Summer 1997 issue in which Stephen Batchelor and Robert Thurman debated the topic of reincarnation in Buddhism. I remember reading this way back when; it’s a spirited, provocative piece. Take a look–Trike has kindly made the entire piece available online here.
Danny,
Thanks for the link. I’m intrigued by the clumsiness these 2 lights brought to the discussion despite their being better versed (e.g., in Shantideva) than I.
I mean, this is a deep subject being discussed by Deep Men (and no, I’m not being snarky), and while they hit the right points as you’d expect them to do, there’s a certain eloquence to both sides that seems to elude them.
Or is it just me?
Then there’s the regrettable equation of Sartre with nihilsm that Batchelor makes; Sartre’s position is in fact not so far away from Buddhism itself; his concept of “Bad Faith” is very much akin to attachment to one’s self in Buddhism.
Anyhow, maybe I should post a post on reincarnation on my blog.
I’d wager your position on it’s closer to Thurman’s while I’d be a bit more extreme than Batchelor.