The Silence of God: The Answer of the Buddha (Faith Meets Faith Series) (English and Italian Edition)

In the postmodern world, God is silent, if not dead, and theists and atheists alike grapple everyday with the consequences of this world without God. Panikkar explores Buddhism and the claim that it is an atheistic, or at least a nontheistic, religious tradition, and finds space for God in the silence of the Buddha and his unwillingness to affirm or deny metaphysical doctrines. Cover Half Title Imprint Contents PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION PREFACE TO THE ORIGINAL EDITION INTRODUCTION I THE PROBLEM 1. A CRIME OF LÈSE HUMANITÉ 2. A SURFEIT OF OPINIONS Cynicism Nihilism Agnosticism Pragmatism Problematicism Dialectics Apophaticism 3. BUDDHISM: ATHEISTIC RELIGION The Four Noble Truths The Message of the Buddha II THE TEXTS 4. NAIRATMY AVADA No Permanent Subject The Atman: Not Identifiable Atman: A Mere Name The Reason for the Continuity of Change: No Atman No Subject of Transmigration All Is Transitory 5. NIRVANA Nirvana: What Uniquely Is Nirvana: The Extinction of the Phenomenal Nirvana: The Beginning Nirvana: The End There Are Two Nirvanas Nirvana: Beyond Any Dialectic Four Kinds of Nirvana Nirvana Has neither Subject nor Object 6. PRATITYASAMUTPADA General Formulation A Primordial Law All Things Are Mutually Conditioned Orthodox Viewpoint The Twelve Bonds It Is Impossible to Prevent Things from Dying 7. AVYAK~TAVASTUNI The One Thing Needful True Freedom Is Ineffable No Adequate Response The Typical Buddhistic Calm III INTERPRETATION 8. CHANGE OF HUMAN AWARENESS. THEN AND NOW Atheistic Religion The World The Deity The Human Race The Crisis of Human Consciousness Israel Iran China Greece India The Buddha's Revolution Religious Atheism 9. ONTOLOGICAL APOPHATICISM The Buddha's Position The Current Problematic The God of Being Anthropomorphism Ontomorphism Personalism Deontologization of God Negation of Being: Atheism Negation of Nonbeing: Apophaticism Radical Relativity God and Beings 10. SILENCE OF THE BUDDHA To Dare To Be Silent The Four Noble Truths Text Corollaries The Silence of God The Silence of God in Humankind The Silence of God in God Liberation NOTES BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX OF CONCEPTS INDEX OF NAMES INDEX OF SACRED TEXTS Raimundo Panikkar ; Translated From The Italian By Robert R. Barr. Includes Indexes. Bibliography: P. 237-260.