Why nothing excludes anything in Tiantai Buddhist thought…

In this interview, I discuss Tiantai Buddhism with Brook Ziporyn, Mircea Eliade Professor of Chinese Religion, Philosophy, and Comparative Thought at the University of Chicago. We discuss why Tiantai is less well-known in the US compared to other Buddhist philosophical traditions alongside some of the factors that went into the development of this genuinely distinct philosophical presentation of Buddhist thought.

We explore themes from Professor Ziporyn’s book Emptiness and Omnipresence. He discusses several parables from Buddhist phillosophy including a couple from the Lotus Sutra. We talk about the very unique and distinct movement from the two truths as characterized in Mahayana and Madhyamika, to the three truths as articulated by Zhiyi in Tiantai philosophy. This leads us to how delusion is included in enlightenment. I hope you enjoy the talk, I know I did!