Śūnyatā, Postmodern Self, and the Great Satori

Scholarship on the self and its postmodern context has been enjoying much attention through the years. Spanning works in the fields of philosophy (e. g., Mohanty, 2000), psychology (e. g., Gergen, 1990; Gergen, 1991; Stetsenko & Arievitch, 2004), cultural studies (e. g., Kellner, 1988), comparative East-West studies of religions (e. g., Elwood, 2001) and other multidisciplinary intellectual pursuits. Undeniably, therefore, a flowering of disparities is apparent given the array of intellectual, scientific, and technological knowledge available in understanding human existence. Despite these intellectual developments, scientific-academic constructions regarding human nature, whether modern or postmodern, obviously fall short in situating the self, free from conflict. Strands of postmodern thought even account for conflict of both culture and the self. Although much has been said about the necessary idealized virtues and characteristics important for humankind to survive in unity and harmony amidst a diversified global world, the haunting reality persists that conflict is apparent. In its multitudinous forms, conflict creates a breeding ground for hate, prejudice, fear and angst. Where conflict is present; suffering also lingers. Much too often, the experience of suffering is deliberately inflicted on one's self and others, creating much tension within the psychic world of those involved. Despite the need for peace and dialogue, both at an intra-psychic and inter-psychic level, a daunting issue persists, which I would like to argue, is an issue with which the self must contend. Therefore, another way of understanding global conflict is to relegate it to the suffering internal to the self. The paper argues that global conflict ultimately reflects an unresolved conflict within the self, situated in the context of the circumstances brought about by the postmodem condition. The first part of this paper provides a discussion about the experiences of suffering confronting the self in its postmodern context and how these breed into different forms of conflict. The second part argues that suffering can be re-understood through an East-West comparative analysis of the Buddhist notion of S'Enyaid (Emptiness) and Western Postmodernism, in an effort to realize the great Safari (Flash of Enlightenment).