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4Suna no Bi 砂の美. A critical appreciation of sand in Japanese karesansui 枯山水 gardensRivista di Estetica 80 30-47. 2022.The paper offers a critical appreciation of sand in the Japanese tradition of karesansui 枯山水gardens. At first, sand is approached from a phenomenological standpoint, then described in relation to the Daoist ideals of “blandness” (dan 淡) and its original function in Shinto shrines. The following sections draw an East-West comparison between the sand garden at Ginkaku-ji 銀閣寺 and the sand sculptures by the Basque artist Andoni Bastarrika, and between the sand garden at Shisen-dō 詩仙堂 and the Renaiss…Read more
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71Towards a Universal Eudaimonism? Aristippus and Zhuangzi on Play, Dependence and the Good LifeTropos. Journal of Hermeneutics and Philosophical Criticism 14 (2): 75-103. 2023.The article explores similarities between the philosophies of Zhuangzi and Aristippus, focusing in particular on play and eudaimonism. The main thesis is that both authors encourage the cultivation of a playful mindset, defined in the paper as the “ludic self”, which operates as a strategy for leading a flourishing life. By shaping a fluid, unstructured identity, the ludic self promotes negative subtraction from the structuring power of social nexus and proactive adaptation to shifting circumsta…Read more
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Scolding the Buddhas, abusing the patriarchs : an outlook on the subversive hermeneutics of Chan, through case four of the Blue cliff recordIn Hans-Georg Moeller & Andrew K. Whitehead (eds.), Critique, subversion, and Chinese philosophy: socio-political, conceptual, and methodological challenges, Bloomsbury Academic. 2020.
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15Kierkegaardian Irony in Chan Buddhism: Playful Enactment in Ritual Encounters from a Cross-cultural PerspectivePhilosophy East and West 72 (3): 648-670. 2022.Abstract:This essay establishes a cross-cultural comparison between Kierkegaard's ironist and the figure of the Chan master, with specific reference to Kierkegaard's dissertation The Concept of Irony and the renowned gongan collection Blue Cliff Record (Biyan lu 碧巖錄). The main thesis is that the comparison makes explicit significant aspects of Chan orthopraxis, since Chan masters, as presented in the Blue Cliff Record, exemplify Kierkegaard's portrayal of the ironist. In particular, these aspect…Read more
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9I flauti del cielo. Quattro divagazioni sul tema della filosofia comparataMimesis Edizioni. 2020.Non una pacifica esplorazione ma un’avanscoperta bellicosa, in sardonica guerrilla con alcuni baluardi della tradizione filosofica occidentale: le leggi e il linguaggio della metafisica, la concezione stabile e unitaria dell'identità personale, il modello tragico della volontà, il pregiudizio antropocentrico e l’asservimento della natura al dominio della tecnica. Senza la pretesa di comporre un discorso esaustivo o sistematico, Capra recupera soprattutto Nietzsche e il Wittgenstein delle Ricerch…Read more
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11Review: John Sallis’ Songs of Nature, on Paintings: by Cao Jun, Indiana University Press Bloomington, 2020, 128 pp., $25.00 (Paperback), ISBN-10: 0253046610 ISBN-13: 978-0253046611 (review)Journal of Aesthetics and Phenomenology 7 (2): 173-175. 2020.John Sallis’ new work, Songs of Nature, On Paintings by Cao Jun, the latest volume in his Collected Writings, presents an intriguing retrospective dedicated to one...
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11Scolding the Buddhas, Abusing the Patriarchs: An Outlook on the Subversive Hermeneutics of Chan, through Case Four of the Blue Cliff RecordIn Hans Georg Moeller & Andrew K. Whitehead (eds.), Critique, Subversion, and Chinese Philosophy. Sociopolitical, Conceptual, and Methodological Challenges. pp. 77-86. 2021.The pedagogy of Chan Buddhism relies on a binary trend: on the one hand, it requires careful study and active participation in formalized rituals and ceremonies; on the other hand, it requires the simultaneous emancipation from such means and practices, since the transmission of the truth has the character of suddenness and immediacy. In other words, the subversion of standard doctrinal interpretations and ordinary pedagogical strategies is itself an essential part of Chan training. This chapter…Read more
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10Raising Questions, Cutting Fingers: Chan Buddhism and the Cultivation of Creativity through Ritual DialoguesCulture and Dialogue 7 (1): 31-45. 2019.The present paper identifies creativity as a crucial component in the pedagogical process envisaged by Chan masters in the Song era. In particular, the paper considers ritual dialogues between masters and students involving questions and answers taken from the renowned collection known as the Blue Cliff Record. The first section is concerned with the definition of creativity and its role within the contextual framework of Chan pedagogy in the Song era. The second section analyses some significan…Read more
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6The game of Chan - a cross-cultural analysis of the role of irony in the Blue Cliff RecordDissertation, University College Cork. 2019.The present study consists of a cross-cultural analysis of the role of irony in the Blue Cliff Record. The analysis is structured in four chapters, one devoted to methodological concerns and three to equivalent types and functions of irony within the text, a pivotal literary work of the Chan Buddhist tradition. In relation to Chan studies, a discussion of irony is particularly important since the wide corpus of Chan literature includes a significant number and a consistent variety of ironic feat…Read more
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20Logic of identity and identity of contradictionKritike 11 (2): 121-139. 2017.Western philosophy has mainly developed in accordance with the three laws of identity, noncontradiction and excluded middle, also known as “laws of thought”. Since Zen Buddhism often violates these apparently indisputable logical principles, a superficial reading may induce the idea that Zen Buddhism is a completely irrational, illogical doctrine. In this essay, I argue that Zen Buddhism is not absurd or illogical. Conversely, it relies on a different logic, which is perfectly consonant with the…Read more
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12Go Trampling on Vairocana’s Head! Role and Functions of Irony in the Blue Cliff RecordDao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 19 (4): 601-618. 2020.Since the wide corpus of Chan 禪 literature includes a significant number and a consistent variety of ironic features such as puns, wordplay, extravagant acts, and so forth, a clarification of the role and functions of irony is especially relevant to this framework. The idea of the present essay is that irony works in Chan Buddhism as a functional strategy purposely employed in textual compositions and oral communication. Analysing the Blue Cliff Record, one of the most influential and significan…Read more
Rudi Capra
Fondazione 1563
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Fondazione 1563Post-doctoral fellow
Torino, Piemonte, Italy
Areas of Specialization
Classical Chinese Philosophy |
Buddhism |
Japanese Buddhist Philosophy |
Aesthetics and Culture |
Philosophy of Film |