University of Trinity College, Faculty of Divinity | Kierkegaard Circle - Not Telling Everything: Kierkegaard’s Indirect Communication and Chan Buddhism’s bu shuo po

Kierkegaard’s use of indirect communication (e.g., pseudonyms and paradoxes), often regarded as a Socratic method of midwifery, encourages individuals to take responsibility for their existential journey. Chan Buddhism’s principle of bu shuo po (“never tell too plainly”) employs metaphorical and paradoxical expressions to provoke self-realization. Are Kierkegaard’s indirect communication and Chan’s bu shuo po alike? This talk proposes that in their focus is an alikeness that makes for a cross-cultural philosophical diaogue.

Speaker: Jizhang Yi, PhD, Adjunct Professor, Trinity College, Faculty of Divinity

Jizhang Yi's (PhD, University of Toronto) research spans philosophical theology, comparative philosophy, and ethics. In his forthcoming book, Truth and Subjectivity (Springer Nature, 2025), Yi integrates Kierkegaard’s existential philosophy with Chinese Chan Buddhism in studying the intersections of these traditions, offering fresh insights into contemporary ethical challenges.