Illuminating Dualism and Non-Dualism in Thomas Aquinas’s Thought Using Dōgen’s Non-Metaphysical Approach

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Christina M. Atienza

Abstract

Japanese SōtōZen founder, Dōgen, articulated a holistic paradigm that recognizes and expounds upon the complementarity of dual and non-dual perspectives as a means of illuminating delusion. Can such dual and non-dual perspectives be discerned in the thought of Thomas Aquinas? By way of example, this essay examines Aquinas’s ideas on the reality–language–thought relationship, analogical predication, the simplicity of God, and the Eucharist, and finds in these ideas what, by Dōgens standards, are non-dual perspectives. Being able to recognize dualism and non-dualism in Aquinas’s thought in general could be useful on several fronts: to shed light on ideas that may seem paradoxical or contradictory; to add to our knowledge of his innovative use of otherwise limited language to talk about God; to identify areas that have a dualistic bias; to help to integrate his scholastic and mystical insights; and to serve as a foundation for identifying additional areas of dialogue with Dōgen’s ideas.

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