Wittgenstein is a Buddha: A comparison between Zen Buddhist and Wittgenstein's Epistemology

Zen Buddhism has long been an elusive and overlooked subject in the realm of Western Philosophy. The main reason is that most original Zen texts are written in Ancient Chinese and Zen researchers in China are mostly not philosophy professionals who have gone through training in the system of Western Philosophy. So most of the texts explaining Zen Buddhism are not written in an analytical style. Also, there is a lack of Western epistemologists who are interested in Zen Buddhism. Most of the Western researchers in Zen are those who focus on the religious aspects. The purpose of this thesis is to provide some initial thoughts on how to explain Zen Buddhist epistemology in the context of Western epistemology, especially Wittgenstein’s epistemology. I come to find that there are many similarities between Zen and Wittgenstein’s texts and Wittgenstein’s explanation can open a door for people who are trying to understand Zen Buddhism.Bachelor of Art