Schopenhauer Buddhism and the Origins of Existentialism

Description: Rev. Dr. James Kenneth Powell II, opensourcebuddhism.org This piece investigates the self-identified Buddhism of Artur Schopenhauer. Some will say he is Kantian, this piece credits him with such a break from Idealism as to constitute the beginning of Existentialism. Some will see this with Kierkegaard or Dostoyevsky. We see his emphasis on the individual via his understanding (and misunderstanding!) of Buddhism as the true origin of Existentialist thought.