Numinous enlightened dispositions : Buddha-nature & Islamic Fịtrah vis-à-vis human suffering

• Main Author: Zulhaqem Zulkifli
• Other Authors: Melvin Chen
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Humanities::Philosophy
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/76556
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In this paper, I shall explore the concept of “Numinous Enlightened Dispositions” (NEDs) which refers to an original ontological frame of mind that humans possess that allows for a facilitation for an emancipation from worldly suffering. This paper shall attempt to compare NEDs from two distinct traditions – Buddha-nature in Buddhism through a reconstruction of Tathāgatagarbha, Chinese Chan, and Tiantai Buddhist traditions, vis-à-vis Fiṭ̣rah in Islam, demonstrating how they enable adherents to transcend pain and suffering. This shall be carried out largely in an explication of the cognitive mechanics of NEDs and a comparison between these two seemingly disparate traditions. I argue that despite the differences, there are many similarities in these two traditions that can be taken to form the foundational construction for the concept of NEDs. For the purposes of this comparative endeavour, themes based on similar qualities of the NEDs of both traditions is utilised for ease of task. NEDs are not mere coping mechanisms vis-à-vis human suffering and human salvation, but rather, it should be understood as a kind of fundamental state of being, one that is a reflection of human limitations and human potential to overcome them.