Upcoming Session - Kierkegaard Circle Topic: Not Telling Everything: Kierkegaard’s Indirect Communication and Chan Buddhism’s bu shuo po Speaker: Jizhang Yi, PhD Adjunct Professor Faculty of Divinity, Trinity College University of Toronto Time: Friday, December 6, 2024 5:00 pm –7:00 pm (Toronto time) EDT Place: Combination Room Trinity College University of Toronto Inquiry: Adjunct Prof. Jizhang Yi, jizhang.yi@utoronto.ca, 778-858-8720 Prof. Abrahim H. Khan, khanah@chass.utoronto.ca, cell: 905-706-0569 Faculty of Divinity, Trinity College, University of Toronto 6 Hoskin Avenue, Toronto, Ontario 416-978-6522 Jizhang Yi (PhD, University of Toronto) is an adjunct professor at Trinity College, University of Toronto. His 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. ABSTRACT 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 dialogue.