The combat-between Deleuze and Eastern thought

Abstract

In Essays Critical and clinical, Deleuze expresses his mistrust of the Orient, saying that the individualism of Buddhism is the cause of the egoism of the modern human being. What Deleuze contrasts with this Oriental thought is the conquest of the soul as the life of flows, desire to live, and fight. What is individual is the relationship, it is the soul, not the self. The combat-between of Deleuze is the combat to gain this soul. As far as Buddha is concerned, this criticism might be valid, but since then the thoughts of Buddhism have evolved tremendously, especially with Mahayana Buddhism, according to which, with the key concept of jihi (compassion), not only the salvation of the monks but also that of the general public becomes vital. Also, with another crucial concept ku (void), Nagarjuna, its founder, developped a philosophy of relation which resounds deeply with the soul as the relationship of Deleuze. According to Deleuze, the ideal of the Orient is Nirvana, passive, serene and peaceful. However, even in the Orient, a certain type of combat does exist, such as that of Hakuin, Lao-tseu, and Tchouang-tseu. Thus, the Orient might not be as far as it may seem for Deleuze.