Seth asked:

I am beginning research on a thesis whose topic is (generally as it is not yet fully formulated):

"An examination on the connection between Arthur Schopenhauer's view of the Will and the need to
quiet it, as compared to Buddhist philosophy and the elimination of desire"

I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of any texts or essays you may know of on the
subject as well as interjecting any thoughts you may have on the subject itself.

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A must-read is R.Safranski's Schopenhauer and the Wild Years of Philosophy(London, 1989). This
was originally in German and was hugely popular. It is not a specialist work, but is bound to be
insightful on your topic, as being insightful is Safranski's hallmark. Your topic is one that has intrigued
me too. May I make a few comments.

Schopenhauer upholds the Buddhist doctrine that there are two kinds of truth: worldly or relative truth
(samvriti satya) and absolute truth (paramartha sataya). This is the world as will (absolute truth) and
representation (apparent truth). However, Schopenhauer is secretly much more akin to Christianity
than Buddhism. For it is Christianity not Buddhism that speaks of an absolute will (God) and of the
need to attune one's own will to it by training (ascesis). "The will is the [Kantian] in-itself of all
phenomena" World as Will and Representation§63. This absolute is a unity by contrast to the
principle of individuality which is sunk in maya(illusion) to the extent of its self-righteousness. The
philosopher will see in her own will a representation of the All-will. The truth is not self in the individual
sense but in the returning of the separate will back into the primordial Will.

Schopenhauer spoke highly of Vedas and Upanishads ("the greatest gift this century." §64), but
his philosophy is only partially Buddhist. The Three Dharma Seals (Dharma mudra) are the marks of
every one of Buddha's teachings (Dharma). The first is impermanence, the second is non-self the
third is nirvanah. For Buddhism it is nirvanah, not Will which is the ground of being. Nirvanah is like
the ocean, phenomena are like the waves that come up out of it and go back into it. The Dharma is
the raft that helps you cross. What is really lacking from Schopenhauer compared to Buddhism is any
sense of the Twelve Links of Independent Co-Arising. This is where Schopenhauer, I think, is
completely overshadowed by the sophistication of Buddhist philosophy. His Will remains like a
Christian dogma.

Matthew Del Nevo

http://www.sicetnon.com