Early Buddhism as Philosophy of Existence

This book makes the connection between early Buddhism and nature. Early Buddhism was a system of thinking which applied the universal laws of nature to human beings. It was a comprehensive worldview. But after the first 400 to 500 years, it was mostly lost.

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The Buddha was what today is called an empirical philosopher, taking his philosophy from careful study of the empirical world, and rejecting “high flown” philosophies. As philosophy of existence, his view overlaps with Marx in his most interesting form, which is not the way Marx is typically understood. Marx was reduced to economics while the Buddha was reduced to religion. Many shared his view, including Dostoevsky, Proust, and Victor Hugo. Death is present in such views. But they are not recognized as philosophy.