Compassion for the other in levinas and buddhism: the case of the bodhisattva

Abstract

The philosophy of Levinas, gives a primacy to ethics over ontology, and a primacy of the other over the self. This is something which is also found in the tradition of Mahayana Buddhism, especially with regard to compassion, and the idea of the role of the Bodhisattva. This paper compares Levinas’s philosophy of ethics with the teaching of Mahayana Buddhism and and demonstrates how they are connected by their emphasis on the virtue of compassion. Both advocate a departure from the ego-self to the compassion for the other. Levinas like Buddhism redefines subjectivity through its responsibility to the other. So reading Levinas through Buddhism allows us to understand the shift from the Western idea of the self to the responsibility towards the other, and it allows us to understand the responsibility the self has towards addressing the suffering of the other. Also reading Levinas through Buddhism allows us to understand a respect for non-human nature which remains within the framework of Levinas’ philosophy.