ABSTRACT
Over the past two decades, a number of authors on Heidegger have recognized that his work has a certain affinity with East Asian thinking, notably with Taoism and Zen Buddhism. The fact that the Japanese have published seven translations of Being and Time, and that Heidegger is probably the most-studied modern philosopher in Asia, may well reflect this similarity between his own and East Asian thinking. The chapter provides a general overview of some similarities between Heidegger's thought and ideas from Taoism and Zen, and this is followed by a small selection of textual comparisons of passages from Heidegger's major works and translations of Taoist and Zen texts. A certain affinity with elements of Buddhism, especially Zen, and also with Taoism has long been the subject of comment in connection with the later Heidegger. Finally, both Heidegger's later writings and Buddhist thought share a common belief that the ontological event of appearance of humans and all other entities is uncaused.
