Storytelling and the Earliest Buddhist Oral Text in China: Clues from Kumârajîva’s Commentary on the Vimalakîrti-sûtra

Persuasion is often based on formal arguments, and formal arguments are typically characterized by analytical disputation over abstract ideas. But if philosophical persuasion can be won over with formal arguments, persuasion to action is seldom exclusively dependent upon them. Belief and a willingness to practice beliefs depend on motive, and motive is stimulated by emotions. To stimulate emotions, we need something else such as storytelling in addition to, and sometimes perhaps other than, formal arguments. Stories can inspire people to action, and formal arguments are seldom by themselves sufficient to motivate.