ABSTRACT
Patel argues that central Buddhist teachings that are often characterized as metaphysical are deployed in texts with an existential address. Rather than float in a merely speculative register, they dive into the standpoint of a subject who is uneasy, vulnerable, and even fearful in their finitude. These texts suggest an alternative way to inhabit our limits, namely with interdependence as a function of finitude rather than a compromise to it. Patel's argument follows two particular texts from different locales in the Buddhist corpus. These are the Pāli sutta The Simile of the Snake and the Precious Garland of Nāgārjuna from the Middle Way Tradition.
