What is Brook Ziporyn's theory of coherence?
My theory of coherence (li) argues that reality is not a collection of separate things but a dynamic pattern of interrelations where each part contains and expresses the whole. In Tiantai Buddhism, this means that every phenomenon is 'empty' of fixed essence yet fully present as a unique expression of the entire cosmos. Coherence is not a static unity but a process of mutual entailment: opposites like good and evil, or delusion and enlightenment, are inseparable and co-arising. This idea resolves paradoxes in early Chinese thought and provides a non-theistic, non-nihilistic framework for understanding experience.
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