Out of Nowhere the Mind Comes Forth: A Practice-Based Exploration of the Relationship Between Buddhist Thought and Creative Writing

This PhD by Publication consists of two elements: a creative part, which is a published novel called The Brilliant & Forever, and a critical thesis that elucidates and investigates the relationship between Buddhist tenets and fiction writing. The novel is based around a writing festival and includes a selection of narratively connected yet self-contained short stories. It explores several themes, including the natures of fiction, cognition, self, and justice. The critical element argues for an inherent congruence between Buddhist understandings and Creative Writing conventions. In doing so, it demonstrates the validity and potency of words as a means by which to gain insight. This contrasts with traditional Mahāyāna Buddhist positions that assert language to be inherently untrustworthy and inadequate for this purpose. The Mahāyāna perspective is countered by showing that limiting Buddhist transmission to non-linguistic communications constitutes an unhelpful and unnecessary restriction. It is furthermore argued that the empty, fallible, interdependent, and mutable nature of language reflects fundamental Buddhist teachings regarding illusion, cognition, and truth. The relationship of these to fiction is explored, with standard Creative Writing techniques such as the use of sensory detail and the need for character development being shown to correspond to Buddhist phenomenology and the doctrine of no-fixed-self. The latter is determined to be a vital aspect of writing praxis, as consciousness and interdependence are both indispensable in the co-creation of text and meaning. Language, particularly in the context of fiction writing, is thereby demonstrated to be a capable vector for catalysing mind-to-mind transmissions such as can enable inner transformations and is thus concluded to be a legitimate form of expedient means.