The Humanistic Psychologist, Vol 54(3), Sep 2026, 275-284; doi:10.1037/hum0000421
The text reflects on Zen’s capacity to dissolve conceptual frameworks and offer Sisyphus a path beyond revolt or resignation. It examines the philosophical convergence between Zen Buddhism and Existentialism through the works of Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Zen masters Shunryu Suzuki, Chögyam Trungpa, and Dōgen. The essay explores existentialist texts such as The Myth of Sisyphus and Being and Nothingness alongside Zen teachings from The Treasury of the True Eye of Dharma and related Koans. Although existentialism relies on negation and conscious revolt, the text suggests Zen offers a third way through direct, nonconceptual presence. By comparing existentialist insights with Zen’s nondual awareness, this work suggests that freedom lies in imagining Sisyphus in a stillness of being that liberates him from the attachment to the task itself and beyond. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)