The Cult of Emptiness: The Western Discovery of Buddhist Thought and the Invention of Oriental Philosophy, by Urs App

 Based on sources in many languages, this book is the first study of the earliest stage of the West's encounter with Buddhist thought.

Around the middle of the sixteenth century, missionaries in Japan began to inform themselves systematically about Buddhism and showed particular interest in concepts such as "nothingness" and "emptiness." Their writings, and subsequently those of missionaries in China and Vietnam, mark the beginning of a momentous encounter of Eastern and Western philosophies that, though almost five centuries old, has still barely begun.

"This book presents a completely new vision of Europe’s discovery of Buddhism and for the first time describes the protagonists and most influential sources of the early phase of this momentous encounter between East and West"(Introduction).

"The Cult of Emptiness is a model of scholarly detective work... For all who have a serious interest in the intellectual history of the Western engagement with Asian religions it should be considered an essential text." (Prof. Matthew Kapstein, Chicago U. and École Pratique des Hautes Études Paris, book review in History of Religions, May 2015)

"A most fascinating book ... App traces Western awareness of Buddhist doctrinal ideas to the 16th [sic!] century, when missionaries encountered Zen Buddhists in Japan, and demonstrates how over the next few centuries these encounters and others spawned an awareness of philosophical / doctrinal systems outside of the European tradition. The story of what indeed was known and how that knowledge was used and manipulated is absolutely amazing." (Prof. Jonathan Silk, Leiden University)

"Invaluable for scholars who wish to understand the intellectual history behind the study of Asian religions in the West.." (Stephen C. Berkwitz, Missouri State University, book review in Religion 43:3, 2013).

"I just bought a copy of "The Cult of Emptiness"--it's an absolutely fascinating book, a real gem. I am learning so much from it." (Stanley Weinstein, Prof. emeritus of Buddhist Studies, Yale)

"Urs App’s The Cult of Emptiness is an exceptionally well-researched piece of historical scholarship, one which should be considered by all those interested in the history of the West’s encounter with Eastern ‘religions’, and indeed offers precious insight to those interested in the European philosophical debates of the seventeenth century." (Prof. Fabio Gironi, book review on academia.edu)