Borges and Buddhism. A Discussion of Sources around Sonia Betancort's Book

Abstract

In Oriente no es una pieza de museo (2018), Sonia Betancort, professor of literature at the University Camilo José Cela, explores the influence of Hindustani religious traditions, particularly Buddhism, and European Orientalism on Borges. A large part of the book is dedicated to the genetic analysis of the manuscript of ¿Qué es el budismo? (1976), an essay she wrote with Alicia Jurado. Betancort adopts a comparative approach by analyzing the manuscript and the edited version without forgetting Borges's complete works or the important events of his biography relevant to his relationship to the East. With the present work, we intend to revisit rigorously the researcher's book, discussing some of her postulates and sources. Betancort divides her study into two parts; first she focuses on the writer's gradual approach to the East, with particular emphasis given to his childhood and youth. The author tries to give an account of an evolution in Borges' sensibility that leads him gradually towards Buddhism. In the second part of the book, divided in seven chapters, Betancort focuses on the genetic analysis itself: in particular, on the comparative study of the manuscript and the essay, from the first chapter to the fifth chapter, leaving the sixth and last chapters to the part of the essay that is not based on the manuscript. We will comment on the book respecting the author's outline and suggest some ideas related to the chosen topics and the validity of genetic criticism at a theoretical level.