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Having distinguished the primary philosophers of religion, those whose philosophies of "Everything" entail something about religion, from those who study only or mainly religion, this article discusses the necessary comparative base for the future of the field. It distinguishes the approach that begins with the subject matter from the approach that sticks with a home tradition to which comparison adds new material, arguing for the former. The religions of West Asia, South Asia, and East Asia are discussed, noting the naturalistic form of the last. The fundamental comparative category for philosophy of religion is the Ultimate, of which I give my own version. This version also requires categories defining determinate things, their togetherness of various sorts, and their essential and conditional components. To be plausible, this theory needs to be associated positively and negatively with the main religious traditions and with our relation to nature and society. Religious lives need to be scaled from the primitive and literalistic all the way to the philosophical. Philosophy of religion or philosophical theology of all sorts is fallible and needs to prepare for the next step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the significance of Gilles Deleuze's almost passing references to East Asian thought. Even though Deleuze comes to these ideas through the work of other European thinkers—most notably Friedrich Nietzsche, Sergei Eisenstein, François Jullien, and Alan Watts—the article argues that there are ultimately deep resonances between Deleuze's philosophy, especially in its Bergso‐Leibnizian articulations, and specific East Asian ideas. The article begins by cataloging and commenting upon Deleuze's various references to Chinese and Japanese thought generally before discussing how one particular concept—that of the gap (écart)—not only lies at the heart of his metaphysics but also forms the very basis for developing an adequate methodology for negotiating his encounter with East Asia. Finally, by also considering some of Jullien's recent ideas, the article examines the ways in which this methodology of the gap may be more adequate than other attempts to characterize contemporary comparative philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reflects on research methods relevant to comparative philosophy. It discusses the scholarly activities in East Asian traditions related to ritualized approach to study and research regarding conception of mirror-like functioning of the mind. It informs that recognition of the approach as a viable methodology in contemporary academia contributes not only to the diversification of philosophical content but to the decolonization of disciplinary practices.