Buddhists are losers?

[TheNoBSBuddhist]

Not so:

The Buddha taught for everybody's sake. It's up to the person individually, to pick up the baton and run with it.

[manas]

In reality, there are no 'losers' just as there are no 'winners', because both labels are merely perceptions arising in a judging mind.

I met a homeless woman in the city recently. We had a bit of a chat and I could see by her body language and a certain expression in her eyes, that her self-esteem was pretty low. I'm pretty sure that a mean-spirited person would say she was a 'loser' since she seemed to possess little more than the clothes she was wearing, a bag full of stuff and the hat she had out to collect the odd coin or two that strangers would toss in. But I did not perceive her in that way at all. I actually said to her that she ought not to feel bad about herself, that we are all here to help each other, and considering the charity dished out to the wealthiest (I recently read that the wealthiest folks in Australia quite legally juggle things so that they pay little or no tax!), her getting the odd coin or two, freely given, is nothing to feel bad about. That as human beings we are all inherently equal; and that how much money we have, the clothes we wear, our so-called 'status' in society, none of these things matter as much as simply having a kind heart (which I could perceive in her).

[TheNoBSBuddhist]

Quite some time ago, I remember watching a documentary on television, titled I think, "The Silver Nomads" (I have tried to Google it and have found nothing. Amazingly!) about retired people in Oz, buying themselves mobile homes and perpetually circling Australia (Which apparently can take 4 years!) They either sell their homes, or rent them out....
Anyway, one particular man had at one time, been an eminent and respected Psychiatrist. Unfortunately, the pressure of the job got to him, and he ended up having a nervous breakdown, and eventually, his wife divorced him. he lost virtually everything. So he bought himself a second-hand motorbike, packed a backpack and his 'saddle bags' with whatever he had left - and decided to circumnavigate Australia.

Up to that point, he had done this twice.
And every stop he made, he earned money by doing odd jobs and helping others.
More interestingly, with every stop he made, he disposed of something of his. He grew to own and possess fewer and fewer material things, until he was left with the most meagre of basics.
And he was emphatic that it was this action alone, that made him happy, serene, contented with his lot, and gave him an indescribable lightness.

It was a truly wonderful tale, and one that has stayed with me ever since.

[TheNoBSBuddhist]

Oh My. Goodness....

Look what I literally just found....

[ihrjordan]

It's funny because many times the buddha was deemed a nihilist and it's true...

nihilism
noun
■(Philosophy)extreme scepticism maintaining that nothing in the world has a real existence

Don't have the reference, but I remember reading Buddha saying something like: "There's nothing whatsoever worth clinging and with a core."

Noun: the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless. Not sure where you got your definition of nihilism but idk, the definition I pointed out seems very in line with the Buddhas teachings

[Mkoll]

It's funny because many times the buddha was deemed a nihilist and it's true...

nihilism
noun
■(Philosophy)extreme scepticism maintaining that nothing in the world has a real existence

Don't have the reference, but I remember reading Buddha saying something like: "There's nothing whatsoever worth clinging and with a core."

Noun: the rejection of all religious and moral principles, often in the belief that life is meaningless. Not sure where you got your definition of nihilism but idk, the definition I pointed out seems very in line with the Buddhas teachings

Which definition is that: the "nothing is real" definition or the "rejection of principles definition"? The latter is patently untrue because a primary focus of Buddha's teaching is moral principles.

[culaavuso]

Which definition is that: the "nothing is real" definition or the "rejection of principles definition"?

But when one sees the origination of the world as it actually is with right discernment, 'non-existence' with reference to the world does not occur to one.

When this was said, one of the wanderers said to Vajjiya Mahita the householder, "Now wait a minute, householder. This contemplative Gotama whom you praise is a nihilist, one who doesn't declare anything."

"I tell you, venerable sirs, that the Blessed One righteously declares that 'This is skillful.' He declares that 'This is unskillful.' Declaring that 'This is skillful' and 'This is unskillful,' he is one who has declared [a teaching]. He is not a nihilist, one who doesn't declare anything."

[Denisa]

Thank you, Mkoll for bringing the question, and valued culaavuso for the Sutta references.

Almost forgot, ihrjordan, the definition I gave is from Kingsoft PowerWord 2009 Oxford Edition.

[Mkoll]

Thanks, culaavuso.

[Disciple]

A good thread going on here. Sadly, I would say Buddhism has done a great deal to damage my ambition and work ethic and because of that I'm paying a big price as I'm in my mid twenties and haven't even finished college yet. On top of that I feel like I have become more "anti social" as lot of the things that people around me talk about seem to be so meaningless and trivial in which I just tend to remain quiet and not say a word. That in turn makes you a weird outcast in this society.

I do not know if I should pursue Buddhism anymore. I feel like I'm suffering a great deal in my worldly life.

[DNS]

Sadly, I would say Buddhism has done a great deal to damage my ambition and work ethic

Then you were doing it wrong. Buddhism doesn't teach to become a vegetable.

and because of that I'm paying a big price as I'm in my mid twenties and haven't even finished college yet.

Scapegoating? Maybe you just had the wrong major or are more suited for something else. Not everyone can be a doctor, engineer, physicist, etc.

The Buddha had a tremendous amount of work ethic, as did all of the arahants.

"Though my skin, my nerves and my bones shall waste away and my life blood go dry, I will not leave this seat until I have attained the highest wisdom, called supreme enlightenment, that leads to everlasting happiness." (Majjhima Nikaya 70)

[Mkoll]

, David.

~~~

Disciple,

Scapegoating is the right word for it. You are blaming your own shortcomings on Buddhism. It's your lack of energy that is at fault, not Buddhism's lack of energy.

[bharadwaja]

A good thread going on here. Sadly, I would say Buddhism has done a great deal to damage my ambition and work ethic and because of that I'm paying a big price as I'm in my mid twenties and haven't even finished college yet. On top of that I feel like I have become more "anti social" as lot of the things that people around me talk about seem to be so meaningless and trivial in which I just tend to remain quiet and not say a word. That in turn makes you a weird outcast in this society.

I do not know if I should pursue Buddhism anymore. I feel like I'm suffering a great deal in my worldly life.

Hi Disciple, throw Buddhism out of your life if you are sure you have something better to replace it in every way. Else simply throw out those bits of Buddhism out that are preventing you from progressing. In time you may find that the bits you threw out were not Buddhism at all. But be rational about it.

[Modus.Ponens]

A good thread going on here. Sadly, I would say Buddhism has done a great deal to damage my ambition and work ethic and because of that I'm paying a big price as I'm in my mid twenties and haven't even finished college yet. On top of that I feel like I have become more "anti social" as lot of the things that people around me talk about seem to be so meaningless and trivial in which I just tend to remain quiet and not say a word. That in turn makes you a weird outcast in this society.

I do not know if I should pursue Buddhism anymore. I feel like I'm suffering a great deal in my worldly life.

May I offer some thoughts, as an eternal college student?

It's hard to accept _ and only now I'm begining to accept it _ that the things you were sure that would make you happy don't actualy make you that happy. That doesn't mean that you become, like David said, a vegetable. You can apreciate something without being very attached to it.

So, it's not that college and a job are pointless. It's just that it's not as important as you thought it was. Once you accept this, you should be on a good direction. There may be many other problems, obviously. But this one must be seen for what it really is.

[TheNoBSBuddhist]

Sadly, I would say Buddhism has done a great deal to damage my ambition and work ethic

Buddhism doesn't "damage" anything. Buddhism is the path we choose to walk. It is wonderfully laid out. If we stumble, we have only our own clumsiness and tripping to blame. The map is faultless. It is we who read it incorrectly.

and because of that I'm paying a big price as I'm in my mid twenties and haven't even finished college yet.

And how do you suppose Buddhism is to blame for that? There are many students who practise Buddhism who do extremely well in their studies...

On top of that I feel like I have become more "anti social" as lot of the things that people around me talk about seem to be so meaningless and trivial in which I just tend to remain quiet and not say a word. That in turn makes you a weird outcast in this society.

Again, sorry but.. that problem is of your own making. Once again, I know quite a few Buddhists in F/T education who socialise quite happily with others, with no problems at all. They're not social outcasts, weird or even considered peculiar by anyone. Are you sure you're not projecting a fear of how others may perceive you, to explain your own feelings of 'separation'..?

I do not know if I should pursue Buddhism anymore. I feel like I'm suffering a great deal in my worldly life.

The 4 Noble Truths take some beating, don't they?
They are wonderful and perfect just as they are. It is WE, who keep persistently shooting ourselves in the foot... If you are suffering, then you must seek within for the cause....