Is Buddhism Anti-Life?

A forum for beginners and members of other Buddhist traditions to ask questions about Theravāda (The Way of the Elders). Responses require moderator approval before they are visible in order to double-check alignment to Theravāda orthodoxy.
pinatapai
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Re: Is Buddhism Anti-Life?

Post by pinatapai »

Buddhism says that it is possible to get free from suffering. And it also says that it is possible in this very life.

That's even optimism to me...
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Kusala
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Re: Is Buddhism Anti-Life?

Post by Kusala »

qoheleth wrote:Sorry to start with a provocative title, but I have wrestled with this for a long time. In my "search" for the best way to live, no "path" makes as much immediate and practical sense to me as that of Buddhism, and particularly Theravada. I have studied it alongside many other traditions, Eastern and Western, and while I have tried to make meditation a part of my life for the last ten years, my practice has been inconsistent and my orientation rather confused. My apprehension regarding Theravada Buddhism is that it is, in a sense, a saying "no" to life. Am I incorrect in seeing it this way? I mean, isn't the ultimate object in Buddhism to no longer "become"? To cease being reborn? Is it finally an acceptance that all is really futile in the end (all except for the 8FP, that is), a kind of nihilism? Can anyone perhaps suggest a more positive approach to the path?

Thanks in advance, and forgive me if you find this line of questioning offensive. Or redundant.
"As one teacher has put it, the Buddhist recognition of the reality of suffering — so important that suffering is honored as the first noble truth — is a gift, in that it confirms our most sensitive and direct experience of things, an experience that many other traditions try to deny.

From there, the early teachings ask us to become even more sensitive, to the point where we see that the true cause of suffering is not out there — in society or some outside being — but in here, in the craving present in each individual mind.

They then confirm that there is an end to suffering, a release from the cycle. And they show the way to that release, through developing noble qualities already latent in the mind to the point where they cast craving aside and open onto Deathlessness. Thus the predicament has a practical solution, a solution within the powers of every human being.

It's also a solution open to critical scrutiny and testing — an indication of how confident the Buddha was in the solution he found..."


http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/auth ... rming.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
"He, the Blessed One, is indeed the Noble Lord, the Perfectly Enlightened One;
He is impeccable in conduct and understanding, the Serene One, the Knower of the Worlds;
He trains perfectly those who wish to be trained; he is Teacher of gods and men; he is Awake and Holy. "

--------------------------------------------
"The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One,
Apparent here and now, timeless, encouraging investigation,
Leading to liberation, to be experienced individually by the wise. "
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Pondera
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Re: Is Buddhism Anti-Life?

Post by Pondera »

qoheleth wrote: My apprehension regarding Theravada Buddhism is that it is, in a sense, a saying "no" to life. Am I incorrect in seeing it this way? I mean, isn't the ultimate object in Buddhism to no longer "become"? To cease being reborn? Is it finally an acceptance that all is really futile in the end (all except for the 8FP, that is), a kind of nihilism? Can anyone perhaps suggest a more positive approach to the path?

Thanks in advance, and forgive me if you find this line of questioning offensive. Or redundant.
Perhaps you feel, personally, that life is utterly futile.
Like the three marks of conditioned existence, this world in itself is filthy, hostile, and crowded
Nori
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Re: Is Buddhism Anti-Life?

Post by Nori »

qoheleth wrote:I mean, isn't the ultimate object in Buddhism to no longer "become"? To cease being reborn? Is it finally an acceptance that all is really futile in the end (all except for the 8FP, that is), a kind of nihilism? Can anyone perhaps suggest a more positive approach to the path?
I think you are correct in saying that Buddhists believe: (from Merriam Webster for nihilism) " that all existence is consequently senseless and useless : a denial of intrinsic meaning and value in life" other than maybe having the idea that it should be a beings goal to rid of all suffering permanently.

Buddhist belief is that there cannot be found any *permanent* satisfaction in life where one feels absolutely content and free from all suffering. I often wonder if it is a mistake to have such a pursuit (to be permanently content and free from all suffering) since suffering is *necessarily* inherent in life/existence, and there cannot be a permanent contentment and freedom from all suffering while there is life.

The Buddhist path is predicated on the idea that there is a lineage of rebirths for a being (or citta) and that somehow, one's volition/disposition determines where it goes, or whether it goes. Some view Nibbana (the final destination) as some sort of 'existence' while others see it like a flame going out.

In the Buddhist view, it *is* a positive path because you are supposed to become more content, and have less suffering every step of the way.

One consolation is (and I share your same concerns) is that he teaches that what you decide, should be based upon your own understanding which you have gained from experience.
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