Curious about what you guys think about it.

  • Gay_Wrath [fae/faer]
    ·
    4 years ago

    I like the concept that suffering comes from attachment and the practice of meditation is good.

    Sadly, here, meditation has been turned into one of those things people use to detach and pretend material conditions don't matter "just meditate bro, don't think about how thousands die every year from lack of healthcare and how many kids are impoverished bro." That's not a problem with buddhism, it's a problem with how buddhism has been quite literally capitalized.

    And while i find the concept of non-violence a good thing to strive for, it simply is irresponsible to tell opressed people to lie down in front of their oppressors rather than stand up and stop them through whatever means necessary. Other beliefs systems lionize this as well - "the meek shall inherit the earth" and so on, so it's not a problem with just buddhism. Again, what individual Buddhists believe non-violence is varies, but the non-violent aspect is definitely popularized to keep people from getting too cool-zone.

    Also like someone else said, the "if you're good, you'll be born with a rich easy life" is super gross. That's basically just some divine right of kings shit with some poor shaming and abelism thrown in. Oh yeah, and the Dalia Llama saying that shit about how if the next Dalai Llama is a woman she needs to be pretty to "make it easy" for her, whatever the fuck that means.

    IDK, in terms of harm it's probably not super high in america - i'd put those megachurches or straight up the anti-abortion extremists up there instead. Most buddhists seem chill, it's just not for me.

    • Florn [they/them]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Isn't the point of Buddhism that the "rich and easy life" you'll be reborn into is, itself, worse than nothing, and one should strive to exit the cycle of rebirth completely? I always interpreted Buddhism as suicide for people who believe in reincarnation.

      • Gay_Wrath [fae/faer]
        ·
        4 years ago

        yes, the point is to evolve your soul so that you will ascend to nirvana. I wouldn't interpret it as suicide, i think it's more similair to how christians beleive if they're good or whatever they'll go to heaven. But for buddhists, they go to increasingly evolved lives instead and believe their past lives karma influences the life they have now. They're not the only belief system that believes in reincarnation iirc

        • Florn [they/them]
          ·
          4 years ago

          I didn't mean to imply that other belief systems don't include reincarnation, more that Buddhism is a philosophical response to an intense dissatisfaction with life that occurred to a person or people who believed in reincarnation.

          • Gay_Wrath [fae/faer]
            ·
            4 years ago

            OH, i see what you mean. I honestly don't know. I could see that, i suppose every religion or spiritual idea is a philosophical response to something or other.