[yonoataraxia]

I think that the emotional aspect is really important. If you just remove it, you might miss something that is fundamental to human nature. And just removing it is almost certainly a type of self-delusion because the emotional aspect is very hard to remove from human existence.

But yes, if you achieve a level of self-awareness where you're able to live in a near-nihilistic state and be content with it, it can be quite pleasant, although it's very hard to achieve.

Pure nihilism would lead to beings who don't want anything and therefore don't do anything - but even if you want to pee or "achieve nihilism" you stop being a complete nihilist because you start to want something. So it's a catch-22 here. As long as those Zen Nihilists know that they can't achieve pure nihilism and treat it as a goal which can't be reached (like wisdom), I think it can be a good solution (otherwise it could lead to a silly competition where all followers just try to tell everybody how "nihilistic" they are). Not for most of us, but I'm glad you found something.

[armitron]

The poster to whom you replied has missed the essence of Nietzsche's writings. There is no such thing as "pure nihilism". Rather, Nietzsche talks of passive and active forms of nihilism with passive leading towards detachment and the abandonment of self (eastern mysticism, Schopenhauer favorite) and active being what Nietzsche espouses and offers up as a solution.

Active nihilism is all about "praxis" rather than detachment. The quote from Blade Runner comes to mind:

"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long - and you have burned so very, very brightly, Roy."

Nietzsche would like every human being to burn like Roy Batty. Humanity performing a wild leap into the unknown trying to manifest its evolutionary potential, free from the straightjacket of religion and inherited morality.

[bsenftner]

Don't forget the essential absurdist humor perspective, which is another common misunderstanding by young "existentialists": self-awareness in a nihilistic frame of reference has a strong undercurrent of jovial humor, as in "well, ain't this just grande".

[yonoataraxia]

I like this perspective very much. George Carlin in his later years has a lot of it in his shows.

And of course the great humor of SMBC: https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/2011-10-10

Share some comedians, would love to see some new stuff.

[bsenftner]

Not necessarily a comedian, here's an existential absurdist comic along these lines that I read nearly 40 years ago you might enjoy: http://forbiddenplanet.blog/2014/nemo-nemo-nemo/ I remember visiting an art gallery of the original art for "Spice Of Death" around the same time period.