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by armitron
2906 days ago
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Nihilism is exactly what Buddhism represents, in its passive form (rather than the active form of nihilism that Nietzsche offers as a solution) which is why the term "passive nihilism" is used by Nietzsche and Schopenhauer to describe it. In other words, the key word for Buddhism is detachment (passive). The key word for active forms of nihilism is destruction. The tearing down of established symbols in order to make way for each person to create his own. |
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1. Suffering exists.
2. Suffering arises from attachment to desires.
3. Suffering ceases when attachment to desire ceases.
4. Freedom from suffering is possible by practicing the Eightfold Path.
A few points:
- Buddhist detachment isn't detachment from everything — it's detachment from desires, which becomes possible when you recognize that suffering underlies all desirable things.
- The point of detachment, and of buddhism at its core, is to reduce suffering. As opposed to passive nihilism, which is "epitomized by resignation" (at least according to google, I had to look it up https://antimodernist.wordpress.com/2012/09/06/active-vs-pas...)
- The next step after detachment is a set of practices to reduce suffering. Some of the most powerful are the compassion (metta) meditations, i.e. "May I be free from suffering, may those near to me be free from suffering, may all beings be free from suffering". Working to reduce the suffering of all beings is the opposite of resignation.
As my own buddhist teacher (Dan Brown, www.pointingoutway.org) explained it to me, many beginning buddhists get stuck on the detachment part, which leads to nihilism, which leads to resignation, which leads to more suffering. In contrast, "properly executed" buddhist detachment leads to practices that reduce suffering (the Eightfold Path).
Hope that helps.