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by emre 1849 days ago
"The Buddhists think you don’t quit addictions, you become a new person who isn’t an addict." This is such an amazing quote
2 comments

I don‘t think it correctly reflects Buddhist teaching, though.

You become a new person moment to moment and even „you“ is not putting it correctly and everything is tied together by cause and effect regardless.

Perhaps a better way to look at it is that the Buddha is only teaching by skillful means. So that quote may be the right thing for a particular addict at a time. In that sense it is true, but not as an absolute truth for everyone always.

Makes me think they have not met a single addict ever. This quote makes absolutely zero sense. Most addicts stay addicts for the rest of their lives. They fight their addiction most days if not every day.