Nietzsche repeatedly refers to Buddhism as a decadent and nihilistic religion. It seems to be a textbook case of just what Nietzsche is out to remedy in human thinking. It devalues the world as illusory and merely apparent, instead looking to an underlying reality for value and meaning. Its stated goals seem to be negative and escapist, Nietzsche sometimes seems to praise certain aspects of Buddhist teaching—and some of his own core ideas bear a resemblance to Buddhist doctrine. What exactly is Nietzsche’s evaluation of Buddhism? Is it merely unmitigated nihilism, or is there positive value to be found in Buddhism? There is also good reason to believe that Nietzsche’s knowledge of Buddhism was inaccurate and incomplete, if only due to his historic situation in 19th century Europe. Given current greater Western understanding of Buddhism, would Nietzsche still label Buddhism as life-denying and nihilistic?
Nietzsche most often addresses Buddhism as a rhetorical foil for Christianity, rather than analysing it directly.
Nietzsche exaggerates any aspects he approves in Buddhism as part of his rhetorical strategy. Buddhism is not moral, it is hygienic, prescribing a cure for the horror of the world rather than covering it up in dishonest grammar. In his highest praise of Buddhism, Nietzsche admits that it has dropped the slave morality—and the self-deception that accompanies it. Nietzsche describes Buddhism as clouded by morality. Perhaps specifically defining a thing as beyond good and evil keeps it trapped in the paradigm of defining the valuable by the valueless.
But Nietzsche only speaks favourably of Buddhism by comparison: when he mentions Buddhism apart from Christianity, it is all described as nihilism and desire for nothingness.
An Indian Nietzsche could easily have given Buddhism pride of place in the hierarchy of dangerous, life-denying institutions to discredit. Buddhism has perfected nihilism, but this is not a perfection to be desired.
But while Nietzsche accuses Buddhism of decadence and nihilism in no uncertain terms throughout his work, he still appreciates its honesty: “Buddhism is the only positivistic religion in history; even in its epistemology a strict phenomenalism. In its age, Buddhism has become passive and complacent—feelings of unsatisfactoriness are just accepted without struggle. Buddhism is frail and withdrawn from the world and has resigned itself to weakness and weariness. It no longer desires excuses, it just wants relief.
Buddhism according to Nietzsche is degenerate and lifeless. Buddhism is certainly not saying with its delicate constitution and perpetual worries about healthfulness.
In the world, there are five major world religions, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. In the past few classes, I have been exposed to and absorbed a tremendous amount of information on the religion of Buddhism. According to the dictionary, Buddhism is a religion of which originated in India, was founded by the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, and teaches that life is full of suffering caused by desire and that the way to end this suffering is through enlightenment that enables one to halt the endless sequence of births and deaths to which one is otherwise subject. Buddhism is a way of finding peace within oneself. It is a religion that helps it’s believers to find the happiness and contentment us humans seek. One thing I found
Yu, Han. “Memorial on Buddhism”. Making of the Modern World 12: Classical & Medieval Tradition. Trans. Richard F. Burton. Ed. Janet Smarr. La Jolla: University Readers, 2012. 111-112. Print.
Buddhism is one of the prominent and influential religions and philosophies of the world. A basic tenet of Buddhism is that worldly desires and possessions cause all suffering. To absolve one’s self of necessities beyond basic human survival is one of the many plateaus that Buddhists strive to achieve. Furthermore, Buddhists free themselves from temptation via seclusion from society and attempt to allow nature to support them. They believe that Nirvana, the ascension to heaven, can be achieved by freeing oneself of earthly desires.
In philosophy “Nihilism” is a position of radical skepticism. It is the belief that all values are baseless and nothing is known. The word “Nihilism” itself conveys a sense of abolishing or destroying (IEP). Nietzsche’s work and writings are mostly associated with nihilism in general, and moral nihilism especially. Moral nihilism questions the reality and the foundation of moral values. Nietzsche supported his view on morality by many arguments and discussions on the true nature of our inner self. Through my paper on Moral Nihilism, I will explain 5 major arguments and then try to construct a deductive argument for each, relying on Nietzsche’s book II “Daybreak”.
...d of a Buddhist koan, which is intended to break the hold of logic on the mind. However, rather than breaking the hold of logic on the mind, Nietzsche, with his jibing remarks, swashbuckling writing style, self-contradictions, and secrecy, is intending to break the hold of socially determined "masks," or Isms, from the perceptions of the new philosopher who will arise the day after tomorrow. Nietzsche shows us how to philosophize without Isms. The only question remaining is whether we are strong enough to take his advice.
In comparing and contrasting Nihilism and Buddhism, Truth is defined differently. Nihilism sees truth’s shattering of illusion as alarming and disruptful, and Buddhism views truth as the gateway to reaching Nirvana: eternal happiness. Both function as either side of the same
Nihilism is the complete disregarded for all things that cannot be scientifically proven or demonstrated. Nietzsche did not claim that nothing exists that cannot be proven, nor that those thing should be disregarded. What Nietzsche did suggest was that many people used religion, especially Judeo-Christian teachings, ass a crutch for avoiding decisive actions. Nietzsche’s contribution to existentialism was the idea that men must accept that they are part of a material world, regardless of what else might exist. As part of this world, men must live as if there is nothing else beyond life. A failure to live, to take risks, is a failure to realize human potential.
The perception of Eastern religions in Western culture has always been partial and full of bias, mainly due to unfamiliarity, orientalist influences, and modern assumptions. In relation to other Eastern religions, Buddhism seems to be more widely accepted by the West, but not without some caveats. As an introduction to Buddhism for a Western audience, author Thich Nhat Hanh effectively shows aspects of Buddhism that he deems most important and most relevant for the Western audience to understand in his book The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching. Based on Hanh’s book, one could assume that spiritual practices, worship of gods/deities, and other inherently religious elements are mostly absent from Buddhism. It could also be believed that his beliefs
Buddhists focus on what an individual can do morally in order to achieve nirvana. “Buddhists believe that individuals can overcome the misery in the world and reach their own Buddha status by a process of mental and moral purification. Morality also asks how one determines right from wrong and this is illustrated in the religion of Buddhism by the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. There are two paths that a man who has given up the world must not take; the practice of attachment and the practice of asceticism. However, there is a middle path which opens eyes, bestows understanding, leads to peace of mind, higher wisdom, to full enlightenment, and to nirvana; the Noble Eightfold Path.
Buddhism is currently the fourth most popular religion in our society today, following Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Its major ideologies are based on the philosophies of Siddhartha Guatama, also known as “Buddha”, who began his teachings in 598 BCE at the age of 35, according to Buddhist texts. A Buddhist’s foremost aspiration is the obtainment of Bodhi, or enlightenment through meditation and Anapana-sati (awareness of the breath). Buddhism shares many ideologies with India’s Hinduism and Yoga such as non-harming, non-violence, and self-awareness. In many instances, people regard Buddhism as a way of life rather than a religion, for it has no clear belief in the idea of a God or Gods. Its structure is built upon a hierarchy much like Christianity where superior orders such as Lamas or the Dalai Lama are said to be chosen by nature through the process of reincarnation rather than by a council like Christianity’s Pope. Though these “higher level” Buddhists are rare (not everyone is a reincarnation of an ancient Buddhist “priest”), all are permitted to follow “The Middle Way” either as a Buddhist monk or the simple attendance of a weekly teaching session from time to time. Throughout the last few hundred years the Buddhist population has blossomed into a healthy 381,611,000 and over fifteen different sects including Zen, Mahayana, and Theravada.
Christianity and Islam are monotheistic religions, but Buddhism differs from those religions as it is considered more of a ‘lifestyle’ than a specific type of religion. Buddhism centers around ...
There are many similarities and differences between Judaism and Buddhism. While Judaism is more popular Buddhism they both have many followers throughout the world.
The study of Buddhism over the past century or so has resembled the encounter of the blind men and the elephant in many ways. Students of Buddhism have tended to fasten onto a small part of the tradition and assume their conclusions held true about the whole. Often the parts they have seized on have been a little like the elephant's tusks a striking, but unrepresentative, part of the whole animal. As a result, many erroneous and sweeping generalizations about Buddhism have been made, such as that it is 'negative', 'world-denying', 'pessimistic', and so forth.
Buddhists do not believe in a Supreme Being, God or Creator, though many Buddhists today worship the Buddha - the central figure of Buddhism - and his teachings. They view him as someone with a universal spirit, an essence that can be attained by everyone rather than only a higher deity that rules over the world (Brown). Especially in Mahayana Budd...
Buddhism is unlike any other religion I learned about throughout my time in this class. There is no god in Buddhism and Buddhist do not worship any supernatural being. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. His teachings, the Dharma, are a guide to follow to reach ultimate liberation. Understanding the four noble truths and following the noble eightfold path would lead to nirvana. As with any religion there are a few different types of Buddhism such as Theravada, Mahayana, and modern day Buddhist. Starting in Asia, Buddhism has spread to the west and all over the world. I hope to convey my thoughts on Buddhism’s past, present and future.