Why does this factoid keep getting repeated?Its no more nihilistic than Christianity is, yet no one would ever say anything like "nothing matters lol just pray to jesus and you'll go to heaven" when talking about the latter
>>18459593>Why does this factoid keep getting repeated?Because of Arthur Schopenhauer and Friedreich Nietzsche who are nihilistic philosopher comments on it.Hindus also claim this as Buddhist deny the eternal soul connected to the creator of the universe (Brahma) who gives them a delusional sense of bliss. Hindus are in the state of ignorance and do not realize that maya comes from their own gods.
>>18459593>there's no good reason for existence, it's just cause and effect going back as far as the divine eye can see>life is nothing but suffering>wanting anything at all is le bad>the goal is functionally equivalent to permanent death>in fact you should eventually realize that you never existed in the first placeSome of the above are arguably misconceptions (I believe points 2&3) or only apply to some traditions (I believe points 3&4), but, given that these are many westerners' foremost associations with Buddhism, I can see why they think it's nihilistic compared to other religions.
>>18459637The second parenthetical should be "(I believe points 4&5)"
>>18459593Theravada is the definition of nihilism, if it isn't nihilistic nothing is. Mahayana is not necessarily nihilistic insofar as it isn't Buddhist.
>>18459593Because it literally is just pure nihilism dressed up as tradition.
>>18459637>>18459650I think one area where even the most nihilistic understanding of Theravada has to diverge from pure nihilism is when it comes to the importance of individual choice, since the Buddha rejects the doctrines of total causal determinism, total divine providence, and total non-determinism in https://suttacentral.net/an3.61/en/sujato?lang=en&layout=plain&reference=none¬es=asterisk&highlight=false&script=latinAlthough, going by the above translation, choice isn't something that continues for long once you're enlightened because ignorance is a prerequisite for choice, which is both interesting and still fairly nihilistic-seeming.
>>18459706You might also see the idea that choice depends on ignorance as firmly non-nihilistic, since it can be taken as asserting an absolute morality that anyone would have to agree with given sufficient understanding.
>>18459650Theravada is true Buddhism. Closest to original Dhamma. Mahayana/Vajrayana are memes
