ERIC KIM CRITIQUE OF BUDDHISM

No hate on Buddhism, but this is my honest critique and appraisal:


Why do so many world-weary people (or successful) people turn to Buddhism?

This is the interesting thing … I see a lot of business folks or successful folks or ex-Christians turn to Buddhism. Why? They are insanely stressed and no longer want to feel stress. But the bad thing about Buddhism … the ultimate end is self-negation, self-annihilation, and the killing of one’s own ego. Towards what end? People desire perpetual bliss; hedonic anti-pain, and they want to live in perfect ‘happiness’ (very much like a cow).


Where Buddhism is good

Technically Buddhism isn’t a religion, it is a mode of living. There is no ‘heaven’ or ‘hell’, and there is no literal ‘life after death’. Even the notion of reincarnation is more metaphorical than anything.

The good thing about Buddhism is if you do follow the Buddhistic precepts, you will achieve your end. You can end up living in perfect bliss, disconnected from society or whatever. But the harder question:

Is this actually desirable?

I say no.

Certainly you can do anything in your life which you desire

Ain’t nobody putting a gun to your head and telling you how to live your life. But this is just my simple thought:

Buddhism is mostly good (if you just pick and choose the parts you like, kind of like a buffet), but do not follow it to the extreme logical end.

ERIC