Criticism of Buddhism
Criticism of Buddhism has taken numerous different forms, including philosophical and rational criticisms, but also criticism of praxis, such as that its practitioners act in ways contrary to Buddhist principles or that those principles systemically marginalize women. There are many sources of criticism, both ancient and modern, stemming from other religions, the non-religious, and other Buddhists.
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Nihilism
Friedrich Nietzsche, through Schopenhauer whose pessimism was highly influenced by Buddhist philosophy, interpreted Buddhism "as a life-negating philosophy that seeks to escape an existence dominated by suffering".[1]
Criticism of meditation
Various figures have criticized the rising popularity in meditation and Zen Buddhism; these criticisms of Buddhist meditations are based on the lack of a standardized methodology, the subjective nature of participants' experiences and the critique that the positive effects of Buddhist meditation are over-exaggerated.[2]
Some have critiqued Buddhism by equating the supposedly achievable results of its meditation practices with the placebo effect and expectancy bias.[3]
Similarly, some have criticized Buddhism for putting people's safety at risk through intense and hazardous practices.[4]
Women in Buddhism
Women are often depicted in traditional Buddhist texts as deceitful and lustful. The Buddha himself said in an early text that a woman's body is "a vessel of impurity, full of stinking filth. It is like a rotten pit ... like a toilet, with nine holes pouring all sorts of filth."[5]
See also
References
- Morrison, R.G. (1997). Nietzsche and Buddhism: A Study in Nihilism and Ironic Affinities. Oxford University Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-19-823556-9. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
- Grant, Adam (2015-10-10). "Opinion | Can We End the Meditation Madness?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
- Davies, Jonathan N.; Sharpe, Louise; Day, Melissa A.; Colagiuri, Ben (July–August 2021). "Mindfulness-Based Analgesia or Placebo Effect? The Development and Evaluation of a Sham Mindfulness Intervention for Acute Experimental Pain". Psychosomatic Medicine. 83 (6): 557–565. doi:10.1097/PSY.0000000000000886. ISSN 1534-7796. PMID 33165219.
- Farias, M.; Maraldi, E.; Wallenkampf, K. C.; Lucchetti, G. (November 2020). "Adverse events in meditation practices and meditation‐based therapies: a systematic review". Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. 142 (5): 374–393. doi:10.1111/acps.13225. ISSN 0001-690X.
- Faure, Bernard (2003). "The Rhetoric of Subordination". The Power of Denial: Buddhism, Purity, and Gender. Princeton University Press. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-691-09171-6.
Further reading
- Tenzin, Kencho (2006). "Shankara: A Hindu Revivalist or a Crypto-Buddhist?". Religious Studies Theses. Georgia State University. doi:10.57709/1062066 – via ScholarWorks.
- Baskind, James; Bowring, Richard (2015). The Myōtei Dialogues: A Japanese Christian Critique of Native Traditions. Brill Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-30729-2.
- Glenn Wallis (2018). A Critique of Western Buddhism - Ruins of the Buddhist Real. Bloomsbury Collections. ISBN 9781474283557.