/lit/ - Literature

>>15859061

Growth of the Soil

As a peasant of the soul, I draw much pleasure from eyeing how a swamp might be drained and cultivated.

>>15859069
christians are hedonist
I know it is hard to understand, so here is the protip :morality is part of hedonism

>>15859120
True that, morality is based on the ego.

>>15859120
yeah but it’s the highest type of “hedonism”

Am I wrong in my understanding of Buddhism as being non-ascetic?

>>15859061
Most works by Neetzsche.

Into the Wild by John Krakauer and Walden by Thoreau

>>15859061
Pretty crazy how around the world a percentage of society would become monks or ascetics, but today it's pretty much impossible

>>15859061
I'm fasting today and just drank unsweetened black tea I'm better than you

>>15859640
You're wrong.

>>15861079

>>15861057
How so?

>>15861057
Hop on a plane and join a monastery faggot. If anything it's easier than ever

>>15861079

I've been fasting for 5 days friend

>>15861057
>pretty much impossible
ashrams exist for a reason. religions that promote asceticism aren't trying to block you out in anyway, on the contrary it is one of their main goals to provide you with the opportunity to really live a simple yet fulfilling lifestyle. they aren't going to sugar coat it or pander to your comforts, that would defeat the point of providing the opportunity in the first place. Their existence is meant to leave no excuse for you to not try it if you are seriously interested.

>>15859061
The Buddha's concept of the 'middle way' is an interesting take on asceticism in which an enlightened one does not only reject bodily pleasures but rejects bodily harm as well. Thats a simplified explanation but its a relevant perspective and its worth researching.

>>15861220
>>15861271
Impossible was an exaggeration, but it'd probably be easier. In the past people lived off the land normally so asceticism wasn't too different, but today living like that is less accessible unless you're in a rural area.

>>15861271
do monasteries, especially in asia, even accept random foreigners?

>>15859640
You can be a layman in Buddhism just fine. These are called householders. Buddhism is a manual for understanding reality and getting out of Samsara. If you don't want to get out of Samsara, Buddhism lets you understand reality, and live a better life. Householders cook the tendies so the monks the NEET masterrace, can cultivate their spiritual lives. Are monks capable of surviving without the laity? Yes, they are. But this relationship is better for both parties. Alms, for example, the act of a monk begging for food from a layman, is a mutually beneficial activity done for the spiritual cultivation of both the monk (who learns compassion and humility) and the layman (who learns compassion and humility). But there's no reason you can't monk it up and grow your own food or whatever on a mountain.

So no, you don't have to be an ascetic to be a Buddhist. But then, the Pali Canon is 1/3rd religious instruction, 1/3rd philosophy, and 1/3rd monastic discipline and guidelines, so if you're not a monk you're not getting all out of Buddhism that you could.

>>15861444
I think the Middle Way is lost on a lot of people who don't get that the opposite of the decadent hedonism of the palace was basically self-flagellation ala Medieval wandering zealots. One thing the Buddha did when he was in his pre-enlightenment proto-Jainism phase was "sit in awkward positions". This basically meant bending yourself into painfully weird poses while kneeling on small pebbles for days at a time. When he realized this was horseshit, he was emaciated and covered in moss, to the point where a local girl thought he was a literal ghost.

>>15861796
Yes. Getting into the country might be a bit iffy, but a White dude going to a Buddhist monastery and joining up with them isn't unheard of. It's not common, but it's not shockingly rare.

>>15859061
Wanting asceticism and "simple living" is paradoxical. We're not here to be happy and peace only comes after death. Reject "liberation", and remember that "mors est quies viatoris, finis est omnis laboris"!

Definitely Emerson and Thoreau.

>>15862841
b8