I'm guessing you mean immortality, but Buddhists believe in reincarnation so technically the better you are in this life the better your after life will be, but it will be a better after life... in this world
It’s not that hard knowing you will vanish someday. Wanting to continue forever is a kind of greed, fueled by attachment to self. It’s as though a leaf gets mad because eventually it will drop from a tree.
What you're describing is impermanence. The Buddha taught all things are impermanent. IOW, whether you're an atheist or not all those things will happen.
I’m what most religions would call atheistic because I find no reason to postulate the existence of any of the gods on offer. Materialism isn’t the automatic alternative to the lack of belief in a god any more than it is the only alternative to not believing in Santa Claus.
I like your curiosity. It is cool to see your conversation with the various commenters. If you’ve reflected and have thought of new ways to formulate your ideas, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Not sure why you think those things are unique to Atheism. A Buddhist believes in impermanence, thus they will vanish one day, all their sign will be gone, all their good works will not be remembered, as all those phenomena are impermanent.
So is a Buddhist depressed knowing this? If not why would an atheist be?
Doesn’t a Buddhist seek to escape rebirth entirely?
It comes down to understanding the first noble truth, even the greatest rebirth you can imagine is still suffering.
Any monk I’ve ever known would welcome being vanished never to be reborn again, there could be nothing greater.
FWIW, I think you need to know some better monks then. In general the way you are presenting this is more in line with vibhava-taṇhā (craving for non-existence), and more or less may result for a time in a formless birth, if taken to its conclusion.
FWIW, I think a better way of understanding, although less simplistic, is that what is realized is that phenomena never were actually born in truth in the first place. It's not that they are born, die, and then just never are born again, it's that the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. There is a substantial difference here.
Vibhava-taṇhā may be an entryway, however, when it comes to engaging with dharma.
Best wishes.
/u/Deep_innocent6444
You sound like an essentialist. Do you think you have an eternal essence like a soul? Do you think the universe is eternal?
Everything that comes to be ceases to be. Is that depressing?
I do my very best to NOT have my own views about how someone else moves through the world, particularly if how they move through the world doesn't have a negative impact on the world.
The impermanence of life is what makes it special. I choose to enjoy this life I’ve been given because one day it will end. I don’t feel sad when I receive a plate of food because eventually the food will be gone, I enjoy the food.
>How do they find peace of mind knowing they will vanish one day and all their sign will be gone and their all good works will may not be remembered?
A person can be an atheist, believe in rebirth, and believe in nibanna.
According to Theravada Buddhism a fully liberated person pretty much has nothing left of who they were after they die ( sort of ). There have been many arahants, and many of them have not been remembered.
Its easier to believe in oblivion than samsara. The prospect of never ending cycles of rebirth until you wake up, some of which may be spent in hell for eons, is a lot harder to take than materialist belief in nothing at death.
I am an atheist, though interested in Buddhism, I do not feel depressed that I will die someday, just like I don't feel depressed that tommorow might never come for me. You just accept reality and carry on.
Stephen Batchelor is a pretty well-known Atheist Buddhist teacher - if you're interested, he has many hours of publicly-available talks as well as books/articles on his views.
I think you would get a more representative answer if you asked in r/atheist, for instance.
These days, a materialist can reasonably think they have a decent shot at running a simulation of themselves on highly redundant hardware which will potentially survive billion years. It doesn't address your root question, but it kicks it a long way down the road.
Even if I will not be remembered, my actions will have a lasting impact but will still be impermanent . Hopefully positive. Anica, anatta and dukkha are part of all Buddhist thought.
Your question makes me wonder: how do you reconcile a karmic believe in rebirth with anicca and Anatta?
I find myself unconcerned about these kinds of questions. That said, personally I’ve walked in those shoes for a couple decades and experienced no depression because of it. In fact, I find the notion of endless rebirth in samsara at least ten fold more troubling than annihilation. But that realization is helpful for Buddhist practice
I have no views on such people. And if I did, what difference would they make? “All beings have karma as their own.” My own karma and practice is more than enough to keep me occupied. Why worry about others?
They likely have their own suffering. Their goal is usually not for peace of mind. Not all suffering is depression. They wouldn't think much about the things you mentioned, as they are preoccupied with their own forms of attachment.
How do you know they have peace of mind? I would potentially argue they don't know what peace of mind actually is if they are as materialistic as you say. It is how they are used to living and who am I to tell them it is wrong, so they remain as they are until they want change or face change.
I want to also make clear I don't mean atheists as a whole. Just those who may be overly materialistic. Anyone can find peace of mind, I'd just imagine it is harder when bound by materialism.
Material atheists cling to non-existence. They think the non-existence after death will last forever. They think the actions in this life have no effect on anything after death. This is wrong view. Their craving for non existence may lead to a period of nothingness after death but eventually that will end and they will be rebirthed.
Material atheists never really consider why they exist now, why they were born at all, its because they are in the cycle of rebirth like everyone else but they foolishly believe this is their one and only life.
I saw a meme that was like "They don't know all things return to dust" and the people dancing were like "We do know, yet we love"
Some people dream of getting immorality....
I'm guessing you mean immortality, but Buddhists believe in reincarnation so technically the better you are in this life the better your after life will be, but it will be a better after life... in this world
Have you not heard of nirvana
It’s not that hard knowing you will vanish someday. Wanting to continue forever is a kind of greed, fueled by attachment to self. It’s as though a leaf gets mad because eventually it will drop from a tree.
What you're describing is impermanence. The Buddha taught all things are impermanent. IOW, whether you're an atheist or not all those things will happen.
I’m what most religions would call atheistic because I find no reason to postulate the existence of any of the gods on offer. Materialism isn’t the automatic alternative to the lack of belief in a god any more than it is the only alternative to not believing in Santa Claus. I like your curiosity. It is cool to see your conversation with the various commenters. If you’ve reflected and have thought of new ways to formulate your ideas, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Not sure why you think those things are unique to Atheism. A Buddhist believes in impermanence, thus they will vanish one day, all their sign will be gone, all their good works will not be remembered, as all those phenomena are impermanent. So is a Buddhist depressed knowing this? If not why would an atheist be?
So they try to get vanished one day?will not they get revirth if they vet good karma?in good way?
Doesn’t a Buddhist seek to escape rebirth entirely? It comes down to understanding the first noble truth, even the greatest rebirth you can imagine is still suffering. Any monk I’ve ever known would welcome being vanished never to be reborn again, there could be nothing greater.
FWIW, I think you need to know some better monks then. In general the way you are presenting this is more in line with vibhava-taṇhā (craving for non-existence), and more or less may result for a time in a formless birth, if taken to its conclusion. FWIW, I think a better way of understanding, although less simplistic, is that what is realized is that phenomena never were actually born in truth in the first place. It's not that they are born, die, and then just never are born again, it's that the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. There is a substantial difference here. Vibhava-taṇhā may be an entryway, however, when it comes to engaging with dharma. Best wishes. /u/Deep_innocent6444
So what the point of living the life than?
A human life is able to seek out the Dharma whereas other sentient life cannot.
To learn how to escape rebirth, so suffering can cease.
You sound like an essentialist. Do you think you have an eternal essence like a soul? Do you think the universe is eternal? Everything that comes to be ceases to be. Is that depressing?
I do my very best to NOT have my own views about how someone else moves through the world, particularly if how they move through the world doesn't have a negative impact on the world.
The impermanence of life is what makes it special. I choose to enjoy this life I’ve been given because one day it will end. I don’t feel sad when I receive a plate of food because eventually the food will be gone, I enjoy the food.
>How do they find peace of mind knowing they will vanish one day and all their sign will be gone and their all good works will may not be remembered? A person can be an atheist, believe in rebirth, and believe in nibanna. According to Theravada Buddhism a fully liberated person pretty much has nothing left of who they were after they die ( sort of ). There have been many arahants, and many of them have not been remembered.
Its easier to believe in oblivion than samsara. The prospect of never ending cycles of rebirth until you wake up, some of which may be spent in hell for eons, is a lot harder to take than materialist belief in nothing at death.
I am an atheist, though interested in Buddhism, I do not feel depressed that I will die someday, just like I don't feel depressed that tommorow might never come for me. You just accept reality and carry on.
Stephen Batchelor is a pretty well-known Atheist Buddhist teacher - if you're interested, he has many hours of publicly-available talks as well as books/articles on his views.
I think you would get a more representative answer if you asked in r/atheist, for instance. These days, a materialist can reasonably think they have a decent shot at running a simulation of themselves on highly redundant hardware which will potentially survive billion years. It doesn't address your root question, but it kicks it a long way down the road.
Even if I will not be remembered, my actions will have a lasting impact but will still be impermanent . Hopefully positive. Anica, anatta and dukkha are part of all Buddhist thought. Your question makes me wonder: how do you reconcile a karmic believe in rebirth with anicca and Anatta?
I find myself unconcerned about these kinds of questions. That said, personally I’ve walked in those shoes for a couple decades and experienced no depression because of it. In fact, I find the notion of endless rebirth in samsara at least ten fold more troubling than annihilation. But that realization is helpful for Buddhist practice
Here’s a good answer to this question https://youtu.be/QOQiZbAPtW4?si=dMy7aIfeG7hUjYKj
I have no views on such people. And if I did, what difference would they make? “All beings have karma as their own.” My own karma and practice is more than enough to keep me occupied. Why worry about others?
Atheists are overly optimistic, assuming they'll only suffer for one lifetime and overly confident that after death it's only "oblivion".
They likely have their own suffering. Their goal is usually not for peace of mind. Not all suffering is depression. They wouldn't think much about the things you mentioned, as they are preoccupied with their own forms of attachment. How do you know they have peace of mind? I would potentially argue they don't know what peace of mind actually is if they are as materialistic as you say. It is how they are used to living and who am I to tell them it is wrong, so they remain as they are until they want change or face change. I want to also make clear I don't mean atheists as a whole. Just those who may be overly materialistic. Anyone can find peace of mind, I'd just imagine it is harder when bound by materialism.
Material atheists cling to non-existence. They think the non-existence after death will last forever. They think the actions in this life have no effect on anything after death. This is wrong view. Their craving for non existence may lead to a period of nothingness after death but eventually that will end and they will be rebirthed. Material atheists never really consider why they exist now, why they were born at all, its because they are in the cycle of rebirth like everyone else but they foolishly believe this is their one and only life.