-
- Isn't
this a bit pessimistic?
-
- The dictionary
defines pessimism as 'the habit of thinking that whatever will happen will
be bad,' 'or 'The belief that evil is more powerful than good.' Buddhism
teaches neither of these ideas. Nor does it deny that happiness exists.
It simply says that to live is to experience physical and psychological
suffering which is a statement that is so obvious that it cannot be denied.
The central concept of most religions is a myth, a legend or a belief that
is difficult or impossible to verify. Buddhism starts with an experience,
an irrefutable fact, a thing that all know, that all have experienced and
that all are striving to overcome. Thus Buddhism is truly a universal religion
because it goes right to the core of every individual human being's concern
with suffering and how to avoid it.