Is buddhism pessimistic?
A fully enlightened being (a buddha) dwells in perpetual bliss, aka happiness, joy. (Heck, joy/rejoicing is the remedy for jealousy!) They are the true nature of the mind, and cannot be destoyed. Desire is another word for attatchment, clinging, grasping which is not helpful. Attatchment is never valid, all it brings is suffering. Attatchment is what sets in when the ego doesn’t get what it wants. Allowing attatchment or desire to rule you is like being a junky–we are addicted to the bad habit of thinking that externals (spouse, weather, new car, chocolate cake, more money) will make us happy. In Buddhism, we aim to destroy all negativities, which are thought to be unnatural. One way to attain this pure happy state is by practicing the 6 perfections: Generosity, Ethics, Patience, Effort, Concentration, and Wisdom. So how can Buddhism be pessimistic–generosity is certainly a positive thing, no?? Maybe there is confusion on the understanding of emptiness? It doesn’t mean the extreme of
