Eastern Philosophical Foundations of Defeatism

Although Eastern Philosophy is Holier Than Mao's area of expertise, I'd like to take a brief look at the philosophical underpinnings of the defeatist ethos. There are definite Taoist and well as Buddhist parallels to the defeatist way of life. 

The following excerpt comes from Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh and is titled "Hope as an Obstacle":

Hope is important, because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today. But that is the most that hope can do for us—to make some hardship lighter. When I think deeply about the nature of hope in the future, we do not focus our energies and capabilities on the present moment. We use hope to believe something better will happen in the future, that we will arrive at peace, or the Kingdom of God. Hope becomes a kind of obstacle. If you can refrain from hoping, you can bring yourself entirely into the present moment and discover the joy that is already here.

In other words, only by losing all hope is one able to experience true freedom. Hope is an illusion, even a prison, that prevents us from experiencing real freedom today.

Then there's the concept of delayed gratification which keeps us waiting and waiting for our "savior" which never arrives. The thought of achieving pleasure in the future may keep us moving forward, but we never actually reach that destination.

Enjoy life today, not tomorrow.

Comments

[Robot Buddha]

Brilliant.

[Robot Buddha]

And in keeping with the Hopelessness theme, I'm keeping the "Type Pad Refugees" site on my Blogroll just in case something happens...

[Neil Shakespeare]

I am becoming more and more a convert to the Defeatist Ethos every day. Defeatism rocks!

[Fred Bieling]

~~~~

[comandante agi]

Glad to hear that Neil. Our goal is to conquer the world by encouraging all sentient beings to capitulate.

[No Blood for Hubris]

Actual Buddhist point of view being misrepresented. FYI.

[comandante agi]

Damn. I am defeated once again.

Care to explain No Blood for Hubris?

[No Blood for Hubris]

Could--but mightn't that defeat the whole purpose?

[comandante agi]

If you leave a comment saying that I'm wrong then please at least explain why I am wrong. It should be easy considering I know nothing.

[rev. quitter]

it's true. he knows very little.

[comandante agi]

I do know one thing however. If I were to ever meet the Buddha then I should kill him.

[flawedplan]

What about despair?
Look, I see the appeal in hopelessness when you can afford to surrender to your limitations, but despair over the possibility of ameliorating unbearable conditions leads to suicide. Hopelessness leads to despair, despair leads to suicide, if not hope and encouragement, what would you offer someone existing in unbearable circumstances?

[comandante agi]

What about despair?

You are thinking in terms of opposites. Hanh does not encourage hopelessness. His point is that hope is an obstacle that prevents one from experiencing the present. He is not advocating the opposite of hope. Rather he argues that one should enjoy the present as opposed to waiting for something in the future.

Hopelessness leads to despair, despair leads to suicide, if not hope and encouragement, what would you offer someone existing in unbearable circumstances?

Nowhere do I advocate being hopeless and nowhere to I encourage despair. I do realize the trap posed by eternal hoping.

People undergoing unbearable circumstances should consult professional help, not a satirical website run by a bunch of slackers. Furthermore, this philosophy is not intended for anyone other than myself (and my fellow defeatists! who may or may not agree with me). If you’re curious about the odd amalgamation of what is defeatism, then read this.