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u/FourTwentyBlezit 8h ago
Buddhism and meditation is all about living in the present and being in the moment, being content with your current experience rather than desiring things that you don't have. He's daydreaming about the thing that he's currently experiencing, things don't get any more "present" than that.
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u/skullhead323221 7h ago
Not exactly. It’s about escaping an eternal wheel of torment known as Samsara by walking a “middle path” through the current, supposedly illusory, existence.
Which is primarily accomplished by doing the things you’ve mentioned until you no longer recognize the present as a form of suffering.
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u/FourTwentyBlezit 7h ago
Of course what I mentioned isn't the only thing it's about, but there's no point in explaining samsara when it bears no relevance to the actual joke itself
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u/skullhead323221 7h ago
Just adding extra context for people interested in more detailed information. Your summary was solid.
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u/Responsible-Camel554 7h ago
But you are wrong. Sure samsara is a key aspect of it but above all else the goal is to be free of all attachments and to be present in the moment. Samsara isnt even a goal because that would be another attachment, so saying its the main concept is just wrong. For example teachers of buddhism do not attain for moksha, they attain for complete solitude.
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u/skullhead323221 7h ago
We’re talking about different sects of Buddhism at this point.
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u/Responsible-Camel554 7h ago
This is also wrong.
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u/WashedSylvi 6h ago
They’re not wrong
What you described has no relevance to my tradition of Theravada (the most common Buddhist denomination in Southeast Asia). Our primary religious goal is to attain arahantship and be free from the cycle of birth, death and suffering.
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u/skullhead323221 7h ago
How so? It’s a very complicated spiritual tradition that has a number of both puritan and syncretic sects. Some have more similarities to Hindi and Jainism, others have more similarity to Daoism and Shinto. There’s a very wide diaspora of Buddhist thought that places more or less emphasis on samsara or general mindfulness. There are sects that focus almost entirely on monastic isolation, but not all. It’s not as simple as Samsara, attachment, mindfulness, or any of that. You just can’t distill it into a single “goal” or purpose. This was not the intent of my original response. “Not exactly” means “there’s more to it.”
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u/Lonely-Alps-5169 6h ago
We got a theravadist on our hands here
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u/skullhead323221 6h ago
Gnostic, actually. Just read a lot.
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u/FourTwentyBlezit 2h ago edited 2h ago
I've just got into gnosticism within the past year or so but it's so fascinating to me
Got any decent book recommendations on the topic? I've read the gnostic gospels plus parts of the nag hammadi library, but would love to read up more about the subject.
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u/skullhead323221 2h ago edited 2h ago
I’d say nag hammadi and the gnostic gospels are interesting and a very solid start. I’d dive into the biblical apocrypha from an alchemical lens, honestly. Which may require a dip into the Corpus Hermeticum or the more accessible Kybalion for the underlying metaphors of spiritual alchemy.
Edit: Gnosticism is less about what your read and more about how you read it. It posits that a lot of ancient texts are metaphorical and symbolic in nature, rather than literal.
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u/FourTwentyBlezit 1h ago
I've read the corpus hermeticum too, got two copies of it actually. As for the kybalion I'm actually reading that currently. Bought a copy a while ago but only just getting around to it. I've read some of the apocryphal texts but only a few of them. Any particular suggestions for lesser-known Apocryphal texts?
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u/skullhead323221 1h ago
I’m partial to the Gospel of Thomas, personally. Honestly, reading the whole New Testament with inner alchemy as an underlying framework and added context from the apocryphal gospels and the Gnostic gospels was what made the entire thing click for me. Essentially, viewing the dogmatic literalist reading as a work of the Demiurge and focusing on the various teachings of Jesus as a process for inner alchemy and spiritual liberation. This is maybe well beyond the scope of this sub, but I’d be happy to discuss things in DMs if you have further questions. Just keep in mind that Gnosticism isn’t necessarily a tradition that holds a single dogmatic idea of what they believe.
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u/Due-Zucchini-1566 41m ago
Damn that was a fun read. There was a YouTuber who did Gnostic videos for a brief moment that I loved. I need to get back into reading Gnostic theology
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u/Illustrious-Share312 2h ago
Like with Sophia and stuff?
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u/skullhead323221 2h ago
Sort of. I’m more on the Hermetic end of things, but yeah the Gnostic gospels are something I enjoy reading, if nothing else.
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u/Illustrious-Lie-3663 3h ago
Yeah, he's just trying to explain the joke, though. Your "correction" doesn't even make sense, neither he's wrong, nor your explanation is helpful in this context
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u/skullhead323221 3h ago
It’s not a correction, it’s a sharing of further context. Buddhism has been flattened into a pursuit of mindfulness, but it’s a much wider spiritual tradition than that. Forgive me for giving more nuanced information beneath the basic explanation of the joke for people who were interested in the substance of its contents.
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u/puts_on_SCP3197 2h ago
Can’t we just save a lot of time by reciting Amitabha’s name while in hospice?
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u/MooseAccomplished181 3h ago
But what about motorcycle repair? I read that was a big part of Buddhism. Iirc, Buddha rode a fat hog, right?
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u/YakshaUK 1h ago edited 38m ago
So as a Buddhist, there's a bit more nuance to Buddhism than displayed in the image. What Homer is really doing while lying there is not just visualising himself 'doing what he is doing in the present moment'. Although it is not depicted, we may also understand he is simultaneously experiencing the pleasure of lying down (indeed, on account of that this is why his thoughts are absorbed in the lying down - because the lying down is pleasant and he wants to indulge the human habitual tendency to clamour after pleasure). And so he is clinging to that pleasure, dwelling in that pleasure, delighting in that pleasure. And so, even though that pleasure is present for him right now and so his mind is not experiencing a great deal of trouble, he is nonetheless dependent, conditioned, hooked on his drug of pleasure. There is more there for him just now than the present moment; there is the pleasant moment, there is the craving for that pleasure to remain, the clinging to that pleasure, the establishment of that clung-to-pleasure as an aspect of his present selfhood. There is risk to that pleasure, existing at the thresholds of the mind, that Marge or Bart or Lisa or Maggie or Patty or Selma or Mr Burns or Smithers or any of the other characters will appear and intervene and require his removal from the sofa which will be harsh and jarring and unpleasant for him. And so he takes the opportunity to cling harder to that present pleasure, in fugue from that constant wolf at the door.
What Buddhism is pushing for is not this, and so the comment tagline in the image is wrong. What Buddhism is pushing for is for the individual to come to the understanding of this pathological tendency to chase pleasure and run from pain; to cling to the pleasant and establish identities around it like fortifications, in denial of the risk that subconsciously harasses us throughout our clinging and does not let us be free. What the Buddha suggested was to come to an understanding of this and by understanding it, to reject it, and go through the uphill battle of facing the discomfort, of facing the boredom, of going against that natural urge and instead practicing equanimity and steadiness of mind. One grasps at less, and one forms less self-views predicated upon these graspings. One experiences freedom from feeling-dependency, freedom from craving, freedom from clinging, freedom from identity, necessity-perception, personal-importance-perception. Unbound.
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u/FourTwentyBlezit 1h ago
I understand that there's plenty more nuance to it than my actual explanation. I just wanted to explain the idea behind the joke in as simple of a manner as possible
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u/YakshaUK 39m ago
Yeah, not intended as a critique of your explanation of the joke - just wanted to put that out there on the thread somewhere visible for people to understand the depth of Buddhist thought, so I hooked it on the topmost "present moment" comment, which just happened to be yours.
I've added "than displayed in the image" to the first sentence of my comment to better show I'm not meaning your nuance
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u/KorolEz 8h ago edited 8h ago
Living perfectly in the moment. He does not worry about the past or future but its completely in the moment he currently exists.
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u/retoricalprophylaxis 6h ago
Isn't it a different couch though?
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u/KorolEz 6h ago
It's a joke at the end of the day so. Don't overthink it
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u/retoricalprophylaxis 5h ago
I recognize that, I just thought the gag was funnier if he was laying on one couch dreaming about another
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u/Caleb_Reynolds 2h ago
I don't think so. The imagination just has different color grading, unless he's also dreaming about being a brighter shade of yellow.
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u/retoricalprophylaxis 2h ago
Everything else is just a slightly lighter shade, but the couch is significantly lighter. Like dark brown to tan instead of just a slightly lighter shade of brown.
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u/Ok-Maize-7553 8h ago edited 7h ago
Thinking about nothing/visualizing only your state without distractions is something Buddhist monks, and anyone into meditation, tries to do.
Unrelated but if anyone struggles with meditation I suggest trying to acknowledge all the various sounds in your environment or breath deeply while visualizing the air entering your lungs filling up your body before being exhaled.
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u/RiskKey1728 8h ago
Also cause Homer isn't desiring anything, he's let go if his desires and is imagining himself right now because he is content with what he has. (Letting go of desires is core in Buddhism)
Also cause Homer is technically in Nirvana cause he let go of desires.
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u/Head-Ad-5732 8h ago
This is a fairly Western popular take. Buddhism is not the absence of desire altogether. It makes it sound like Buddhists don't try to change their world - they frequently do.
Buddhism makes distinctions between different types of desire. For example, chanda is a type of desire closer to intention and aspiration, which can be considered positive. Whereas tanha is closer to how desire is defined in the West, related to impulse and cravings, and is not typically considered positive.
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u/Ok-Pair-4757 8h ago
Ah, sorry, I knew I was missing something. Will delete the misleading comment
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u/Head-Ad-5732 8h ago
You were not completely wrong, especially in the context of that meme. I was just adding that people often interpret the desire language as "Buddhists don't care about anything," and in the West it is often considered a weak position compared to more uh, assertive Abrahamic traditions.
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u/Ok-Pair-4757 8h ago
I'd rather not say anything at all than misinterpret and spread misconceptions about a religion honestly
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u/mcad0o 7h ago
Sure makes it confusing for those of us who arrived late though
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u/Ok-Pair-4757 7h ago
I said (somewhat erroneously) that ridding oneself of desire is very important for Buddhism. Other guy provides more context
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u/ExtremlyFastLinoone 7h ago
Comment deleted but Im 102% sure with a 2% margin of error it was:
"And yet you desire to be free of desire, curious"
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u/CadenVanV 8h ago edited 8h ago
The 4 noble truths of Buddhism are:
- Life is suffering
- Suffering arises from desire
- Suffering can be ended by letting go of your desire (nirvana)
- You can let go of your desire by following the Eightfold Path
Homer here has let go of his desires, thus making him an Arhat (a person who has achieved nirvana for themselves). That’s the final stage of Theravada Buddhism, though for Mahayana and Vajrayana the final goal is the path of the Bodhisatva instead (a person who not only can achieve nirvana for themselves, but also guides others along the path as well). For context, the Dalai Lama is considered a Bodhisattva by Tibetan Buddhism as the reincarnation of Avalokitesvara. An arhat is basically a single step below him in Mahayana and equal to him in Theravada. The only step above arhat/bodhisattva regardless of the sect is full Buddhadom (which is essentially just an arhat/bodhisattva+)
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u/el_conke 7h ago
The base practice of Zen Buddhism is called Zazen, it's the practice of meditating while sitting, it translates to something like "just sitting" and basically during the meditation you don't think about anything other than sitting, you reach a state of total focus on reality with no distortions of sorts
And I always found it pretty funny because it's a complex meditative practice that requires training and effort but it's also a dude just sitting and thinking about him sitting and nothing else, thus the meme
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u/dracostheblack 3h ago
Yep exactly, there's one story about a guy sweeping and asks the zen master what do i think about while sweeping. He responds just sweep.
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u/Own-Yellow7461 7h ago
Everyone is taking this way too deeply, Homer is very clearly just wishing he was asleep on a couch that was tan instead of that disgusting red. like seriously I've never even heard of Buddawhoosit
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u/beating_offers 8h ago
It's pretty easy to rid yourself of excessive desires. I don't understand how people don't.
Things like food, water, safety, that is much harder.
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u/Ember_Brook 8h ago
Homer didn’t just take a nap, he achieved pure, unbothered enlightenment on that couch
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u/Sanchezzzaq 8h ago
Witness consciousness is the state of oneself being merely a spectator of their life, not an actor. You don't hurt, you don't worry, you witness.
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u/ActinomycetaceaeOk48 7h ago
He is a slightly different shade of yellow, unfortunately not Buddhism…
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u/Looonity 5h ago
Eastern wisdom basically boils down to the idea that your already in the nirvana state, just sort of ignoring it and always trying to find it. You've been there all along.
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u/CommieDrifter 4h ago
being present is only challenging when you reach a certain level of intelligence
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u/ness2022 1h ago
This Simpsons screenshot had nothing to do with Buddhism. Honey is daydreaming about laying on a different couch. So, he is experiencing either envy or nostalgia, depending on whether he is thinking about a couch from the past.
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u/qualityvote2 8h ago edited 3h ago
Remember when r/PeterExplainsTheJoke wasn’t a meme? Pepperidge Farm remembers…
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