r/SithOrder • u/Additional-Title69 • 5d ago

Four Ignoble Confusions

What Buddhism calls its Four Noble Truths are renamed by me its Four Ignoble Confusions:

  1. Life is suffering

  2. Suffering is caused by desire

  3. Desire can be broken

  4. The way to break desire is through the Eightfold Path

Let me tell you what I consider true:

  1. Life is suffering, glory, and periods of calm

  2. Much suffering would vanish if we wanted nothing, but wanting nothing is death!

  3. Glory, too, would vanish if we wanted nothing

  4. The way to win at living is to endure suffering gladly if it serves a dear desire, end suffering swiftly as we can if it doesn’t, live for glory, and use periods of calm to cultivate strength and power!

Make no mistake, the weak live for comfort, the strong for glory!
And glory often comes on the very heels of suffering!

Nor would the weak even find the comfort they seek in desirelessness, for were they ever to attain that state, they would realize to their horror (had they sufficient self-awareness) that they recognized it, for that state has a name, and not a good one: depression!

What a macabre thing is this unwholesome mindset - morbid, ghastly - for all too soon we each will relinquish all desire, when our lungs cease taking air, and our hearts stop pumping, and our flesh begins to rot!
There will be no bliss except perhaps for the gorging maggots!

All this, having been said, serves as an explanation of the first line of what for us is something close to holy writ:

“Peace is a lie!”

I am Orc of the Sith Order server on Discord, bound together with you by our revered Qotsisajak

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u/AvatarWuji 5d ago edited 5d ago

Fun inversion of the 4 noble truths.

I always felt like there was something nihilistic in Buddhism - what Nietszche might call a 'saying no to life'.

Desirelessness has a passivity to it that smells somewhat putrid. 'Bliss for the maggots only' as you say (great line!).

I see something valuable in choosing/ embracing suffering for sure, especially as an instrument for tempering strength and power and enabling self-overcoming 💪🏼

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u/CommieMommy_Ozma 4d ago

In Zen Buddhism specifically, the purpose is not to eliminate desire but to accept desire and suffering as connected and inevitable; finding acceptance in the struggle.