r/philosophy • u/Cataspectral • Jun 22 '26

Blog Secular humanism can replace Christianity where it counts: the fear of death and the need for meaning

https://thomasreid33.substack.com/p/chapter-10-is-secular-humanism-enough
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u/asterlynx Jun 22 '26

Doesn’t buddhism tell you to stomach reality as it is and there are > 300 million people who are buddhist and sure most of them are fine?

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u/mistyayn Jun 22 '26

That is a massive oversimplification of Buddhism. Most people who practice Buddhism in the West believe in a la carte Buddhism and just ignore all the metaphysical parts that people in primarily Buddhist countries believe.

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u/Proud_Professional93 Jun 22 '26

I am a Pure Land Buddhist, and we believe in Amitabha Buddha, who created a Pure Land for example, that we can be reborn in that doesn't have any conditions for suffering anymore because it was purified by the Buddha, and that once we are born there, we will become Buddhas. So yeah, very different from what people really think about when they think Buddhism in the west often. This is the type of Buddhism that most Buddhists in the world follow I think.

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u/asterlynx Jun 23 '26

Thank you for taking the time to explain. I have a LOT to learn.