If Buddhism is bullshit, then what should I do with my Buddhist books?

[Husseinisdoingfine]

Greetings.

I really enjoy reading about Buddhism, I'm 21 years old and I have for a while been reading the Pali Canon and Sutras. I've already read; ''In the Buddha's Words: An Anthology of Discourses from the Pali Canon'', and ''The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya''. Now I'm reading, ''Great Disciples of the Buddha: Their Lives, Their Works, Their Legacy''. 

I get disheartened when Leo calls Buddhism bullshit. I've obtained a lot of value from these books and I have no intention to stop reading. But Leo is making me contemplate whether or not I'm wasting my time. I do recall in another video Leo said ''do not even think of being awake if you had not read at least a hundred books (Abrahamic books do not count)''. It was either from a video or blog post, and I'm paraphrasing the quote.

I get immense value from these books, and I think it's appropriate for my low level as I'm still building my life and burning through karma. But Leo says that Buddhism will put me into a paradigm, Buddhism is not AWAKE, no amount of meditation will awaken me, meditation is Bullshit, Buddhism is bullshit. I'm not trying to gaslight Leo so that he changes his position,  I'm just asking what to do with my books. Should I continue reading or stop reading before I get locked into a paradigm.

P.S.

If meditation is bullshit, then how do you explain all the really woke people who got there through meditation? Such as; Peter Ralston, Osho, Siddhartha Gautama, Ramana Maharshi, etc...

 

Edited May 16, 2023 by Husseinisdoingfine
I put the names of the books in italics and placed quotations around them

[Guest Bazooka Jesus]

Stop. Listening. To. Leo.

Read, learn and think for yourself.

[Moksha]

As a conceptual trap, Buddhism is no worse than any other religion, and certainly better than some.

Regardless of the ideology, can you realize the underlying truth without identifying with the surface teachings?

If so, who cares what Leo or any other teacher claims? Look within yourself, and trust only what you directly see.

[talktomeaboutprog]

I also ran in to this obstacle, since I trust Leo but also like Buddhist teachings. 

I think the way to go about it is not to close off into fearful state, and keep exploring different teachers, and be open that certain parts of Buddhism are limited, but that at your current development you can really benefit from the Buddhist teachings. 

But think for yourself, don't trust Leo or the books bluntly without critically thinking about it all. 

Your issue is lack of clarity, because you because fearful when hearing that Buddhism may not be "safe".

Be open. Don't close up. It's only fear.

Be okay with walking into a wall. You'll know once you hit it. But don't get closed up and fearful. Hope this makes sense. 

[Carl-Richard]

There is no worse trap than taking somebody's words as gospel and not discovering the answer for yourself. Find out why it's a supposedly a trap. Try to understand why Leo is saying what he is saying and see if it even makes sense to you.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Carl-Richard

[Osaid]

Just read consciously.

It seems like you're scared of being deluded by some Buddhist ideas or something. If you approach it consciously with your own authority and a grounded epistemology then it will only be a benefit to you.

If you don't, you will probably spend all your time thinking "Oh but maybe Buddhism isn't bullshit, I will never know since I didn't look into it!".

If something is bullshit, so be it. You can even learn from bullshit. Leo only apparently realized Buddhism was bullshit after very thoroughly looking into it. Sometimes you gotta jump deep into the bullshit to really conclusively figure out that it is indeed bullshit.

[ChrisZoZo]

16 hours ago, Bazooka Jesus said:

Stop. Listening. To. Leo.

Read, learn and think for yourself.

Why not both?

[Federico del pueblo]

@Husseinisdoingfine  If you get immense value from the Buddhist books, then why do you care about what Leo says about Buddhism? 

Leo also tells you to think for yourself.

What is helpful to you always depends on what your current level of development is.

Leo basically tells you that Buddhism is just a map and that it "must" be transcended at some point, maybe also that there are certain traps or errors within the teachings, so you must stay careful and think for yourself. 

When you are very proficient at riding a bicycle then the support wheels are bullshit to you. If you're a 4 year old trying to learn riding a bike then support wheels can be a good initial help.

[JellyDogShoe_1Mil]

All of those beings you listed below are no more "awake" than the one reading this reply.

If you enjoy Buddhism, do that. 

[Globalcollective]

Well you can get alot from Buddhism in terms of how to deal with suffering and their take on detachment and happiness even can be very valuable and practical in day to day life. Maybe what Leo means is with the deeper aspects of its philosophy on what reality actually is. But you can just take that bit with a pinch of salt. Meditation is a great self development tool no questions there. 

[Razard86]

Buddhism doesn't acknowledge Love Awakenings. They focus on emptiness and nothingness and the void etc. Leo makes fun of it because it denies an aspect of Reality which is obvious. So Buddhism is close-minded and therefore limited. Leo has certain limitations as well but many of you don't see that either.

In truth human spirituality is utter bullshit and is corrupted by human egos. You only discover this when you understand that God loves EVERYTHING. 

[CARDOZZO]

Read all that you can.

Contemplate.

Go for Peter Ralston, Ken Wilber, Jed McKenna, Tom Campbell, Vadim Zeland, Frederick Dodson.

Then go for the truth and burn it all if you want.

[Jodistrict]

The below video is a good example of someone who used Buddhism to live a happy life.  If you are tired of the philosophical bullshit and actually want to reduce your suffering and be happy, check it out.

 

 

[Husseinisdoingfine]

I remember reading a wonderful interpretation of the Buddha, where he did indeed awake to God and Love, but then called it 'nothingness'. He did this so that his followers would not have a preconceived notion to cling to. In the similar way that Christians have a humanoid view of God due to Michelangelo's paintings, the Buddha didn't want something like that.

 

[Yimpa]

@Husseinisdoingfine You can still cling onto the Buddha and nothingness. 

This work is more serious than you’re thinking right now.