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Buddhism is skeptical about the concept of hope believing that it merely deepens illusion and ignorance. Though Buddhist teachers universally promote optimism and positive thinking, they also cite these three significant issues with hope.
First, hope dismantles any sense of living in the present moment but cultivates attachment to a belief that the future will somehow miraculously become better. For that reason, Thich Nhat Hanh calls hope an obstacle: "When I think deeply about the nature of hope, I see something tragic. Sine we cling to our hope in the future, we do not focus our energies and capabilities on the present moment. We use hope to believe that something better will happen in the future, that we will arrive are 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."
Secondly, hope erodes Buddhist "calm abiding" replacing it with fear. Venerable Tashi Nyima, author of The Dharma Handbook, explains: "The moment we hope, there is fear. Hope is the desire for something to be different from what it is. The moment we have that desire, we have the fear that it may not come to pass. One of our sayings is, “No hope, no fear.” No hope means no fear. We do not have to hope."
Thirdly, hope is unreliable because it promotes s wishful thinking that things will change "down the road" without taking the necessary steps. Martial artist and actor Chuck Norris skillfully explains: "Waiting and hoping are not enough: good outcomes require good actions."
First, hope dismantles any sense of living in the present moment but cultivates attachment to a belief that the future will somehow miraculously become better. For that reason, Thich Nhat Hanh calls hope an obstacle: "When I think deeply about the nature of hope, I see something tragic. Sine we cling to our hope in the future, we do not focus our energies and capabilities on the present moment. We use hope to believe that something better will happen in the future, that we will arrive are 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."
Secondly, hope erodes Buddhist "calm abiding" replacing it with fear. Venerable Tashi Nyima, author of The Dharma Handbook, explains: "The moment we hope, there is fear. Hope is the desire for something to be different from what it is. The moment we have that desire, we have the fear that it may not come to pass. One of our sayings is, “No hope, no fear.” No hope means no fear. We do not have to hope."
Thirdly, hope is unreliable because it promotes s wishful thinking that things will change "down the road" without taking the necessary steps. Martial artist and actor Chuck Norris skillfully explains: "Waiting and hoping are not enough: good outcomes require good actions."
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