What Buddhism Gets Right

Reality has many levels

Douglas Giles, PhD says that none of his articles have received as much attention as his article Buddhism is Wrong. A lot of Buddhists , including me, have pointed out in the comments that his interpretation varies dramatically from Buddhism as we know it and practice it. I‘m not 100% sure that his attack is aimed at a completely straw man. I have focused my practice and studies only on certain schools of Tibetan Buddhism, many of which may contain corrections and responses to the kind of Buddhism that Giles is criticizing. I do know, however, that the schools I have studied specifically reject the kinds of views of the mind and reality which Giles attributes to all Buddhism.

Nagarjuna makes a distinction between two extreme and incorrect views he calls Nihilism and Eternalism. Eternalism is the common sense view that the world is just out there, period, without being in any way influenced by our thoughts about it. Nihilism is the position that often arises in people who have shallow encounters with Buddhism. It basically consists of ideas like this:

“Reject your thoughts, reject yourself, all is illusion.”

“you and your thoughts are nothing.”

“Buddhism denies the self.”

“thoughts are. . . illusions that you can just dismiss.”

These quotes, are all from Giles’ two articles on Buddhism. (It may seem like cheating to remove the word “not”, from the last quote, but his assertion…