13 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Is Buddhism skeptical of romantic relationships?
Well, don't you want to love? There's an awful lot of suffering in loneliness and isolation too. And anyway Buddhism isn't about avoiding the suffering of an engaged life. It's about clear seeing and helping yourself and others. Avoiding relationships in case they go south seems like a good way to create suffering for oneself and others, doesn't it?
Comment by Heavy-Dentist-3530 at 03/02/2025 at 21:55 UTC*
2 upvotes, 2 direct replies
Yes, humans have a need to be social and to avoid loneliness. But I am not creating this situation - loneliness happens regardless, whether you are single or married (at least in half of marriages).
I am not shaping the circumstances; these are simply facts.
The point is not about avoidance. Of course, I don’t want to be lonely, and I want to feel loved. Those are almost self-evident desires. But that desire could be an artifact of our thinking - a belief that relationships come with significant advantages that, in reality, often don’t materialize (both intuitively and based on the experiences of billions of people).