Hope

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KristenM
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Hope

Post by KristenM »

I'm curious about the concept of "hope" in Buddhism. I recall hearing a negative-sounding person ask Khenpo Tsultrim Gyatso about some pessimistic view on life and KTG replied, "We must always have hope."

Is there a word for "Hope" in Buddhism or Tibetan or Buddhadharma?
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Hope

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

KristenM wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:24 am I'm curious about the concept of "hope" in Buddhism. I recall hearing a negative-sounding person ask Khenpo Tsultrim Gyatso about some pessimistic view on life and KTG replied, "We must always have hope."

Is there a word for "Hope" in Buddhism or Tibetan or Buddhadharma?
What is your definition of hope?
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
KristenM
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Re: Hope

Post by KristenM »

PadmaVonSamba wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:37 am
KristenM wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:24 am I'm curious about the concept of "hope" in Buddhism. I recall hearing a negative-sounding person ask Khenpo Tsultrim Gyatso about some pessimistic view on life and KTG replied, "We must always have hope."

Is there a word for "Hope" in Buddhism or Tibetan or Buddhadharma?
What is your definition of hope?
Believing or at least wishing that things will get better. What’s yours?
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Hope

Post by Kim O'Hara »

A word that is translated as "hope" certainly appears in the Pali Canon. If you go to Access to Insight and search for "hope" you get lots of results, e.g.
Gilana Sutta: Ill (1)
www.accesstoinsight.org › tipitaka › sn35.074.than.html
"Then I hope you have no anxiety, monk. I hope you have no anguish." "Yes, lord, I do have not a small amount of anxiety, not a small amount of ...
LabeledSuttas
Khemaka Sutta: About Khemaka
www.accesstoinsight.org › tipitaka › sn22.089.than.html
We hope that there are signs of their lessening, and not of their increasing."'" Replying, "As you say, friends," to the elder monks, Ven. Dasaka went to Ven.
LabeledSuttas
Gilana Sutta: Ill
www.accesstoinsight.org › tipitaka › sn46.014.than.html
Maha Kassapa, "I hope you are getting better, Kassapa. I hope you are comfortable. I hope that your pains are lessening and not increasing.
LabeledSuttas
Juñha Sutta: Moonlit
www.accesstoinsight.org › tipitaka › ud.4.04.than.html
I hope you are feeling no pain." "I am well, friend Moggallāna. I am comfortable. But I do have a slight headache." "How amazing, friend Sāriputta!
LabeledSuttas ...
But in general I think that Buddhism teaches realism and clarity rather than either optimism or pessimism: that the glass is half-full but it is also half empty and wishful thinking won't change anything. What we can change by our thinking is how (or whether) we let the situation affect us.

:namaste:
Kim
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Hope

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

KristenM wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 3:20 am
PadmaVonSamba wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:37 am
KristenM wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:24 am I'm curious about the concept of "hope" in Buddhism. I recall hearing a negative-sounding person ask Khenpo Tsultrim Gyatso about some pessimistic view on life and KTG replied, "We must always have hope."

Is there a word for "Hope" in Buddhism or Tibetan or Buddhadharma?
What is your definition of hope?
Believing or at least wishing that things will get better. What’s yours?
I think that’s a good working definition.
I asked, because you asked about words in other languages or contexts, and really, word-meanings a as for even concepts can vary greatly.

When we hope for something, it means that we are thinking about an uncertain situation which needs to be resolved. It can be as casual as hoping the gift you sent to someone arrives on time, or as serious as hoping someone lives through a medical procedure. Either way, the dynamic is the same. This dynamic is what characterizes existence in the human realm: conditions are always changing and uncertain, we fear getting what we don’t want and not getting what we want, and we are always striving, grasping for something better.

The great indian Buddhist teacher, Shantideva, wrote that if a problem can be solved, there is no point in worrying about it, and if it can’t be solved, worrying about it won’t help. I think this also sums up the Buddhist approach to hope. Hope is like worry.

Hope and worry are two sides of the same coin.
I think Buddhism, in general, regards the process of hoping, along with worrying, as distractions from being in the present moment. They are based on clinging. Staying in the present moment and acknowledging all possible outcomes is, I think, the preferred approach, because then one can relate to changing situations clearly, which ultimately leads one to the least amount of suffering.

At the same time, hope doesn’t need to be abandoned (just not clung to). Having hope can keep a person going in a ‘hopeless’ situation. It is precisely because conditions change, that a hopeless situation can become hopeful. A lost dog might in fact come back home a month later. You never know.

I think that the Buddhist approach is to avoid constructing one’s emotional or mental state on a foundation of hopes and wishes. Likewise, making every decision in life based on “what bad thing might happen if I don’t” is also the wrong path.

Happiness comes from within one’s own mind. Relying on external conditions for one’s peace of mind is a dangerous practice. External conditions are constantly shifting. It’s like building a house in an earthquake zone.

Of course, very often external events can cause a lot of sadness and grieving. That’s only natural. The point isn’t to deny sadness, but to not pin happiness on avoiding sadness.

To put it simply, it’s fine to hope for a sunny day. But whether it is a sunny day or a rainy, one shouldn’t depend on that for one’s own peace of mind. Peace of mind (liberation from suffering) is the goal of Buddhist practice in this lifetime.
EMPTIFUL.
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Tao
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Re: Hope

Post by Tao »

>Believing or at least wishing that things will get better.

It's basically a desire, so yes... not recommended

But dont let language fool you, avoiding thoughts about your future, will not make you hopeless... :)

It will make just more centered in the present.
Giovanni
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Re: Hope

Post by Giovanni »

The Sanskrit term ‘shraddha’does not translate as hope. But it suggests that we trust that Buddhadharma is the means by which suffering ceases, even on a provisional trial basis, we will gain assurance that it does what it claims. Which seems to me to be the very best reason for hope.
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Queequeg
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Re: Hope

Post by Queequeg »

Giovanni wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 1:21 pm The Sanskrit term ‘shraddha’does not translate as hope. But it suggests that we trust that Buddhadharma is the means by which suffering ceases, even on a provisional trial basis, we will gain assurance that it does what it claims. Which seems to me to be the very best reason for hope.
:good:

Also... Buddha encouraged lay people to honor the local devas which involved rituals of supplication for good outcomes like good growing seasons and harvests. Buddha wasn't a kill joy and understood people often need meaning and hope in life. Buddhadharma proper teaches one to relinquish that kind of grasping, though that wasn't instruction for the laity until Sariputra, on behalf of Anathapindika, asked the Buddha for permission to teach Dharma to Anathapindika on his deathbed.
Last edited by Queequeg on Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
There is no suffering to be severed. Ignorance and klesas are indivisible from bodhi. There is no cause of suffering to be abandoned. Since extremes and the false are the Middle and genuine, there is no path to be practiced. Samsara is nirvana. No severance achieved. No suffering nor its cause. No path, no end. There is no transcendent realm; there is only the one true aspect. There is nothing separate from the true aspect.
-Guanding, Perfect and Sudden Contemplation,
KristenM
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Re: Hope

Post by KristenM »

Thanks everyone. I know that "going beyond hope and fear" is something we are taught to strive for in the absolute sense of reality and I certainly try my best. But, I can also see how in the relative perspective, when this is not readily attainable for everyone, we need some scaffolding to get there. A little hope may be useful so we don't completely give up on ourselves and the world. That doesn't mean we should take this solid view of reality and put stock in hope as something other than as perhaps a psychological "coping skill."

As a therapist, finding ways to relate to people's suffering in a manner that is genuinely helpful for them makes myself keenly aware of not falling into a habit of using hope in a lazy way. But it can be necessary at times.

And anyhow, it seems the point of prayers is to aspire for something and that is also somewhat hopeful.
Malcolm
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Re: Hope

Post by Malcolm »

KristenM wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:24 am I'm curious about the concept of "hope" in Buddhism. I recall hearing a negative-sounding person ask Khenpo Tsultrim Gyatso about some pessimistic view on life and KTG replied, "We must always have hope."

Is there a word for "Hope" in Buddhism or Tibetan or Buddhadharma?
Re ba in Tibetan, āśā in Sanskrit.

The point of the dharma is to go beyond hope and fear.

Aspirations, smon lam, pranidhana, on the other hand, are not about hope. They are an altruistic wish for the betterment of everyone. There is also of course the sentiment that everyone's hopes are fulfilled, because that is simply kindhearted.
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Johnny Dangerous
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Re: Hope

Post by Johnny Dangerous »

KristenM wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:18 pm Thanks everyone. I know that "going beyond hope and fear" is something we are taught to strive for in the absolute sense of reality and I certainly try my best. But, I can also see how in the relative perspective, when this is not readily attainable for everyone, we need some scaffolding to get there. A little hope may be useful so we don't completely give up on ourselves and the world. That doesn't mean we should take this solid view of reality and put stock in hope as something other than as perhaps a psychological "coping skill."

As a therapist, finding ways to relate to people's suffering in a manner that is genuinely helpful for them makes myself keenly aware of not falling into a habit of using hope in a lazy way. But it can be necessary at times.

And anyhow, it seems the point of prayers is to aspire for something and that is also somewhat hopeful.
Kind of dovetailing with therapeutic stuff, hope is something like a coping skill, it might be useful at times but actually relying on it is a recipe for true disaster, whereas acceptance and equanimity can bring about actual transformation.
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

-Khunu Lama
KristenM
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Re: Hope

Post by KristenM »

Johnny Dangerous wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 7:06 pm
KristenM wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:18 pm Thanks everyone. I know that "going beyond hope and fear" is something we are taught to strive for in the absolute sense of reality and I certainly try my best. But, I can also see how in the relative perspective, when this is not readily attainable for everyone, we need some scaffolding to get there. A little hope may be useful so we don't completely give up on ourselves and the world. That doesn't mean we should take this solid view of reality and put stock in hope as something other than as perhaps a psychological "coping skill."

As a therapist, finding ways to relate to people's suffering in a manner that is genuinely helpful for them makes myself keenly aware of not falling into a habit of using hope in a lazy way. But it can be necessary at times.

And anyhow, it seems the point of prayers is to aspire for something and that is also somewhat hopeful.
Kind of dovetailing with therapeutic stuff, hope is something like a coping skill, it might be useful at times but actually relying on it is a recipe for true disaster, whereas acceptance and equanimity can bring about actual transformation.
I’d really like a thread or something that deals with Buddhism and therapy. I know there’s a ton of stuff out there already, but I’m interested in what you and other people practicing therapy think about certain stuff. :)
KristenM
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Re: Hope

Post by KristenM »

Johnny Dangerous wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 7:06 pm
KristenM wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2022 2:18 pm Thanks everyone. I know that "going beyond hope and fear" is something we are taught to strive for in the absolute sense of reality and I certainly try my best. But, I can also see how in the relative perspective, when this is not readily attainable for everyone, we need some scaffolding to get there. A little hope may be useful so we don't completely give up on ourselves and the world. That doesn't mean we should take this solid view of reality and put stock in hope as something other than as perhaps a psychological "coping skill."

As a therapist, finding ways to relate to people's suffering in a manner that is genuinely helpful for them makes myself keenly aware of not falling into a habit of using hope in a lazy way. But it can be necessary at times.

And anyhow, it seems the point of prayers is to aspire for something and that is also somewhat hopeful.
Kind of dovetailing with therapeutic stuff, hope is something like a coping skill, it might be useful at times but actually relying on it is a recipe for true disaster, whereas acceptance and equanimity can bring about actual transformation.
That’s why I mentioned scaffolding: https://www.uopeople.edu/blog/what-is-s ... 20students.

Sometimes we can’t talk directly about going beyond hope and fear, or emptiness or samsara. We have to be aware of the person’s abilities in the moment and break things down slowly.
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