Anicca, dukkha, Buddhism and depressive nihilism

You wanna read “Myth of Sysphus” by Camus who basically says, if life is meaningless and dukkha, so does suicide.” Did anyone tell you that it gets better after that?

How not to end up like Carlo, or completely depressed at the very least?

Keep on questioning, keep on looking for truth. If everything is dukkha, which it is, don't run away - keep getting closer until it's right here. Keep getting closer so you can see dukkha for what it is.

Dukkha has to be fully understood, first-hand, directly in front of your own eyes. What dukkha is (its nature), how (why) it arises, and when (why) it does NOT arise.

P.S. This guy who wrote your PS 5 has gold in his backyard while begging for food. Perhaps he can open his eyes and consider Mahayana. Then everything may suddenly get clear, who knows.

As i see it, one can't rightfully declare suicide to be a solution to the drudgery of mundane life lest one knows exactly what life is.

Saying things like 'life is unjust' ie is quite rediculous because it begets the question what exactly is unjust about it, is the spin of an electron unjust? Is the speed of causality ulucky? Hence when one thinks about life in terms like these ie 'there is so much inequality, misfortune and injustice in the world, it is making me sad' it is really not scientific at all and is rather delusional.

Therefore one can't rightly arrive at the conclusion of suicide being a solution for this kind of existential depression.

On how not to fall victim to this kind of depression; Just don't give attention to this kind of faulty reasoning about the world. Remove the attachment to wrong views and the doctrine of self. Develop insight and be devoted to the truth, think thoughts connected with knowledge and do your own work.

People don't achieve Nibbana not because it's 1:1billion chance of success but because so few actually take time to read the texts for themselves, to make their own analysis of teachings, to detach himself from a group and do the work wholeheartedly.

Most people just look for a teacher, they prefer reading works that are entertaining or are popularizations rather than the nitty gritty of the pali canon, they to rely on commentators or authority for interpretations, like children relying on parents, with little faith in their own ability, they seek belonging, take pride in following a tradition and are delighted in a group. They look for ways to pace themselves, to combine work and pleasure and with mediocre effort they get mediocre results.

I believe this is one of those questions which we need to make less complicated, rather than more.

In my opinion 'dukkha' doesn't take some kind of profound realization. That life is difficult is something that most people intuitively understand, whether or not they've studied Buddhism.

The question from that point - life is hard - forward, is how you deal with it.

In my opinion, the first step is acceptance. If life is hard no matter what we do, refusing to accept it will only cause me to fight and squirm against something I can't control. Rather than fight, just accept and embrace it.

After that point, what Buddhism does is give us a guide on how to live within that framework. How can we orient our behavior in such a way to reduce our pain, and maximize our well-being. If you're expecting to one day find enlightenment and never feel pain again you're bound for disappointment. Rather, enlightenment is accepting that you will feel pain, and that this is life - which minimizes the impact of the suffering you're feeling.

Beyond that I'd say that just because life is hard, doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable. There are difficult parts, and there are enjoyable parts. Learn to appreciate the good in your life.

Oh, and take care of your body too.

Hope that helps.