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Point-wise gist

1. Bertrand Russell strongly criticized Nietzsche’s reading of Buddhism.

   • Russell thought Nietzsche failed to understand what Buddhism actually teaches.

   • He suggested that the Buddha would simply laugh at Nietzsche’s accusation of nihilism.

2. Nietzsche’s criticism wasn't entirely new.

   • During the Buddha’s own lifetime, some Brahmins and other opponents accused him of being a nihilist.

   • They misunderstood the Buddha’s teaching as advocating the destruction or denial of existence.

3. The Buddha’s response

   • The Buddha essentially says: if seeking the destruction of death, suffering, and evil makes you call me a nihilist, then so be it.

   • In other words, he rejects the idea that liberation from suffering means denying reality or simply seeking annihilation.

4. The crucial distinction

   Nihilism:
   → “Nothing has value / existence is meaningless / nothing ultimately matters.”

   Buddhism:
   → “Suffering has causes; understand those causes and bring them to cessation.”

5. Why this matters for Nietzsche

   • Nietzsche interpreted Buddhism through his own philosophical concern with life-affirmation vs. life-denial.

   • Because Buddhism seeks liberation from craving and saṃsāra, Nietzsche interpreted it as life-denying.

   • Russell's objection is that Nietzsche mistook liberation from suffering for a desire for nothingness.

The central point

Buddhism says “end suffering,” not “nothing exists.”

That distinction is exactly where the disagreement between Nietzsche and Buddhist philosophy becomes most important.