Ressentiment

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
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retrofuturist
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Ressentiment

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,

A twofold question...

Is there a Buddhist concept (or combination of Buddhist concepts) that align to Nietzsche's concept of ressentiment?
In philosophy and psychology, ressentiment (/rəˌsɒ̃.tiˈmɒ̃/; French pronunciation: [ʁə.sɑ̃.ti.mɑ̃] (listen)) is one of the forms of resentment or hostility. The concept was of particular interest to some 19th century thinkers, most notably Friedrich Nietzsche. According to their use, ressentiment is a sense of hostility directed toward an object that one identifies as the cause of one's frustration, that is, an assignment of blame for one's frustration. The sense of weakness or inferiority complex and perhaps even jealousy in the face of the "cause" generates a rejecting/justifying value system, or morality, which attacks or denies the perceived source of one's frustration. This value system is then used as a means of justifying one's own weaknesses by identifying the source of envy as objectively inferior, serving as a defense mechanism that prevents the resentful individual from addressing and overcoming their insecurities and flaws. The ego creates an enemy in order to insulate itself from culpability
And secondly, what Dhamma practices or insights could be adopted to ameliorate this condition?

Metta,
Paul. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
SarathW
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Re: Ressentiment

Post by SarathW »

In my opinion, resentment is another shade of anger.
So practice Brahma Viharas.
Also see the Anicca, Dukkha, and Anatta of the fabrications.
I know it is easy to say than do it.
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
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retrofuturist
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Re: Ressentiment

Post by retrofuturist »

Greetings,
SarathW wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 8:21 am In my opinion, resentment is another shade of anger.
So practice Brahma Viharas.
Also see the Anicca, Dukkha, and Anatta of the fabrications.
I know it is easy to say than do it.
Ressentiment is different to resentment, but those remedies still look good.

Alas, those suffering from ressentiment are unlikely to see that they are the cause of their own suffering, so they're unlikely to pick up on such guidance.

:anjali:

Metta,
Paul. :)
"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
SarathW
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Re: Ressentiment

Post by SarathW »

While resentment can occur in any situation of social interaction (including, of course, interpersonal interaction) in which one's self is assailed by others, ressentiment tends to be induced by more durable, intense, and, on occasion, abstract sources, including social–structural features.
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For instance, now I have resentment about what is happening in Sri Lanka due to the current president violating democratic rights such as an election.
I do not have any anger personally about him but I feel that we have to do something to change the situation.
So I help the protesters.
I am not sure how to handle this personally as a Buddhist layperson.
I think we have to rectify the situation non-violent as much as we can.

I find it easy to handle the resentment.
:shrug:
“As the lamp consumes oil, the path realises Nibbana”
santa100
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Re: Ressentiment

Post by santa100 »

SarathW wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 8:34 am For instance, now I have resentment about what is happening in Sri Lanka due to the current president violating democratic rights such as an election.
I do not have any anger personally about him but I feel that we have to do something to change the situation.
So I help the protesters.
I am not sure how to handle this personally as a Buddhist layperson.
I think we have to rectify the situation non-violent as much as we can.
As mentioned in a previous thread, the Sri Lanka situation is not an easy problem to solve, now that it's become China's pawn in the grand geopolitical chess game between the East vs West. Problem is, with China or Russia as your bosses, they'll rape the sh...t out of your country without paying any money. With America and the West, you still got raped the sh....t out but at least get paid some decent amount to somewhat cover your loss.
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Sam Vara
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Re: Ressentiment

Post by Sam Vara »

Back to topic, please: ressentiment, as opposed to resentment.

Nietzsche saw a lot of it in Christianity, so I guess it would be fruitful to look at it from a Buddhist perspective.


:focus:
Meggo
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Re: Ressentiment

Post by Meggo »

The modern word for this, describes a disposition - vulnerable narcissism. Nietzsche associated this reaction pattern with religious christians, whom he despised. The symptoms are (from wiki)
Arrogant behavior
Desire for admiration
Attention-seeking behavior
Feelings of shame
Lack of empathy
Neuroticism or insecurity
Inferiority complex
Resentfulness
Typically, vulnerable narcissists have a hypersensitivity towards criticism, and view constructive criticism as a personal attack or insult rather than a critique. As a result, vulnerable narcissists are often vindictive and resentful towards their critics.
Also of course dissociation which leads to the so called "persona".
Buddhist teachings, both old and new can help here in many ways, e.g:
Jhana/ Samadhi: cures the belief that the world owes you something. The pleasure of samadhi replaces the desire for wordly pleasures, thus diminishing the belief that you have been wronged or you did not get what you deserved.
Metta: against lack of empathy. Also heightened empathy will lead to prosocial behaviours (narcissists are often anti-social) and decrease arrogance.
Vipassana / Insight into anatta: will dissolve the persona and decrease dissociation.
Siddhis - past life experiences: Narcissism is compensation for childhood trauma and follows CPTSD. Revisiting those experiences can lead to insight and formation of new, updated, less reactive memories.
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