The Vicious Cycle Of Existence?

The vicious cycle of existence … really?

The phrase ‘the vicious cycle of existence’ is an idiom that is trotted out all the time among Buddhists. Do you ever wonder why we say things – or rather repeat things – that sound right, and then think … “Hang on a minute!? I don’t see it as a vicious cycle of existence but rather, a confused cycle of existence.”?

There are many things we hear and just accept, when they were actually written by a translator who saw it to their level of understanding – in this case using the archaic use of the word ‘vicious’ which means ‘imperfect or defective’. In contemporary English, however, ‘vicious’ is defined as ‘deliberately cruel or violent’, and that makes no sense to the modern ear in this context.

We have to see things in the way we experience and understand, and go from there – and so you have every right to disagree with my conclusions. 🙂

It’s a process of refining personal understanding, as there isn’t one answer to suit all. This is why the Buddha saw the Vedanta in a new light, and why he said, “Do not take my words for the truth; test them for yourself.”