Abstract

Nietzsche has often been interpreted as criticizing Buddhism for its pessimistic nihilism, since it supposedly aims at the otherworldly goal of nirvanaand the extinction of suffering. This article tries to adjust this view by focusing on the aspects of Buddhism of which Nietzsche implicitly or explicitly approves. It also relates these to some striking similarities between their views of the world, the individual, life in general and how to deal with it. This article shows that Nietzsche, in his criticism of Buddhism as he interpreted it, comes strikingly close to actual Buddhist doctrines on metaphysics, personal identity and morality