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It Is What It Is

MindGateMindGate United States Veteran
edited May 2011 in Buddhism Today
What are the implications of using the phrase "It is what it is" in a Buddhist sense? Does Buddhist philosophy coincide with the phrase? Or how do they differ?

Comments

  • santhisouksanthisouk Veteran
    To me "It is what it is" sounds a bit non-compassionate, but of course that depends on the context. If you add "so just let go of it" then it would seem more of a Buddhist phrase.
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    "Thusness", "suchness", the title the Buddha gave himself, namely, The Tathagata

    :om:
  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    Thats what I said when my dog died and my mom was babbling about the shape of his head. I didn't know what to say to her so I said "as it is, as it is".
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    :bowdown:
  • taiyakitaiyaki Veteran
    a great indifference is also a great acceptance.

    i like how cats go meow.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    It's very grounding, if you permit its truth to penetrate for a quiet instant...
  • hermitwinhermitwin Veteran
    It is not what it seems to be.....
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    ...Nor is it otherwise...
  • hermitwinhermitwin Veteran
    who is wise?
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    he was Morecambe's sidekick....
  • BuckyGBuckyG
    I thought that was an Ajahn Sumedho thing, like a variation of, "it's like THIS." :o
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited May 2011
    referring specifically to the exchange between hermitwin and me (excluding the Morecambe wisecrack) we're playing on the quotation:
    "Things are not always what they seem; nor are they otherwise."
    (Surangama Sutra).
  • BarraBarra soto zennie wandering in a cloud in beautiful, bucolic Victoria BC, on the wacky left coast of Canada Veteran
    It helps to attain detachment. Recently I was sitting and dealing with anger. I could hear the source of my anger outside the window (a road race that was inconveniencing me). The phrase "it is what it is" occurred to me and helped me sort out the source of my anger (not the happy-sounding runners) and start to detach from it.
  • IronRabbitIronRabbit Veteran
    In the inimitable words of one of our great modern statesmen, Bill Clinton,"It depends on what the meaning of the words 'is' is."
  • CloudCloud Veteran
    LMAO Rabbit!
  • LesCLesC Bermuda Veteran
    referring specifically to the exchange between hermitwin and me (excluding the Morecambe wisecrack) ...
    ... but that was the best part of the whole discussion!!! But I guess only if you know who Morecambe and Wise were.

  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    The Cognoscenti are few and far between.....:D
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