Buddha-like (), or ''fo xi'' using its Chinese pronunciation,
is a
buzzword
A buzzword is a word or phrase, new or already existing, that becomes popular for a period of time. Buzzwords often derive from technical terms yet often have much of the original technical meaning removed through fashionable use, being simply ...
used in China to describe young people who reject the
rat race
A rat race is a metaphor used to describe an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit.
The phrase is sometimes used to relate the human life to that of rats attempting to earn an ultimately pointless reward when Mortality salience, death ...
of contemporary
workaholic
A workaholic is a person who works Compulsive behavior, compulsively. A workaholic experiences an inability to limit the amount of time they spend on work despite negative consequences such as damage to their relationships or health.
There is no ...
Chinese society for a tranquil, apathetic life. The term is a
neologism
In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...
combination of two
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only on ...
s: "fó" (), meaning "
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),*
*
*
was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
"; and "xì" (), meaning "series" or "
school
A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
". Young people who uphold the Buddha-like mindset
are referred to as Buddha-like youths ()
or Generation Zen.
The term originated in a 2014 issue of the Japanese women's fashion magazine ''
Non-no
is a Japanese women's fashion and lifestyle magazine published by Shueisha. The magazine is headquartered in Tokyo.
'' Men's Non-no'', targeted for a male demographic, was first published in 1987.
History
The magazine was established as a for ...
'' to refer to Japanese men who had progressed from being
herbivore men
Herbivore men (草食系 ''sōshoku-kei'') is a term used in Japan to describe young men who become voluntarily celibate and express little interest in getting married or being assertive in pursuing relationships with women. The term was coined b ...
to being
monk
A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
-like men () who consider it too exhausting to even bother interacting with women and instead enjoy being by themselves. The term has also been applied to numerous areas, such as
parenting
Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and educational development from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a biologica ...
, employment,
online shopping
Online shopping is a form of electronic commerce which allows consumers to directly buy goods or services from a seller over the Internet using a web browser or a mobile app. Consumers find a product of interest by visiting the website of th ...
,
fandom
A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...
,
dating
Dating is a stage of Romance (love), romantic relationships in which individuals engage in activity together, often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the cate ...
, and
interpersonal relationship
In social psychology, an interpersonal relation (or interpersonal relationship) describes a social association, connection, or affiliation between two or more people. It overlaps significantly with the concept of social relations, which a ...
s. Although the word is inspired by the
Buddhist
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
doctrine of becoming spiritually satisfied through giving up anything tied to avarice, it is not a Buddhist principle.
The "Buddha-like" label is primarily adopted by young Chinese men from the
post-90s and post-00s generations referring to their less-than-optimistic life outlook, although some
post-80s experiencing
quarter-life crises also admit subscribing to the mindset. Stressed out by poor job prospects, decreased
life satisfaction
Life satisfaction is an evaluation of a person's quality of life. It is assessed in terms of mood, relationship satisfaction, achieved goals, self-concepts, and the self-perceived ability to cope with life. Life satisfaction involves a favorabl ...
, increasingly stagnant
social mobility
Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given socie ...
, disappointing
romantic life, familial complications of the
one-child policy
The one-child policy ( zh, c=一孩政策, p=yī hái zhèngcè) was a population planning initiative in China implemented between 1979 and 2015 to curb the country's population growth by restricting many families to a single child. The progr ...
, and
soaring housing prices, youths have adopted the term to maintain their fortitude and as a backlash against society's high expectations. For example, the adherents of Buddha-like parenting would say that "there are not that many kids who will really amount to much, so why give them
an exhausting childhood?"
Advertisers have also used the term to market their products. In the technology industry, the Buddha-like mindset is seen as promoting
work–life balance
In the intersection of Employment, work and personal life, the work–life balance is the equilibrium between the two. There are many aspects of one's personal life that can intersect with work, including family, leisure, and health. A work–lif ...
and thus the polar opposite of the
996 working hour system. The Buddha-like mindset has been compared to the sang and
diaosi subculture
A subculture is a group of people within a culture, cultural society that differentiates itself from the values of the conservative, standard or dominant culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures ...
s in being a softer, more moderate instance of
counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
.
The term gained attention on 11 December 2017, when the
WeChat
WeChat or Weixin in Chinese ( zh, c=微信, p=Wēixìn , l=micro-message) is an instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment mobile app, app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile a ...
account Xin Shixiang (, "New World Scenes"), which is operated by a media company, posted an article titled "The first group of
post-90s generation who have become monks" (). It went
viral and led to the term's widespread adoption in Chinese society as youth consider it in vogue. It summarised the Buddha-like mindset as "It's okay to have, and it's okay not to have; no competition, no fight, no winning or losing."
The
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
has denounced the mindset as an unproductive, unpatriotic impediment to
the country's ambition of becoming a superpower.
Proponents have praised the mindset as relieving youths' stress and reducing resentment.
Etymology
Origins
The neologism "Buddha-like" or "foxi" () was used for the first time in a 2014 issue of the Japanese women's fashion magazine ''
Non-no
is a Japanese women's fashion and lifestyle magazine published by Shueisha. The magazine is headquartered in Tokyo.
'' Men's Non-no'', targeted for a male demographic, was first published in 1987.
History
The magazine was established as a for ...
''.
In 2006, the writer Maki Fukasawa coined the term
herbivore men
Herbivore men (草食系 ''sōshoku-kei'') is a term used in Japan to describe young men who become voluntarily celibate and express little interest in getting married or being assertive in pursuing relationships with women. The term was coined b ...
, which is a precursor to "foxi".
Herbivore men have the qualities of being not only refined, frugal, quiet, and gentle but also unambitious, depressed, and pessimistic.
Disinterested in accumulating material possessions and wealth, herbivore men do not care about forming relationships with women or having sex.
They prefer spending time on their interests and with family.
''Non-no'' said that eight years following the coining of herbivore men, Japanese men have progressed into Buddha-like men ().
Japanese commentators said the men's evolution to Buddha-like happened for multiple reasons, including Japan's economic weaknesses.
A substantial number of men in their 20s and 30s live with their parents, who take care of them like children.
This causes the men to not try creating their own family as that would entail taking risks like courting and being rejected by women.
As Japan's
patriarchal society
Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...
is gradually being dismantled, women, after having developed stronger personalities, have become hard for men to manage, commentators say.
Men, who think it is unnecessary to have girlfriends, have grown to liking being by themselves.
Buddha-like men live by the maxim that "Interest is the most important".
Not wanting to spend time worrying about other people, these men enjoy being alone and doing things on their own schedule.
Considering romantic relationships to be troublesome, Buddha-like men do not need girlfriends and find it exhausting to interact with women.
Whereas herbivore men did not care about love or sex, Buddha-like men have evolved into being like monks who isolate themselves from women.
Their behaviour is like the character
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),*
*
*
was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
in the Japanese comedy manga series ''
Saint Young Men''.
The phrase was used in the context of the ''
otaku
is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, such as anime, manga, video games, computers or other highly enthusiastic hobbies. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in '' Manga Burikko''. ...
'' subculture to discuss men disinterested in having relationships with women and who were spending all their time on their career or hobbies.
On 11 December 2017, a Chinese media company posted an article titled "The first group of post-90s generation who have become monks" () on its
WeChat
WeChat or Weixin in Chinese ( zh, c=微信, p=Wēixìn , l=micro-message) is an instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment mobile app, app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile a ...
account Xin Shixiang (), which had four million followers.
The essay, which discussed Buddha-like youth, went viral, in two days receiving over one million views on WeChat and 60 million on
Sina Weibo
Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ...
.
It was the first time on Chinese platforms that the phrase "Buddha-like" became viral
and led to the
neologism
In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...
's broad adoption in Chinese society.
According to the scholar Jie Yang, the article was widely read by millions of viewers in China who connected with its message of living a Zen-like existence of being apathetic towards both wins and losses in life to confront the increased stress they feel from their community.
Writing in a
Chongqing University journal, Ouyang Zhao and Zhao Yangyang said that the media company's "use of strong appeal and sensational writing greatly promoted" the Buddha-like mindset and "caused widespread concern about the phenomenon".
The article summarised the Buddha-like mindset as "It's okay to have, and it's okay not to have; no competition, no fight, no winning or losing."
To illustrate the mentality, it described youths' being indifferent to the food they would consume at lunchtime so day after day they would eat identical meals.
The essay catalogued several applications of the philosophy to everyday life: "Buddha-like passengers" (), "Buddha-like workout" (), "Buddha-like parenting" (), "Buddha-like online shopping" (), and "Buddha-like employment" ().
Shao Shiwei, the chief marketing officer of the media company that made the viral post, said that they get hundreds of thousands of messages from their followers whose stories inspired the viral essay about Buddha-like youths.
Morphology
The term is a concatenation of the word "Buddha" (, pronounced as "fo") and the word "series" (, pronounced as "xi").
The first word, "fo", references religious leaders like
Sakyamuni,
Amitabha, and
Yaoshi or Buddha concepts like
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
,
statues, and the
sutra
''Sutra'' ()Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aphorism or a collection of aphorisms in the form of a manual or, more broadly, a ...
.
The second word, "xi", is about "belonging to or relating to something".
The combination of the two words forms a
blended space
Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...
.
Although the phrase's original use was to discuss men, its usage in China is not confined to men.
Roots in Buddhism and Chinese culture
Individuals use metaphors like "foxi" upon realising that existing words' plain definitions are unable to capture what they want to convey.
Those who have a foxi mindset are not necessarily Buddhist adherents.
The term is inspired by the Buddhist guidance to achieve satisfaction by forsaking anything tied to avarice. But instead of being focused on the religious teachings, the Buddha-like mindset recommends having a ''
laissez-faire
''Laissez-faire'' ( , from , ) is a type of economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies or regulations). As a system of thought, ''laissez-faire'' ...
'' view on living.
According to
Xuecheng, the
Buddhist Association of China
The Buddhist Association of China (BCA, zh, 中国佛教协会) is the official government supervisory organ of Buddhism in the People's Republic of China. The association has been overseen by the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Centra ...
's president, the Buddha-like mindset is not rooted in the
dharma
Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...
's teachings.
Xuecheng said the mentality is from apathy inspired by deprecating oneself when one lacks agency.
He stated that "the Buddha-like mindset has its predicaments. Escape is not the solution. One can say 'let it be' whenever one wants, but one must face reality and be a responsible person."
"Buddha-like" reflects Chinese culture's "dualistic spiritual model of 'being out of the world/entering the world'" even though it has its roots in another country.
People online generally refer to the youth as "Buddha-like young people" ().
Buddha-like youth primarily refers to Chinese people in the
post-90s generation and also refers to people in the post-00s generation.
Social context
Mainland Chinese
Mainland Chinese or mainlanders are Chinese people who live in or have recently emigrated from mainland China, defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) except for Hong Kong ( SAR of the PRC), Macau (SAR of the PRC) ...
youth born in the 1990s find it challenging both career-wise and romance-wise.
The youngsters are burdened by high academic and career expectations because of China's
one-child policy
The one-child policy ( zh, c=一孩政策, p=yī hái zhèngcè) was a population planning initiative in China implemented between 1979 and 2015 to curb the country's population growth by restricting many families to a single child. The progr ...
.
Like people born in
Generation X
Generation X (often shortened to Gen X) is the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the Baby Boomers and preceding Millennials. Researchers and popular media often use the mid-1960s as its starting birth years and the ...
in the United States, the post-90s youth probably have tough prospects of leading a life as good as their parents did, scholar Jie Yang wrote. The youth face soaring home purchase costs. With men massively outnumbering women, it is challenging to form relationships.
They believe that
social mobility
Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given socie ...
ceased being prevalent after the
post-80s established themselves in their careers and in life.
The youth consider social mobility to be nonexistent in which it is improbable and expensive to rise up the socioeconomic ladder when born to a family that is not well-off.
To complain about their plight, the youth facetiously say they are Buddha-like youth.
They jokingly refer to themselves as "prematurely balding", "monks or nuns", "divorcees", and the "middle-aged obese".
Those with Buddha-like mindset adopt catchphrases like "anything will do", "let it be", and "take life as it is".
They embrace the saying, "Life itself is hard enough, and we just can't afford to make it harder on our own."
When asked a question, the youth typically respond with "okay" or "sure".
The difficulties of life have caused the youth to deem themselves to be that way despite none of those attributes applying to them.
Their response is a backlash against the highly ruthless jobs market and the culture's relentless focus on high salaries.
According to Tian Feng, a
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese state research institute and think tank. It is a ministry-level institution under the State Council of the People's Republic of China. The CASS is the highest academic institution and c ...
research fellow, this is rooted in China experiencing very quick growth which leads to numerous transformations. Tian said that it was predictable that Chinese youth would embrace this "self-mocking subculture", which would percolate on the Internet.
Xu Hua, a professor at the School of Sociology and Political Science at
Anhui University
Anhui University (AHU) is provincial public university in Hefei, Anhui, China. It is affiliated with the Anhui Provincial Government, and co-funded by the Anhui Provincial Government, the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education, a ...
, said that by adopting the "Buddha-like mindset", youth can remain "calm and flexible", allowing them to, in the course of time, assume increased duties.
Youth in Hong Kong have adopted the Buddha-like mindset as they face a similar plight of no longer having the social mobility opportunities their parents had. In 2020, the average Hong Kong home cost HKD$9.72 million (US$) while Hong Kong male workers in the last quarter of that year had a median monthly income of HKD$20,000 (US$). This meant that it would take a median male worker's entire income of over 40 years of working to pay off a house. Feeling that purchasing the expensive property is out of reach, Hong Kong youth adopt the Buddha-like mindset of not fretting over buying property. The youth also suffer from insufficient
labour rights
Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, the ...
and too much competition.
Agility Research, a research firm based in Singapore, published a survey in August 2018 of well-off Chinese people born between 1995 and 2000 in which over half of them called themselves "Buddha-like youth".
The National Language Monitoring and Research Center, a research center under the
Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China
The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China is a constituent department of the State Council, responsible for basic education, vocational education, higher education, and other educational affairs throughout the country. Th ...
, listed "Buddha-like mindset" in 2018 as number four in its yearly "most popular" Internet slang list.
Usage
In 2017, Chinese youth began extensively using the newly coined phrase "Buddha-like" or "foxi" as they consider it to be in vogue.
The youth embrace the mentality of neither caring about achievements nor about getting evaluated by others.
Escaping the
rat race
A rat race is a metaphor used to describe an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit.
The phrase is sometimes used to relate the human life to that of rats attempting to earn an ultimately pointless reward when Mortality salience, death ...
lifestyle,
they aim to take actions that they want to do or believe are correct.
When they encounter difficulties in life, a Buddha-like mentality enables the youth to experience a respite and liberates them from the concomitant pessimistic feelings.
Proud of being associated with the term, the youth purchase attire embroidered with "Buddha-like mentality".
On social media, they created
stickers
A sticker is a type of label: a piece of printed paper, Polyvinyl chloride, plastic, vinyl, or other material with temporary or permanent pressure sensitive adhesive on one side. It can be used for decoration or for functional purposes, dependi ...
such as about "Buddha-like workers" with the caption, "Don't resign, don't change jobs, fate will come, naturally will become rich".
On 21 January 2018, the game Travel Frog, which was released by the Japanese company Hit-Point, reached number one in downloads in the "free app" category and was one of
Sina Weibo
Weibo (), or Sina Weibo (), is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily ...
's top queries.
Its protagonist is a frog who travels in Japan and mails postcards and dainty food from the areas the frog visits. Commentators said the game attracted players with the Buddha-like mindset through its leisurely tempo in which players do minimal work.
When playing Travel Frog, players largely are viewing an empty home in anticipation of their frog coming back from the frog's travels.
Ma Xiquan, a
Shanghai East Hospital clinical psychologist, found that Travel Frog embodies its gamers' "low social demands" and complements their Buddha-like philosophy of going through life in a relaxed manner.
"Buddha-like" or "foxi" has been applied to numerous circumstances:
*The term "Foxi qingnian" (), who are Buddha-like youth, endeavour to have a relaxed life in competitive urban landscape.
Having vigorously attempted their best in the past, the youth recognise that their efforts do not guarantee success.
They become more relaxed in their efforts which improves their perspective.
A person in a "Buddha-like relationship" completely tolerates how their spouse behaves and makes no attempt to demand that they adjust their behaviour.
*As "foxi lianren" () who are "Buddha-like lovers", they do not view each other as potential forever soulmates.
Treating their romantic relationship casually, they start dating when they get along together. When the lovers
end their relationship, they nonchalantly leave without drowning their sorrows or weeping.
A person in a "Buddha-like career" focuses on doing the immediate work and does not care about
workplace politics
Workplace politics involves processes and behaviors in human interactions that include power and authority. It serves as a tool to assess operational capacity and balance diverse views of interested parties. Also known as office politics and orga ...
or career advancement.
Instead of choosing a well-paying but more difficult job, they opt for a job that pays less and is not as difficult.
*As "foxi zhiyuan" (), who are "Buddha-like staff", they blindly follow what their employer says and are indifferent to the boss' commendations and reproaches against them.
A person who does "Buddha-like childrearing" is the polar opposite of the strict
tiger parenting style widely adopted in China.
*As "foxi fumu" (), who are Buddha-like parents, they do not envision their offspring's accomplishing much in life.
In keeping with the theme that it is hopeless to exert themselves, their rationale is that, "there are not that many kids who will really amount to much, so why give them an exhausting childhood?"
They have a lenient parenting style in which they permit their offspring to try activities the children enjoy instead of requiring them to do unenjoyable activities.
They engage in "foxi gouwu" (), or "Buddha-like shopping" in which as online buyers, they strive to work through any issues with the product on their own instead of reaching out to the merchant.
If they purchase pants online but receive socks, they avoid investing time and effort in making a complaint by accepting the socks.
They are disinterested in sending back goods even if they receive wares that are counterfeit or shabby.
*"Foxi fensi" (), who are Buddha-like fans, take a more relaxed approach to supporting the celebrity they admire.
They do not get into fights with fellow fans over their idol, and they are unperturbed by their celebrity's turbulent life.
*In "Buddha-like weight loss" ), people are unhurried and unworried about their progress. They refuse to turn away delicious food if it comes their way. For example, if they see delicious street food, or if friends invite them for a meal, they will go eat the food. Their mentality is that it is fine whether or not they lose weight.
In Hong Kong, online news
HK01's editor Chan Pakyu called
Kenneth Ma "the entertainment industry's only 'Buddha-like male god'".
Chan said Ma met the qualities through being nonchalant about underperforming commentators' expectations at the
TVB Anniversary Awards ceremony, his casual attire, and his perceived more passive approach to dating.
In 2018, the
Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...
(DPP) and
Lai Ching-te
Lai Ching-te (; pinyin: ''Lài Qīngdé''; born 6 October 1959), also known as William Lai, is a Taiwanese politician and former physician who is currently serving as the eighth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since May 2024. He is ...
, the
Premier of Taiwan, faced criticism about having a Buddha-like mindset regarding
Taiwanese independence from China. A coalition advocating for independence, including the Olympic medalist
Chi Cheng, launched a petition for Taiwan to change the name it competed under at the
2020 Summer Olympics
The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
from "
Chinese Taipei
"Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan.
Due to the One China principle stipulated by the ...
" to "Taiwan". The coalition was dissatisfied with the DPP's not backing the change.
After Sweden said it would have changed course during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, a Chinese publication said Sweden was ceasing to be Buddha-like in its pandemic response.
Technology industry
In the Chinese technology field, a number of companies have adopted the
996 working hour system in which employees do their jobs from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, six days per week. In pursuit of
work–life balance
In the intersection of Employment, work and personal life, the work–life balance is the equilibrium between the two. There are many aspects of one's personal life that can intersect with work, including family, leisure, and health. A work–lif ...
, some in the industry have adopted the antithetical philosophy of being "Buddha-like entrepreneurs". People known as "Buddha-like entrepreneurs" include
Su Hua, the CEO of the video-sharing app
Kuaishou
Kuaishou Technology ( zh, c=快手, l=quick hand) is a Chinese publicly traded partly state-owned holding company based in Haidian District, Beijing, that was founded in 2011 by Hua Su (宿华) and Cheng Yixiao (程一笑). The company, liste ...
, and
Chen Rui, the CEO of the video-sharing website
Bilibili
Bilibili (stylized in all lowercase), nicknamed B Site, is a Chinese online video sharing website based in Shanghai where users can submit, view, and add overlaid commentary on videos.
Bilibili hosts videos on various themes, including ...
. Members of the Chinese media have labelled founders of startups with the term when the founders give up on fighting for market share in the cutthroat industry. The entrepreneurs choose to prioritise having a decent work–life balance by taking their time in building their products.
Zhou Hongyi
Zhou Hongyi (; born 4 October 1970) is a Chinese billionaire entrepreneur. He is the co-founder, chairman and CEO of the Internet security company Qihoo 360. As of November 2018, he is ranked #45 on Forbes China Rich List 2018 and #135 on Forbes ...
, the CEO of the security company
Qihoo 360
Qihoo 360 (; approximate pronunciation CHEE-hoo), full name 360 Security Technology Inc., is a Chinese internet security company that has developed the antivirus software programs 360 Safeguard and 360 Mobile Safe, the Web browser 360 Secure Bro ...
, said that workers who have a Buddha-like mindset are not compatible with the tech industry since tiny missteps might cause massive errors.
Advertising
The advertising industry has created advertisements addressing or advocating the Buddha-like mindset.
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
' "Here to Create" campaign attracted a significant number of sportspeople who urged individuals not to be Buddha-like youth. To encourage people to enter the "spiritual comfort zone",
KFC
KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's se ...
launched a "Comfort Zone" campaign. JD Finance, a
corporate spin-off
A corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, starburst or hive-off, is a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" a section as a separate business or creates a second incarnation, even if the first is still active. It is distinct ...
from
JD.com, created an advertisement with the theme, "You Don't Have to Be Successful". Using exaggerated dialogue, the ad promoted the Buddha-like lifestyle by saying, "Life: You don't have to buy a big house, don't have to borrow three million when your monthly salary is 10,000. 30 years later, when your children ask what stories you have in those days, you cannot just have stories about loans."
Other companies created advertisements including: "Recommendation of a must-visit Buddha-like travel destination", "Buddha-like hot jewelry in winter releases calm and stability", "How to dress an adult harmless Buddha-like girl", and "Download this
wooden fish
A wooden fish, also known as a Chinese temple block, wooden bell, or ''muyu'', is a type of Woodblock (instrument), woodblock that originated from China that is used as a percussion instrument by monks and lay people in the Mahayana tradition of B ...
rock and roll to show you the Buddha-like charm".
The advertisements played a substantial role in popularising the Buddha-like concept.
Comparison to other subcultures
The Buddha-like philosophy shares the same subculture as
diaosi in which young people are "self-deprecating" and "defying the mainstream".
It has been compared to the "sang" culture (), also known as "funeral culture", where individuals are lacking passion and aspirations.
Both "sang" culture and the "Buddha-like" mindset are inspired by China's exacting demands and young people's repudiation of those standards in a mostly self-effacing manner.
The "sang" culture urges individuals to "openly embrace and even competitively perform despair, burnout, misfortune, and everyday failures, representing people without desires, ambitions, or aims".
The two lifestyles share self-deprecation with the Buddha-like mindset, not only fully embracing the "sang" culture but also building on it by recommending people to take a constructive approach.
Instead of having people ravage themselves through having too high of a standard, the Buddha-like mindset urges people to maintain their sanity and be flexible with dynamic situations.
Jie Yang, an anthropology professor at
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...
, said that the Buddha-like mindset seems to be "a less stressful, more self-centered, and relatively healthy one" compared to the "sang" lifestyle.
She found the mindset to be "self-therapizing". Comparing it to the therapy practiced in Western nations, Yang found that the Buddha-like mindset does not indicate that someone is susceptible. Instead, it indicates a person is "self-driven" and deliberate.
Yang said the Buddha-like mindset was similar to concepts in Chinese culture related to
self-preservation
Self-preservation is a behavior or set of behaviors that ensures the survival of an organism. It is thought to be universal among all living organisms.
Self-preservation is essentially the process of an organism preventing itself from being harm ...
. She cited the Chinese concept of "nande hutu" (), created by the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
philosopher
Zheng Xie, that means, "It is hard to pretend muddleheadedness". The concept influenced people to follow the notion of "hutuxue" (), meaning "the study of muddleheadedness". The adage is that even though people desire the trait of brilliance, the actual brilliance comes from being purposefully muddled. When faced with hardship, people who follow the "nande hutu" philosophy aim to excuse misfortune and to avoid getting furious about their situation by undergoing "emotional or cognitive reconstruction".
The Buddha-like philosophy has been compared to the
tang ping or "lie down" () philosophy an author introduced in 2021 in which the author had stopped working for two years and stopped caring about consumption.
According to a
Chongqing University journal, the Buddha-like mentality, the diaosi subculture, and the sang subculture are "inextricably linked" since "the social backgrounds and group mentalities they generate are highly similar" but have key differences.
Whereas the diaosi and sang subcultures cast the blame for people's misfortune on extrinsic factors, the Buddha-like philosophy casts the blame inwards, bemoaning themselves for having physical and mental weaknesses and for being born in the wrong era.
The Buddha-like mindset is more biased to action and can be put more into practice in everyday life than the diaosi and sang subcultures.
The Buddha-like philosophy is to "don't fight, don't grab; let everything go" and urges tranquility and is a "sweet-hearted" mentality.
On the other hand, diaosi adherents have an "unwilling" mentality while sang followers have a dispirited mentality.
Buddha-like youth reject
consumerism
Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
by saying, "I have the right not to consume, I have the right not to follow the logic led by consumerism, and I have the right not to pursue the materialism advocated by consumerism."
It is a progression from the diaosi subculture that covets the materialism of the wealthy and the sang subculture that finds passing pleasure in purchasing goods.
Commentary
Criticism
People, especially those who are older, have criticised the Buddha-like philosophy.
Their contention is that Buddha-like youth are lazy, fatalistic, and unambitious.
After an article about the Buddha-like mindset went viral on social media, the
Communist Youth League of China
The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC; also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League or CYL) is a people's organization of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, r ...
published an article with the headline, "So-called 'Zen-generation' are a total tragedy for youth".
It lamented, "Only when the young have ambitions and are responsible can a nation have prospects."
Tung Zhenhua, a professor at the
Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party, was critical of the Buddha-like mindset, writing that it would make "reinvigorating the ''
zhonghua minzu
''Zhonghua minzu'' () is a political term in modern Chinese nationalism related to the concepts of nation-building, ethnicity, and race in the Chinese nationality. Collectively, the term refers to the 56 ethnic groups of China, but being ...
'' (中華民族) and the Chinese dream hard to achieve".
In a 2 January 2018, article, the ''
Global Times
The ''Global Times'' is a daily Chinese Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the ''People's Daily'', commenting on international issues from a Chinese nationalistic pers ...
'', a newspaper published by the
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP) from a deeply
nationalistic perspective, denounced people who had a Buddha-like mindset.
Viewing them as lacking patriotism and motivation, the ''Global Times'' said the Buddha-like mindset "has drawn concern from mainstream media and scholars" with "
ome holdingthat this 'low-desire' mindset will eventually hold back the nation from progressing further as a rising world superpower".
The publication interviewed a professor focused on studying youth who said that the youths' apathy was "horrible" and urged the CCP to "mobilize the motivation inside the young, particularly about their beliefs".
Xuan Loc Doan wrote in the ''
Asia Times
''Asia Times'' (), formerly known as ''Asia Times Online'', is a Hong Kongbased English language news media publishing group, covering politics, economics, business, and culture from an Asian perspective. ''Asia Times'' publishes in English and ...
'', a Hong Kong newspaper, that the growing number of youth who subscribed to the Buddha-like mindset illustrated how the CCP had failed to convince them to adopt the beliefs of the party despite the
Xi Jinping Administration's expending substantial effort into attempting to persuade them through
propaganda
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...
like rap songs, virtual concerts with celebrities shown via
hologram
Holography is a technique that allows a wavefront to be recorded and later reconstructed. It is best known as a method of generating three-dimensional images, and has a wide range of other uses, including data storage, microscopy, and interf ...
, and matchmaking gatherings.
''
am730'' columnist Chan Yatlong, a secondary school student, found that the Buddha-like mindset was "a waste of time" as it was a mismatch for enthusiastic young people and urged her peers to take the initiative on addressing any misfortunes in their lives.
Praise
Zhang Yiwu suggested that as the Chinese populace became progressively prosperous, the youngsters were released from the burden of having to improve their prospects in a fiercely cutthroat world.
Zhang said, "When maintaining a decent life is easy but going upward is hard, youngsters will develop a Buddha-like mindset."
Zhang said there could be benefits from the Buddha-like mindset if practitioners also were driven in their work, opening unconventional avenues for them to follow.
Writing in a
Chongqing University journal, Ouyang Zhao and Zhao Yangyang had a mixed review of the Buddha-like mindset. They stated that on the one hand, it was "a product of technology and commercial entrapment" and has "a certain degree of negative decadence" that would hurt society if left unchecked. On the other hand, the duo found that people with the Buddha-like mindset are noted for having tranquil thoughts, are disinterested in becoming famous, and "may be able to alleviate conflicts and contradictions in society and relieve the life pressure of youth groups".
See also
*
9X Generation
*
Dropout
*
Generation Z
Generation Z (often shortened to Gen Z), also known as zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2 ...
*
Herbivore men
Herbivore men (草食系 ''sōshoku-kei'') is a term used in Japan to describe young men who become voluntarily celibate and express little interest in getting married or being assertive in pursuing relationships with women. The term was coined b ...
*
Hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
*
Hippy
A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to different countries around the w ...
*
Men Going Their Own Way
Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW ) is an anti-feminist, misogynistic, mostly online community that espouses male separatism from what they see as a gynocentric society that has been corrupted by feminism. MGTOW specifically advocate for men ...
*
N-po generation
*
Sampo generation
*
Satori generation
is a Japanese language neologism used to describe young Japanese who have seemingly achieved the Buddhist enlightened state free from material desires but who have in reality given up ambition and hope due to macro-economic trends. The term was ...
*
Slacker
A slacker is someone who habitually work aversion, avoids work or lacks work ethic.
Origin
According to different sources, the term "slacker" dates back to about 1790 or 1898. "Slacker" gained some recognition during the UK, British Gezira Sche ...
*
Strawberry generation
*
Tang ping
*
Zhou Liqi, Chinese slacker influencer
References
Further reading
* This article discusses and contains photos of the Japanese women's fashion magazine ''
Non-no
is a Japanese women's fashion and lifestyle magazine published by Shueisha. The magazine is headquartered in Tokyo.
'' Men's Non-no'', targeted for a male demographic, was first published in 1987.
History
The magazine was established as a for ...
'' article that pioneered the term in 2014.
* This 2017 article about the Buddha-like mindset went viral and popularised the term in China.
{{Parenting
2017 neologisms
Chinese Internet slang
Chinese popular culture
Chinese youth culture
Culture of Hong Kong
December 2017 in China
Internet memes introduced in 2017
Special idioms of modern Chinese language
WeChat