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 ...

used in China to describe young people who reject the

rat race A rat race is an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit. The phrase equates humans to rats attempting to earn a reward such as cheese, in vain. It may also refer to a competitive struggle to get ahead financially or routinely. The term is ...

of the contemporary

workaholic A workaholic is a person who works 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 generally accepted ...

Chinese society in favour of a tranquil, apathetic life. The term is a

neologism A neologism Ancient_Greek.html"_;"title="_from_Ancient_Greek">Greek_νέο-_''néo''(="new")_and_λόγος_/''lógos''_meaning_"speech,_utterance"is_a_relatively_recent_or_isolated_term,_word,_or_phrase_that_may_be_in_the_process_of_entering_com ...

combination of two

Chinese character Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...

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 tradition, he was born in L ...

"; and "xì" (), meaning "series" or "

school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes co ...

". Young people who uphold the Buddha-like mindset are referred to as Buddha-like youths () or Generation

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

. 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 to being

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedic ...

-like men who consider it too exhausting to even bother interacting with women and enjoy being by themselves. The term has been also applied to numerous areas such as

parenting Parenting or child rearing promotes and supports the physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood. Parenting refers to the intricacies of raising a child and not exclusively for a ...

, 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 t ...

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and 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 significant ...

dating Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals engage in an activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the categor ...

and

interpersonal relationship The concept of interpersonal relationship involves social associations, connections, or affiliations between two or more people. Interpersonal relationships vary in their degree of intimacy or self-disclosure, but also in their duration, in t ...

s. Although the word is inspired by the

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

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 The Post-90 generation (; yue, 九十後, gau2 sap6 hau6 or yue, 九零後, gau2 ling4 hau6) is a generation in China, especially in urban areas, generally considered to be born between 1990 and 1999 though sometimes considered to start with thos ...

and post-00s generations referring to their less-than-optimistic life outlook, although some

post-80s The Post-'80s (also the Post-1980s, ; yue, 八十後, baat3 sap6 hau6 or yue, 八零後, baat3 ling4 hau6) is a Chinese colloquial term referring to the generation in Mainland China born between 1980 and 1989, especially in urban cities, after t ...

experiencing

quarter life crises In popular psychology, a quarter-life crisis is a crisis "involving anxiety over the direction and quality of one's life" which is most commonly experienced in a period ranging from a person's early twenties up to their mid-thirties (although a ...

also admit subscribing to the mindset. Stressed out by poor job prospects, decreased

life satisfaction Life satisfaction is a measure of a person's well-being, assessed in terms of mood, relationship satisfaction, achieved goals, self-concepts, and self-perceived ability to cope with life. Life satisfaction involves a favorable attitude towards one ...

, 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 society ...

, disappointing romantic life, familial complications of the

one-child policy The term one-child policy () refers to a population planning initiative in China implemented between 1980 and 2015 to curb the country's population growth by restricting many families to a single child. That initiative was part of a much bro ...

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 Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an animal tr ...

and thus the polar opposite of the

996 working hour system The 996 working hour system () is a work schedule practiced by some companies in the People's Republic of China. It derives its name from its requirement that employees work from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, 6 days per week; i.e. 72 hours per week. A num ...

. The Buddha-like mindset has been compared to the sang and

diaosi ''Diaosi'' () is a Chinese slang and internet buzzword, often used in a sarcastic and self-deprecating manner, that refers to a young male of mediocre appearance and social standing. Born into a humble family, he has no car, no house, and no conn ...

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

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''. Hou ...

. The term gained attention on 11 December 2017, when the

WeChat WeChat () is a Chinese instant messaging, social media, and mobile payment app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world's largest standalone mobile app in 2018, with over 1 billion monthly active users. WeChat has bee ...

account Xin Shixiang (, "New World Scenes"), which is operated by a media company, posted an article titled "The first group of

generation who have become monks" (). The article 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 Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

has denounced the mindset as being unproductive, unpatriotic and possibly becoming an impediment to the country's ambition of becoming a superpower. Proponents have praised the mindset as relieving youths' stress and reducing resentments.

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 ''

''. In 2006, the writer Maki Fukasawa coined the term herbivore men, 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 not to 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 dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males ...

is gradually being dismantled, women after having developed stronger personalities have become hard for men to manage, commentators say. Japan predominantly has

single-sex schools Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

, while in mixed-sex schools, boys and girls have limited interaction. This has caused young men not to be at ease with women. 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 wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

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, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers. Its contemporary use originated with a 1983 essay by Akio Nakamori in ''Manga Burikko''. may be used as a pejorativ ...

'' 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

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 Sina Weibo (新浪微博) 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 acti ...

. It was the first time on Chinese platforms that the phrase "Buddha-like" became viral and led to the

'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 Chongqing University (CQU; , colloquially abbreviated as ChóngDà) is a public research university located in Chongqing, China. It is a National Key University directly funded by the central government of China as part of the Double First Class U ...

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 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 tradition, he was born in Lu ...

, Amitabha, and Yaoshi or Buddha concepts like

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

statues A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

, and the

sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an aph ...

. The second word, "xi" is about "belonging to or relating to something". The combination of the two words forms a

blended space Mixed reality (MR) is a term used to describe the merging of a real-world environment and a computer-generated one. Physical and virtual objects may co-exist in mixed reality environments and interact in real time. Mixed reality is largely synony ...

. 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 french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups. ...

'' view on living. According to Xuecheng, the

Buddhist Association of China The Buddhist Association of China (BCA; ) 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 of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since ...

's president, the Buddha-like mindset is not rooted in the

dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

'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

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

. Like people born in

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western world, Western demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years a ...

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

ceased being prevalent after the

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 research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...

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 the School of Sociology and Political Science at Anhui University, 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 Youth in Hong Kong, according to the University of Hong Kong Statistical Profile, includes citizens of the Chinese territory of Hong Kong aged 15–24 years. As of 2011, youth in Hong Kong ages 15–24 made up 12.4 per cent of Hong Kong's overal ...

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, these rights influen ...

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, listed "Buddha-like mindset" in 2018 as number four in its yearly "most popular" Internet slang list.

Usage

Chinese youth extensively use 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

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, 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, depending on the situation. ...

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

'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 Shanghai East Hospital () is a general hospital in Pudong, Shanghai, China. It is a teaching hospital affiliated to Tongji University. Facilities The Shanghai East (Oriental) Hospital, affiliated to Shanghai Tongji University School of Medicine w ...

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. After Sweden said it would have changed course during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, a Chinese publication said Sweden was ceasing to be Buddha-like in its pandemic response. "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 is the process and behavior that in human interactions involves power and authority. It is also a tool to assess the operational capacity and to balance diverse views of interested parties. It is also known as office politics and ...

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 Tiger parenting is a form of strict parenting, whereby parents are highly invested in ensuring their children's success. Specifically, tiger parents push their children to attain high levels of academic achievement or success in high-status extr ...

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.

HK01 HK01 () is a Hong Kong-based online news portal launched by Yu Pun-hoi, a former chairman of the ''Ming Pao''. It is operated by HK01 Company Limited, established in June 2015. The website went live on 11 January 2016. It publishes a weekly pa ...

's Chan Pakyu called

Kenneth Ma Kenneth Ma Kwok-ming (born 13 February 1974) is a Hong Kong actor contracted to TVB. Ma had won the Most Popular Male Character award at the TVB Anniversary Awards for four times in 2012, 2017, 2018 and 2021 respectively, becoming the TVB act ...

"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 The TVB Anniversary Awards (), officially known as the TVB Awards Presentation, is an annual awards ceremony honoring TVB's programming achievements in Hong Kong television; despite claims that it is the region's equivalent to the American E ...

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 Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...

(DPP) and

Lai Ching-te William Lai Ching-te (; born 6 October 1959) is a Taiwanese politician who has been the Vice President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2020. He served as a legislator in the Legislative Yuan from 1999 to 2010, and as Mayor of Tainan from ...

, 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 also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

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 th ...

" to "Taiwan". The coalition was dissatisfied with the DPP's not backing the change.

Technology industry

In the Chinese technology field, a number of companies have adopted the

in which employees do their jobs from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm, six days per week. In pursuit of

, 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 ( zh, c=快手, l=quick hand) is a users video sharing, short video-sharing mobile app, a social network, and video special effects editor, based in Haidian District (Beijing), developed in 2011 by Beijing Kuaishou Technology, by engineer ...

, and

Chen Rui Bilibili (stylized bilibili), nicknamed B Site, is a video sharing website based in Shanghai where users can submit, view and add overlaid commentary on videos. Since the mid-2010s, Bilibili began to expand to a broader audience from its origi ...

, the CEO of the video-sharing website

Bilibili Bilibili (stylized bilibili), nicknamed B Site, is a video sharing website based in Shanghai where users can submit, view and add overlaid commentary on videos. Since the mid-2010s, Bilibili began to expand to a broader audience from its origi ...

. 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, 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 as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

' "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 (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

launched a "Comfort Zone" campaign. JD Finance, a

corporate spin-off A corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, or 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. Characte ...

from

JD.com JD.com, Inc., also known as Jingdong (), internationally known as Joybuy and formerly called 360buy,

, 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 that originated from East Asia that is used by monks and lay people in the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism. They are used by Buddhist ceremonie ...

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

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 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 research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

, 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 Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy ...

. She cited the Chinese concept "nande hutu" () created by the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

philosopher

Zheng Xie Zheng Xie (; 1693–1765), commonly known as Zheng Banqiao () was a Chinese painter from Jiangsu. He began life in poverty, but rose in the exam system to become a magistrate at Shandong. However, after 12 years, he became critical of the life of ...

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 ''Tang ping'' () is a lifestyle and social protest movement in China beginning in April 2021. It is a rejection of societal pressures to overwork, such as in the 996 working hour system, which is often regarded as a rat race with ever diminishin ...

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

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 social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...

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 (CYL), is a youth movement of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, run by the ...

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 The Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party (), commonly known as the Central Party School (), located in Beijing, is the higher education institution which trains Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cadres. As of 2012, it has around 1,60 ...

, 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. ''Zhonghua minzu'' was established during the early Beiyang (1912� ...

'' (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 tabloid newspaper under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper, the ''People's Daily'', commenting on international issues from a Chinese ultra-nationalistic perspective. The publi ...

'', a newspaper published by the

(CCP) from a deeply

nationalistic Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: T ...

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 Kong-based 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 The Xi Jinping Administration of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially called the "CCP Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as General Secretary" () between 2012 and 2016, and "CCP Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its ...

'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 ...

like rap songs, virtual concerts with celebrities shown via

hologram Holography is a technique that enables a wavefront to be recorded and later re-constructed. Holography is best known as a method of generating real three-dimensional images, but it also has a wide range of other Holography#Applications, applic ...

, and matchmaking gatherings. ''

am730 ''Am730'', is free daily Cantonese newspaper published in Hong Kong, the third with the prior two being ''Headline Daily'' and ''Metropolis Daily''. Shih Wing-ching, chairman of '' Centaline Holdings'', a property agency, is the founder of ...

'' 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

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".