Buddhism is neither pessimistic nor optimistic but realistic.
Some critics complain that Buddhism is morbid, pessimistic, cynical, a lover of the dark and shadowy side of life, an enemy of harmless pleasures, an unfeeling trampler on the innocent joys of life. They see Buddhism as pessimistic, as fostering an attitude of hopelessness towards life, as encouraging a vague, general feeling that pain and evil predominate in human affairs. These critics base their views on the first noble truth that all conditioned things are suffering.
If the founder of this religion, the Buddha, was such a pessimist, one would expect his personality to be portrayed on more severe lines than what it is. The Buddha image is the personification of Peace, Hope and Goodwill. The smile of the Buddha which is said to be inscrutable and enigmatic, is the epitome of his philosophy. To the worried and the frustrated, his smile of enlightenment and hope is an unfailing tonic.
The Buddha radiated his love and compassion in all directions. Such a person can hardly be a pessimist. And when the sword-happy kings and princes listened to him, they realised that the only true conquest is the conquest of the self and the best way to win the hearts of the people was to teach them to appreciate the Dhamma.
The Buddha cultivated his sense of humour to such a high degree that his bitter opponents were disarmed with the greatest ease. Often they could not help laughing at themselves. The Buddha has a wonderful tonic; he cleaned their systems of dangerous toxins and they became enthusiastic thereafter to follow in his foot-steps. In his sermons, dialogues and discussions, he maintained that poise and dignity which won for him the respect and affection of the people. How can such a person be a pessimist?
The Buddha never expected his followers to be constantly brooding over the suffering of life and leading a miserable and unhappy existence. He taught the fact of suffering only so he could show people how to overcome this suffering and move in the direction of happiness. To become an enlightened person, joy is one of the factors that the Buddha recommended that we cultivate. Joy is hardly pessimistic.
As a religion, Buddhism preaches the unsatisfactory nature of everything in this world. Yet one cannot simply categorize Buddhism as a pessimistic religion, because it also teaches us how to get rid of this unhappiness. According to the Buddha even the worst sinner, after paying for what he has done, can attain salvation. Buddhism offers every human being the hope of one day attaining their salvation. Other religions, however, take it for granted that some people will be bad forever and have an eternal hell waiting for them. Buddhists deny such a belief.
Buddhism is neither optimistic nor pessimistic. It does not encourage man to look at the world through his changing feeling of optimism and pessimism. Rather, Buddhism encourages us to be realistic: we must learn to see things as they truly are.
Taken from "What Buddhists Believe"
Written by Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda
Published by Buddhist Missionary Society