> I find these whole "happiness" and "charity" concepts fake and disturbing. Taking the cynical angle, charity can come from a place of self-interest if it mak

> I find these whole "happiness" and "charity" concepts fake and disturbing. Taking the cynical angle, charity can come from a place of self-interest if it makes you feel good. In my experience, I've met many people with Buddhist backgrounds that are giving by default. Most of them have come from countries where this way of being is deeply rooted in the culture, and therefore their charity is often reciprocated (or at least not punished), and the behaviour is rewarded. On the flip side, there are some Buddhist monks in recent times who've incited populist violence against minorities, so the picture is complicated. On the whole, though, it's very different to the individualist default of much of the Anglosphere.