A Buddhistic or Tollean acceptance of what is is worlds apart from “realism.” “Realism”–an ideological word if ever there was one–is idolatry towards all negativity in what is. Realism sneakily and in a cowardly manner (all the while swaggering about—it is impossible to use the word “realism” without at least a hint of swagger) conflates that which simply is with that which is not as we would like it. To be “real,” something must be opposed to us, thwarting us, and the “realist” therefore is a tough guy who can “face” all this. Realism is not the honest knowledge or acceptance of something negative, but the denial that anything that is not negative could be entirely real. Realism is the worship of a dark god, the modern version of a now quaint and rather annoying Satanism. The stupid vulgarity of pentagrams, animal-headed people, and bloody sacrifice is replaced with an equally vulgar and stupid salute to despair. Realism is active, arrogant, worshipful failure, and hates or despises all who do not get on board. The realist, like many who are intimidated and dominated by a bully, is humiliated by the very existence of those who are not, and is compelled to discount them as “naïve.”
One needs to learn how to say, “so it is” with neither swagger nor self-abasement.