--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: New struggles. -- After Buddha was dead…" description: "\"“New struggles. -- After Buddha was dead, they still showed his shadow in a cave for centuries -- a colossal, horrible shadow. God is dead, but given t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/friedrich-nietzsche-15_atheism_new-struggles-after-buddha-was-dead-they_2143137.jpg" --- # New struggles. -- After Buddha was dead, they still showed… ![“New struggles. -- After Buddha was dead, they still showed his shadow in a cave for centuries -- a colossal, horrible shadow. God is dead, but given the way people are, there may still be caves for millennia in which his shadow is displayed. -- And we -- we must still defeat his shadow as well!” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/friedrich-nietzsche-15_atheism_new-struggles-after-buddha-was-dead-they_2143137.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/friedrich-nietzsche-15_atheism_new-struggles-after-buddha-was-dead-they_2143137.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/friedrich-nietzsche-15_atheism_new-struggles-after-buddha-was-dead-they_2143137.jpg) > ““New struggles. -- After Buddha was dead, they still showed his shadow in a cave for centuries -- a colossal, horrible shadow. God is dead, but given the way people are, there may still be caves for millennia in which his shadow is displayed. -- And we -- we must still defeat his shadow as well!”” [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even after traditional beliefs fade, humanity continues to grapple with lingering shadows of former gods. **In simple terms:** Old ideas linger after they die. Key Takeaway Question and transcend lingering dogmas. Themes existentialism nihilism philosophy of religion Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - academic debate - personal belief revision - artistic symbolism Key Concepts metaphysics cultural memory Questions to Reflect On - What shadows influence you today? - How to create meaning without old gods? A Different Perspective May be too abstract for casual readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheism/) [Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddha/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [God is dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-is-dead/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) ## Related quotes > [After Buddha was dead, his shadow was still shown for centuries in a cave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/after-buddha-was-dead-his-shadow-was-still-shown-for-centuries-in-a/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“When we talk about the theology of 'God is Dead,' this means that the notion of God must be dead in order for God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/when-we-talk-about-the-theology-of-god-is-dead-this-means-that-the/) [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [When Zarathustra was alone . . . he said to his heart: "Could it be possible! This old saint in the forest hath not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/when-zarathustra-was-alone-he-said-to-his-heart-could-it-be-possible/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Do we smell nothing as yet of the divine decomposition? Gods, too, decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/do-we-smell-nothing-as-yet-of-the-divine-decomposition-gods-too/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. Yet his shadow still looms. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/god-is-dead-god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him-yet-his-shadow/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [ “Where has God gone?” \[the madman asked\] “I shall tell you. 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What was holiest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/god-is-dead-god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him-how-shall-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [God is dead, but considering the state the species man is in, there will perhaps be caves, for ages yet, in which his shadow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/god-is-dead-but-considering-the-state-the-species-man-is-in-there/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [God is dead, God remains dead, and we have killed him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/god-is-dead-god-remains-dead-and-we-have-killed-him/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Gods too decompose. God is dead. God remains dead. We have killed him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/gods-too-decompose-god-is-dead-god-remains-dead-we-have-killed-him/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“God is dead! Only the IT department can help you now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-smegger-p-79-in-maryjanice-davidson-s-i-super-girl-i/god-is-dead-only-the-it-department-can-help-you-now/) Edward Smegger p. 79 in MaryJanice Davidson's i Super Girl i ## More by Friedrich Nietzsche > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. 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A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“What is life? 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Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More Atheism quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. 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