Buddhism: Religion or Philosophy

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WordCount

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Buddhists know.

Those "I thinks" were put in to signify that I don't know. I'm not a Buddhist. I simply saw the post on the main feed, and came to answer the question. I didn't think it truly mattered whether I was Buddhist or not as to whether I could answer this person's question (unless any of the information I said was incorrect, of course).
 

Bartholomew

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I had a somewhat terrible experience with organized Buddhism, but love the teachings.
 

aruna

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I would help if we started by saying what we mean by these two words. But in relation to Buddhism i think having a deity-like status shifts to religion. Not all religions have gods, but if it has a god I think it is probably a religion. .


That is still too narrow a definition for me. I use the word "religion" in a much broader sense; it refers more to the sense of devotion, awe and wonder experienced by the members of a religion. Having a god -- that is, some entity outside oneself, up in the sky, an "other" supernatural being -- is not pertinent to that sense. The essence of religion -- to me -- is simply Love, with a capital l.

It's my way of reclaiming the word; all too often it's deliberatelly put into this very narrow definition: worshipping a god, illogical claims, senseless rituals, authoritarian structure -- so that everybody of reasonable mind can reject it.

Once we quite seeing religion ONLY in such terms, all kinds of possibilities open up. Inner joy, love, compassion, strength, peace, fortitude, service to mankind are the qualities almost all world religions ultimately promote and teach. When religion stops being a nasty word we can perhaps pay more attention to those universally valid aspects.
 
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RichardGarfinkle

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I think we're topic drifting onto what we mean by the word religion.

It's a useful drift since it shows how little dictionary definitions really matter to people's own meanings of things.

But this is the Atheism board, so perhaps the thread should be shifted to the Comparitive Religion board.
 

Rufus Coppertop

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It's a bit of both, I think. From my understanding, it's a break-off from Hinduism that also started in India, and spread to China and other parts of Asia. I don't believe they ever speak of a "god," but because of the caste system and beliefs of reincarnation, I'm almost sure it can be filed as a religion.

Buddhism doesn't have a caste system.
 

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Those "I thinks" were put in to signify that I don't know. I'm not a Buddhist. I simply saw the post on the main feed, and came to answer the question. I didn't think it truly mattered whether I was Buddhist or not as to whether I could answer this person's question (unless any of the information I said was incorrect, of course).


I don't mean to be offensive. Obviously there are many things that you know a lot more about than I ever will. I just happen to know some things about Buddhism, and therefore chime in every now and then.
 

Death Wizard

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I would help if we started by saying what we mean by these two words. But in relation to Buddhism i think having a deity-like status shifts to religion. Not all religions have gods, but if it has a god I think it is probably a religion.

I'm not sure where there is coming from. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you said. The Buddha does not have a deity-like status, at least not to Buddhists. He is seen as a human being who became a spiritual genius, but he is not seen as a god. It'd be like comparing a 300-pound couch potato to an Olympic athlete. The athlete isn't a god, but he/she might almost appear like one when standing next to the couch potato. The Buddha was like this, in the mental sense, when compared to ordinary humans, but he was not god-like. He could not create worlds or life.
 

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Although Buddha did not proclaim himself to be of divine nature, there are Buddhist schools that believe in his miraculous birth.
From what I remember he got in his mother's womb in a form of an elephant through her thigh and once born he took seven steps and roar like a lion. There is also the Mara episode, and the miracles.
 

Death Wizard

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Although Buddha did not proclaim himself to be of divine nature, there are Buddhist schools that believe in his miraculous birth.
From what I remember he got in his mother's womb in a form of an elephant through her thigh and once born he took seven steps and roar like a lion. There is also the Mara episode, and the miracles.

Again, this parable, seen as parable, and not debated as truth. It is not evidence of deity status.
 

Nimram

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Again, this parable, seen as parable, and not debated as truth. It is not evidence of deity status.

Oh yes, of course, there are such parables in most religions. But some people believe in them. I guess this makes it religion. For them.
 

Death Wizard

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Oh yes, of course, there are such parables in most religions. But some people believe in them. I guess this makes it religion. For them.


The difference is, in Buddhism it is seen as a parable. In a religion such as Christianity, there is much debate between parable and factual truth. Buddhism is not the same kind of religion as Christianity. I'm not saying it's better or worse. I'm just saying it's not comparable in terms of belief systems.
 

aruna

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I'm not sure where there is coming from. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you said. The Buddha does not have a deity-like status, at least not to Buddhists. He is seen as a human being who became a spiritual genius, but he is not seen as a god. It'd be like comparing a 300-pound couch potato to an Olympic athlete. The athlete isn't a god, but he/she might almost appear like one when standing next to the couch potato. The Buddha was like this, in the mental sense, when compared to ordinary humans, but he was not god-like. He could not create worlds or life.

Furthermore, to continue the analogy: every couch potato could theoretically become an Olympic star athlete - if he or she only made the effort. In other words, there is nothing intrincally miraculous or divine about the star -- and the seed of "stardom" is in everyone.
So, too -- and I'm extrapolating based on Hindu teachings here -- we can all potentially attain the Buddha-mind; it's mostly a matter of sustained effort. It is quite literally in the mind.
 
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Death Wizard

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Furthermore, to continue the analogy: every couch potato could theoretically become an Olympic star athlete - if he or she only made the effort. In other words, there is nothing intrincally miraculous or divine about the star -- and the seed of "stardom" is in everyone.
So, too -- and I'm extrapolating based on Hindu teachings here -- we can all potentially attain the Buddha-mind; it's mostly a matter of sustained effort. It is quite literally in the mind.

This is absolutely correct.

Heck, all of us have attained Buddha-mind at times in our lives -- at a beautiful sunset, moved by music, etc. It's about shutting down all distractions so that you can see what's really there.
 

darkprincealain

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My root teacher has taught that you can have Buddhism as a religion or as a practice, or commingle both. But she strongly recommends that you at least keep it as a practice, otherwise it doesn't in fact adhere to following the three jewels. She feels the Buddha and the sangha are valued, but the dharma gets left out, or at least downgraded.
 
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