Joined: 22 Jul 2008 Posts: 15 Local time: 6:07 PM Location: Melbourne, AUS
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:30 pm Post subject: Buddhism- a phlilosophy or religion?
Whenever I talk to people about religions, and how I disrespect them all I'm always asked about Buddhism.
I always say that I don't know much about it but to my understanding it's more like a philosophy as it doesn't require you to believe in any gods.
Am I right?
Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 328 Local time: 9:07 AM
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:43 pm Post subject:
Yes, however it is a philosophy that relies on people locking up there emotions and letting go of everything that matters to them so that they can never be effected by loss, in an effort to reach Nirvana, if you fail you become a lesser form of life through reincarnation.
Perhaps this video will help you understand how bad Buddhism really is.
Joined: 22 Jul 2008 Posts: 15 Local time: 6:07 PM Location: Melbourne, AUS
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 11:46 pm Post subject:
Tornado_Creator wrote:
Yes, however it is a philosophy that relies on people locking up there emotions and letting go of everything that matters to them so that they can never be effected by loss, in an effort to reach Nirvana, if you fail you become a lesser form of life through reincarnation.
Perhaps this video will help you understand how bad Buddhism really is.
joshuas3521 Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition!
Joined: 19 Dec 2007 Posts: 2161 Local time: 3:07 AM Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2008 11:56 pm Post subject:
I actually have my own views of emotion. I try to suppress it until I have time to settle everything out. Acting out of impulse is a terrible thing. _________________ "What I'm saying is, if God wanted to send us a message, and ancient writings were the only way he could think of doing it, he could have done a better job." --Carl Sagan
"In the beginning the universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move." --Douglas Adams
Joined: 02 Jul 2007 Posts: 891 Local time: 3:07 AM Location: Canada
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 12:10 am Post subject:
alecrain wrote:
Tornado_Creator wrote:
Yes, however it is a philosophy that relies on people locking up there emotions and letting go of everything that matters to them so that they can never be effected by loss, in an effort to reach Nirvana, if you fail you become a lesser form of life through reincarnation.
Perhaps this video will help you understand how bad Buddhism really is.
Even tough I liked what the guy on the video said I didn't how he said it- just something about him.
What you dont like, might be that what he said was mostly bullshit. See the responses for a rebuttle of his e-rant. _________________ Composite things are like dreams. Fantasies. Bubbles. Thoughts. Like a dewdrop and a flash of lightning. A new dress and a burning tire. Waves of sand and sinking ships. The shadow of a statue, and an entry in a diary. A brain tumor and an ice cream sundae. We are thus to be recorded.
Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 9289 Local time: 4:07 AM Location: Where Scum Are
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:51 am Post subject:
Tornado_Creator wrote:
Perhaps this video will help you understand how bad Buddhism really is.
Or perhaps not.
LOL@U for citing the "Amazing Atheist" for anything.
What are the euthanasia laws on your side of the pond? Because if you don't take advantage of them, I may just so I'll never hafta read any of your posts.
Ever.
Again.
Damn, you're stupid. _________________ The whores and politicians will shout 'save us'...
Joined: 02 Apr 2003 Posts: 12816 Local time: 12:07 AM Location: SoCal, USA
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:43 am Post subject: Re: Buddhism- a phlilosophy or religion?
alecrain wrote:
Whenever I talk to people about religions, and how I disrespect them all I'm always asked about Buddhism.
I always say that I don't know much about it but to my understanding it's more like a philosophy as it doesn't require you to believe in any gods.
Am I right?
That's been a long standing argument amongst Buddhists, and it depends on what type of Buddhism you're talking about. If you ask a Theravada or a Mahayana practitioner, Buddhism is a philosophy and form of self-psychotherapy. If you ask a practitioner of a pure land tradition, it's a religion. _________________ Namaste,
CET
Joined: 01 Feb 2005 Posts: 328 Local time: 9:07 AM
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:47 am Post subject:
Philosophos wrote:
Tornado_Creator wrote:
Perhaps this video will help you understand how bad Buddhism really is.
Or perhaps not.
LOL@U for citing the "Amazing Atheist" for anything.
What are the euthanasia laws on your side of the pond? Because if you don't take advantage of them, I may just so I'll never hafta read any of your posts.
Ever.
Again.
Damn, you're stupid.
I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public. _________________
Joined: 02 Apr 2003 Posts: 12816 Local time: 12:07 AM Location: SoCal, USA
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:53 am Post subject:
Tornado_Creator wrote:
Yes, however it is a philosophy that relies on people locking up there emotions and letting go of everything that matters to them so that they can never be effected by loss, in an effort to reach Nirvana, if you fail you become a lesser form of life through reincarnation.
Perhaps this video will help you understand how bad Buddhism really is.
This guy is talking out of his ass. He's done probably no more then an hour's worth of research before putting out his uninformed opinion to the world. Good job! _________________ Namaste,
CET
Joined: 27 Aug 2003 Posts: 23060 Local time: 3:07 AM Location: Warner Robins, GA
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:55 am Post subject:
CET wrote:
This guy is talking out of his ass. He's done probably no more then an hour's worth of research before putting out his uninformed opinion to the world. Good job!
its YouTube.. that is exactly what its FOR... lol.. _________________ -=The Believer is Happy; the Skeptic is Wise=-
Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 9289 Local time: 4:07 AM Location: Where Scum Are
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 8:55 am Post subject:
He did know the four noble truths... but that's about it.
And yeah, I listened to the whole thing.
The "Amazing Atheist" is reason #64245 to dissociate one's self from the atheist movement. _________________ The whores and politicians will shout 'save us'...
Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 9289 Local time: 4:07 AM Location: Where Scum Are
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:03 am Post subject:
So, to cease the shit-flinging...
To the OP: I honestly don't know of a good definition for the term "religion". But if it's a "you know it when you see it" kinda thing, I'd definitely call Buddhism a religion. Like other religions that you're more familiar with (such as Christianity - e.g. Aquinas), Buddhism has a philosophy associated with it (quite a kick-ass one, IMO) - but, no. It is not, in and of itself, a philosophy.
As for "believing in gods", no Buddhist to my knowledge believes in a creator deity. But many believe in gods. And many more believe in what are called "celestial buddhas", which are kinda like gods.
Is it necessary to believe in gods and to be a Buddhist, though? Not at all. But many do.
I'm pulling this outta my ass, but from my (very limited) studies, to be a Buddhist requires a belief in the following:
-The Four Noble Truths
-The Three Jewels
-Interdependent arising (this is really the key for all Buddhist belief and philosophy)
None of these requires a belief in the supernatural.
But I must reassert that most Buddhists do have a belief in what would probably be called the supernatural.
I'd also assert that gods qua gods have very little role to play in anybody's Buddhism.
I hope this helps. _________________ The whores and politicians will shout 'save us'...
Joined: 21 Oct 2003 Posts: 4742 Local time: 2:07 AM Location: Minnesota
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:54 pm Post subject:
Philosophos wrote:
So, to cease the shit-flinging...
To the OP: I honestly don't know of a good definition for the term "religion". But if it's a "you know it when you see it" kinda thing, I'd definitely call Buddhism a religion. Like other religions that you're more familiar with (such as Christianity - e.g. Aquinas), Buddhism has a philosophy associated with it (quite a kick-ass one, IMO) - but, no. It is not, in and of itself, a philosophy.
As for "believing in gods", no Buddhist to my knowledge believes in a creator deity. But many believe in gods. And many more believe in what are called "celestial buddhas", which are kinda like gods.
Is it necessary to believe in gods and to be a Buddhist, though? Not at all. But many do.
I'm pulling this outta my ass, but from my (very limited) studies, to be a Buddhist requires a belief in the following:
-The Four Noble Truths
-The Three Jewels
-Interdependent arising (this is really the key for all Buddhist belief and philosophy)
None of these requires a belief in the supernatural.
But I must reassert that most Buddhists do have a belief in what would probably be called the supernatural.
I'd also assert that gods qua gods have very little role to play in anybody's Buddhism.
I hope this helps.
I find it interesting that a creator god is considered as a greater reason to reject a religion than multi gods and dogma. There are many religions where there is a creator god but no dogma. Is it that a creator god is automatically thought of as the Xtian god that this happens? Because that is an assumption, not a fact.
I rejected Buddhism for some of the reasons mentioned in this thread but mostly because I did see it as just another religion with rules that eventually will have someone pointing a finger at you and saying you aren't a good Buddhist! And of course the stifling of the emotions is way off because I probably did try some of that for awhile. I do of course prefer to step back and not use volatile emotions but denying them isn't healthy.
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And of course the stifling of the emotions is way off because I probably did try some of that for awhile. I do of course prefer to step back and not use volatile emotions but denying them isn't healthy.