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Is Buddhism Compatible With Other Religions?
MindGate
United States Veteran
Can Buddhism be successfully compatible with another philosophy/belief system other than itself.
By successfully, I mean: can enlightenment be achieved?
By successfully, I mean: can enlightenment be achieved?
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But I agree with the above that holding on (clinging) to other traditions probably impedes one's progress toward enlightenment. But if it works for you, then by all means have at it.
I think as long as one follows the Noble Eightfold Path rightly, awakening should occur regardless of other beliefs from other religions (or any individual beliefs, for that matter). The reason for that is that the Noble Eightfold Path is meant to be a practice of morality, concentration and the cultivation of wisdom that introduces us to our true nature despite our beliefs. That is the very point of following it, and we all come to it with varied beliefs/views already in place.
So yes, they should be compatible, given following the Path. One could also just mix religions to believe things that make them happy and not follow the Path, and that's okay too, but that methodology would not lead to enlightenment IMHO. There should be a practice that cultivates insight and non-clinging... (as far as I know only forms of Buddhism offer such a path, but we should not cling to it even then, we should hold the path with wisdom as a tool).
BUT, all religions have the ability to create positivity within this world and witthin human beings.
Buddhism in China found Taoists and Confusionism. Confusionism being a philosophy of traditional worship and not self discovery, their followers fought against Buddhism just about everywhere in the East. But, some Taoists embraced Buddhism and incorporated their Taoist philosophy into the practice to create Chan, later to become Zen.
And in Tibet, Buddhism and the native Bon religion formed an even stranger marriage. This resulted in a truly unique blend of mystical diety worship and tantric ritual that is as beautiful as it is confusing to the outsider.
Also, since Buddhism is not an exclusive religion, meaning we don't claim we're the chosen people of God or whatever, people tend to practice Buddhism along with other native religions.
Now, can one practice successfully if you incorporate other beliefs into your practice? Again history says yes, because that describes most practices today. I suppose it does require the other beliefs not conflicting with the 8-fold path. And really, most other religions hold living a moral, honest, compassionate life in high regard, even if they sometimes fall short of the reality.
I think, looking at the OP question objectively, that there's no conflict in, for example, believing in a creator, and practicing techniques to end attachment and suffering. The two aren't even related. It doesn't necessarily mean you rely on the help of the god/s to speed you on your path; faith in the Dharma and its methods is the key to progress on the path. But those who feel the world (and the many realms that the Buddha taught about) was created by a divine agent aren't hindering their practice in any way, as far as I can see. The Buddha didn't address the question of whether or not there was a god or gods because he felt it wasn't relevant to his methodology for the cessation of suffering and the attainment of Enlightenment. So, one could construe that to mean that belief in any diety or dieties was "optional".
@Cloud
Well, in the Eightfold Path there is "Right View." So, wouldn't beliefs (or lack of) be important to achieve Buddhahood?
First, Mindgate, I think you are once again going down...well, a parallel path to the path you went down just a couple of days ago. Slightly more gently this time, but you're very close to, again, telling people what they must believe.
Second, I think sometimes it would be useful to us to sit back and think how an "outsider" (non-Buddhist) would look at some of the threads in this forum. I have to tell you that there are times that rants begin to sound like just the other side of the coin of Christian fundamentalism.
And third, we often speak of Buddha as being perfect, infallible, all-seeing and all-knowing, and something way above human...nearly magical. Sound like any other historical figure?
And I think this goes back to what we see Buddhism as -- a philosophy or as a religion. Clearly on this forum, Buddhism is generally seen as a religion. And, that's okay...in fact, in terms of a continuum, I see it further along the spectrum on the religion end than toward the philosophical end.
A belief in a creator god or lack thereof is irrelevant to this; although a belief in one can negatively affect the practice if it leads to the belief that everything a person experiences is due to such a supreme being and, consequently, a denial of the efficacy of kamma (literally 'action') and a life of inaction (AN 3.61). Beyond that, Buddhism doesn't really ask one to adopt much in the way of 'views' as insight will naturally develop as one's practice matures (MN 107).
Buddhism offers many practical skilful means & knowledges that those of other religions can certainly use to benefit their lives
But to gain full enlightenment means the mind must realise all things without exception are simply natural elements (dhamma dhatu) and devoid of 'self'
In such enlightenment, there is not place for the notion of 'God' or a 'person' that is saved
Regards
General comment: Mindgate is trying to clarify a question here. I think this is a good topic. I especially like his question about whether belief in any deity conflicts with teachings about emptiness and dependent-arising. That's a very perceptive and sophisticated question. Jason's response echos my own posts, so I agree completely, but it doesn't address this latest, more refined question of MG's.
I don't see how Nirvana is a "religious" thing. Or even karma, for that matter. Its not dogmatic (well, it depends on your thoughts on what each thing means). Would you please explain further?
"Philosophy can run into conflicts like DO vs. an eternal creator, but isn't dogma so is open for anyone to investigate."
I've pulled up a chair and have a ringside seat for this investigation.
In answer to MindGate's original question - yes, probably. What were you thinking of combining it with?
Belief in a creator god is a fetter of the mind to be wiped away as it is contrary to teachings gained from wisdom and insight, It is an obstruction in the mind that clings to a false idea of existence which gives rise to other delusions that bind us strongly to samsara.
Many beliefs are layered on top of the "self". When one belief begins to be shown as false, connected beliefs generally follow in their own way. This is why we try to understand such concepts as Not-Self and Emptiness, and to see the kind of reality that must be beyond thought.
The Buddha's teachings are about suffering and ending suffering by seeing through the self delusions of the mind to the very nature of reality. Beliefs are irrelevant unless or until they become a hindrance to this process of awakening.
So for example a fundamentalist Christian may believe in both a permanent self and a vengeful god that punishes them after death if they break the rules or question the dogma. This belief creates fear that results in suffering and therefore is not compatible with Buddhism.
I always get the impression that it our own actions and thoughts that turn the wheel, almost like a second by second chemical process that we fuel
The important thing is... it doesn't matter if you (currently) have that belief. Some people do, but they can still walk the Noble Eightfold Path. Clear seeing of reality through purifying your karma and meditating will lead to wisdom of reality as it is. If that belief is incompatible with the truth, the truth will win out with direct seeing. It's no obstacle to being a Buddhist to believe in a God or gods.
Saying that it's contradictory or illogical would never work to disavow someone of such a belief, since beliefs usually aren't based on logic/reason to begin with, and Buddhists have a wide variety of individual beliefs and are no less Buddhist for them (the effort is to see reality, we don't begin with right view)... so it wouldn't be helpful in any way for us to judge anyone based on such beliefs. In fact people who do believe would be offended and react badly, and so it would be unskillful/harmful to say. That happens often enough here, but we should try to restrain ourselves.
Belief in a creator is far less of a destructive influence than belief in a self, and belief in a self is something we all have (until enlightenment). At some level we think there is a separate and/or unchanging and/or permanent "I"... the least subtle view of this is the "soul" that is unique and eternal, but some form of it exists within each of our minds. Until we can become free of the delusion of self, many other views that are connected to this self-view will remain.
Cloud's argument makes sense--that you can still practice the Dharma and make progress on the path, whether we believe in a creator or not. But there's still the issue of a permanent creator god conflicting with belief in the impermanence of everything. But maybe that's more of a problem on the theoretical level than the practical. It also depends on what characteristics you attribute to the creator god, as has been noted by SeaofTranquility, Jason, and others.
Clouds arguement works up to a point eventually views of the self will have to be abandoned to make progress in clearing away the non virtues, delusions and deluded imprints within the mind. In order for one to apprehend clearly why ever would one cling to the notion of a permenent fixture that had created Samsara for its own entertainment and ego worship, Such and the rest is an obscuring view that creates self grasping and incorrect view of phenomena that help give rise to the Samsara we experience today at some point it will have to be abandoned for one to reach Nivarna let alone full enlightenment.