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Do you believe that Buddhism is superior to Islam and Christianity ?
hermitwin
Veteran
Do you believe that Buddhism is superior to Islam and Christianity ?
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I Believe all 3 are genuine methods however only one of them provides you with the material you require in order to fully accomplish the meaning of your human life.
To be frank with you, I have never studied Islam or Christianity and know very little about them.
If they make their followers happy and better people then they're fine by me!
"Without stirring abroad, One can know the whole world; Without looking out of the window One can see the way of heaven. The further one goes The less one knows."
Lao Tzu
Far too much violence and sexual depravity in these holy books for my taste.
Christianity has some redemption in sect of Gnosticism as it treats the bible more as a compendium of myth and parable (aka, stories with meaning/lessons). And it seems to be more focused on the liberation of the heart from the worldly desire. That was what I learned from my brief stint with it anyway.
Good article on it here. Buddhism and the God-idea
"Theism, however, is regarded as a kind of kamma-teaching in so far as it upholds the moral efficacy of actions. Hence a theist who leads a moral life may, like anyone else doing so, expect a favorable rebirth. He may possibly even be reborn in a heavenly world that resembles his own conception of it, though it will not be of eternal duration as he may have expected. If, however, fanaticism induces him to persecute those who do not share his beliefs, this will have grave consequences for his future destiny. For fanatical attitudes, intolerance, and violence against others create unwholesome kamma leading to moral degeneration and to an unhappy rebirth.
Although belief in God does not exclude a favorable rebirth, it is a variety of eternalism, a false affirmation of permanence rooted in the craving for existence, and as such an obstacle to final deliverance."
But does that mean you can walk up to a Christian, look down on them disapprovingly and say "My religion is superior to yours!" Of course not, that would be wrong speech and opposite to metta.
:om:
I can't believe we're even having this discussion.....
Yato mat, tato path “As many faiths, so many paths.” - Sri Ramakrishna.
Ekam sat viprah bahudha vadanti "There is one truth the wise know by many names." - Rig Veda 1.164.46
I'm sure it wasn't the intent but the first thing I learned was to have sympathy for snakes.
Superior in what regard?
Paramatthaka Sutta: Eight-versed Discourse on the Ultimate
1. Abiding in views, thinking “It is the ultimate,”
A person makes out one in the world to be outstanding;
Therefore he says that all others are “inferior.”
Thus he has not passed beyond contentions.
2. Whatever advantage he sees for himself
In the seen, in the heard, in morality and observances, or in the felt,
He having seized upon that very thing there
Views all others to be inferior.
3. But adept ones call that a tie
Dependent upon which he views another to be inferior.
So upon the seen, the heard, or the felt,
Or upon morality and observances a mendicant would not depend.
4. Also he would not conceive a view in the world
Based on knowledge or also morality and observances.
He would not present himself as equal,
Nor would he imagine to be inferior, or superior.
5. Having abandoned what was acquired, not taking up anything,
He would not be in dependence even upon knowledge.
He truly is not a partisan among the schoolmen;
He does not fall back on any view at all.
6. For whom there is no intent here for either extreme,
For this or that existence, here or hereafter,
For him there are no entrenchments
Seized, having discriminated, from among the philosophies.
7. By him, here, in the seen, the heard, or the felt,
There is not contrived even the slightest perception.
That holy man not adopting a view—
By what here in the world would one judge him?
8. They conceive nothing, they set nothing before them;
Also, no philosophies are received by them.
A holy man is not to be led on by morality and observances.
Gone to the other shore, one who is such does not fall back.
Good article on it here. Buddhism and the God-idea
"Theism, however, is regarded as a kind of kamma-teaching in so far as it upholds the moral efficacy of actions. Hence a theist who leads a moral life may, like anyone else doing so, expect a favorable rebirth. He may possibly even be reborn in a heavenly world that resembles his own conception of it, though it will not be of eternal duration as he may have expected. If, however, fanaticism induces him to persecute those who do not share his beliefs, this will have grave consequences for his future destiny. For fanatical attitudes, intolerance, and violence against others create unwholesome kamma leading to moral degeneration and to an unhappy rebirth.
Although belief in God does not exclude a favorable rebirth, it is a variety of eternalism, a false affirmation of permanence rooted in the craving for existence, and as such an obstacle to final deliverance."
But does that mean you can walk up to a Christian, look down on them disapprovingly and say "My religion is superior to yours!" Of course not, that would be wrong speech and opposite to metta.
:om:
Translation -- your viewpoint is superior.
If I want to read Christian teachings, I stick with the New Testament. It reflects
Christ-ianity, which the Old Testament did not...since Christ hadn't laid down his teachings yet when it was written.
Buddhism is entirely different to any other religion in that it has no God-head (omnipotent, omniscient, all-powerful, whatever) therefore you're comparing apples and oranges.
If your question hinges rather on whether followers of Buddhism are superior in their thinking, to followers of other religions, then frankly, the question is misguided and insulting, and has really no place on this board.
particularly in "Buddhism for Beginners", whence it was moved....
To be even more honest, I used to think I'd discovered the secret to life, the universe and everything. Or at least the secret to everyone being happy. But Buddhism has been around for thousands of years, and if it had some magic formula to happiness, it would have transformed the world by now. No magic. Just hard effort. My personal opinion is that the Middle Way as taught by the Buddha who preached liberation was available to everyone was hijacked by the aesthetics and grouchy old arahants who drew a strict authoritarian line between the monks and lay people. The population was then told to support the temples and otherwise had no hope of comprehending the Dharma. Better luck next lifetime, when you might be born a male of social status to be accepted by the temples. Buddhism retreated behind temple walls and rejected society instead of trying to engage people.
So in another way, traditional Buddhism was even worse than religions like Christianity, which at least tried in their own misguided way to change the lives of everyone. Same with Islam, before the fundamentalist tribes twisted it into a weapon against people.
But that also meant Buddhism didn't do as much harm when unrestrained as other religions. Back and forth I go.
Why do you ask?
In Christianity all you have to do is take Christ as your savior and then the task is accomplished. Buddhists however have to work with awareness training.
So I would say like federica that they are apples and oranges based on the destination that each one has in mind. So they cannot be equal or non-equal. It would be like comparing the skill of a runner to a guitar player and asking if they are equal.
Thank you for pointing out something so obvious, yet so missed by a lot of people. The Torah is The Torah. The Old Testament is an oft mistranslated version of the Torah. Both are Judaic in origin.
I love to say that Jesus was not a homophobe as Leviticus' teachings were not relevant to him and in fact he breached the law regularly working on Shabbat. That riles a few people up.
In metta,
Raven