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With a simple YES or NO! Do you believe buddhism is the ONLY path to the Cessation Of Suffering??
I reckon the Abrahamic doctrine can be interpreted, at a push, with some generosity, as being consistent with Buddhist teachings, especially when seen through the refreshing lens of the New Testament.
The difficulty for all of us when reading the stories of people like Abraham is that the right and wrong views they portray may be in the eye of the beholder. It's not always easy to be sure either way, especially when those stories are written with a very small technical vocabulary and meant for people who couldn't read or write and thought and communicated in ways we can hardly imagine.
It is certainly possible to interpret the world's religions so that only Buddhism leads to the cessation of suffering, but I doubt that anyone would think that this is a sound basis for believing it.
Certain practices are not conducive to higher rebirth such as animal sacrifice as it is commonly practiced amongsts 2/3 of the Abrahamic faiths.
Namaste Caz,
I think you are very mistaken by saying 2/3 of Abrahamic religions. I was raised in a religious household of a Jewish mother and Catholic father. I was educated Catholic and followed Orthodox Judaism for many years before coming to the conclusion neither were the right "fit" for me. Never did we sacrifice animals, humans or any sentient being. And neither did my fellow adherents. Are you referring to kosher and halal practices perhaps? If so, it would really be in the best interests to say so. Misrepresenting other paths to make a point does not really fit in with the Buddha's teachings (according to my understanding, which I am the first to admit my be greatly flawed).
Came across some Gnostic Christian teachings which resemble some Buddhist teachings.
From the Gnostic Gospel of St. Thomas by Tau Malachi:
To draw near to the Lord is a deeply troubling thing, for I must become no-thing, empty of myself, that the Lord might enter and the Holy Spirit fill me. God is No-thing (Ain) and I must become no-thing to enter into union with the Holy One of Being. If you think you are something, if you think you are a substantial and independent self-existence, a solid or fixed entity, it is greatly troubling to discover that your secret center is no-thing, that you are empty of any substantial or independent self-existence.
Discovering this, however, you then realize that this is the very nature of everything in existence. You discover that everything is impermanent, that everything changes. Reality is empty of any substantial and independent self-existence. There is only the Holy One of Being, the One-Without-End (Ain Sof).
.......
Everyone is the Living Yeshua (Jesus) . The ordinary person is ignorant of this, but the apostle of God knows it and lives according to the Truth and Light revealed through experience. Likewise, the kingdom of heaven is here and now, within you and all around you. It is present within everyone. The ordinary person does not have eyes to see it, but the Gnostic perceives it and so dwells in the kingdom of God here and now.
Logos (Word) and Sophia (Wisdom) are to be found within everyone and everything, and so also within you. There, within your secret center, at the core of your being, is the Holy One of Being. The Christ-self is your true self, the self of every self and soul of every soul. All are united with him in the Sacred Unity that is God, the Father-Mother. Through him, the Holy Spirit indwells the whole of Creation. Knowing this, you will not experience death.
......
This is not something new. Life teaches this very lesson. Birth itself is troubling and painful thing, yet the great joy of life comes from it. So it is with everything in this life. The pain is part of the pleasure, the sorrow part of the joy. Dying is part of living. You cannot have one without the other. Everything is interconnected and interdependent; it is the nature of things ever-becoming. You must learn to accept and embrace the whole of life and the whole of yourself if you would discover the Spirit and Truth. The Light and Darkness must be joined and you must realize the Sacred Unity.
.......
Gnostic Christianity does not believe in eternal damnation but rather in reincarnation, which is to say a journey of consciousness through diverse states of existence that then toward a progressive development and evolution of the soul or of consciousness itself. In the midst of this journey, there are heavens and hells and realms of admixture, as in the life of our present experience. Whether heaven or hell or something of admixture, each individual generates the causes and conditions of their own experience. One's own state of consciousness, one's own self-grasping, desire and fear, brings one's experience. The creative power of oneself generates one's experience and manifests it.
.........
To suggest that there is an enlightenment or resurrection to eternal life without a labor in Spirit is ignorant. Faith devoid of spiritual practice and spiritual living cannot come to fruition in true Gnosis. In the absence of spiritual practice and spiritual living, it is clear that one's desire is not for the Beloved, but rather that one's desire is for the world and the things of the world. Surely this is ignorance, for everyone knows that this world and everything in it will pass away. Knowing this, one must inquire what is most valuable. So it must be said that, while it is the pleasure of the Lord that we live life abundantly and enjoy creation and the life of the Lord has bestowed upon us, nevertheless, you must know what the most valuable thing is and not be distracted so that you may attain it. This, in essence, is what the Master is saying.
Buddhadharma is the only method in the world that leads to liberation and great enlightenment, Many others train their selves to the peak of Samsara but lack the tools to break through.
@caz: Mahavira was also enlightened and the teachings of Mahavira formed the religion of Jainism.
moreover, Hinduism also states that initially there was sunyata - from this sunyata, arose Universal Consciousness (Shiva) as a manifestation - something like sunyata and Shiva are the two aspects of the same thing - from Shiva, arose matter(Shakti or Prakriti) through manifestation, which lead to the creation of Samsara - in the end, everything dissolves back to Shiva or shunyata. Also, Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali contains 8 steps to follow to realize True Self. Also, Lord Krishna taught that the ultimate goal of human life is Self-Realization.
Christ and Mohammad became one with God - now, the question comes what you can call God? is God the same as a ruler of heaven, as Hinduism or Buddhism states - or - is God another name for the ultimate reality. how can we know if it is not the later thing? So if God is another name for the experience of ultimate reality or peace, which can be seen through ending of ignorance, then the paths of Christ and Mohammad can also lead to ultimate reality - provided, we leave the rites and rituals and put things in correct perspective.
so all these religions also have the path for ending of suffering and leading to ultimate reality.
The problem with other paths is they are Samsaric, Liberation is literally the peak of the formless realm of Samsara for them because of Incorrect views particularly that of conceiving phenomena to exist as independent they can never really abandon Self grasping let alone the subtlest levels of this delusion. Those who achieve this distinct accomplishment usually belong to the Jain's or Hindu following but it is not actual liberation.
The Abrahamic faiths get no where near this accomplishment at the most they could accomplish would be rebirth within the Desire realm of the Gods, Some of what is practiced amongst them they would be lucky to reach a higher realm at all.
I don't think calling another persons path as "samsaric" and not leading to "actual liberation" is right speech or a right view. Personally, I don't think Buddha would be that pleased to hear that one who claims to follow his path thinks it is the only legitimate one.
Also, nice to hear that you think those who are Abrahamic would not "reach a higher realm" and won't accomplish what you apparently can. :-/
I do not think people full of such hate would be able to reach I higher realm imho.
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DaftChrisSpiritually conflicted. Not of this world.Veteran
Buddhadharma is the only method in the world that leads to liberation and great enlightenment, Many others train their selves to the peak of Samsara but lack the tools to break through.
@caz: Mahavira was also enlightened and the teachings of Mahavira formed the religion of Jainism.
moreover, Hinduism also states that initially there was sunyata - from this sunyata, arose Universal Consciousness (Shiva) as a manifestation - something like sunyata and Shiva are the two aspects of the same thing - from Shiva, arose matter(Shakti or Prakriti) through manifestation, which lead to the creation of Samsara - in the end, everything dissolves back to Shiva or shunyata. Also, Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali contains 8 steps to follow to realize True Self. Also, Lord Krishna taught that the ultimate goal of human life is Self-Realization.
Christ and Mohammad became one with God - now, the question comes what you can call God? is God the same as a ruler of heaven, as Hinduism or Buddhism states - or - is God another name for the ultimate reality. how can we know if it is not the later thing? So if God is another name for the experience of ultimate reality or peace, which can be seen through ending of ignorance, then the paths of Christ and Mohammad can also lead to ultimate reality - provided, we leave the rites and rituals and put things in correct perspective.
so all these religions also have the path for ending of suffering and leading to ultimate reality.
The problem with other paths is they are Samsaric, Liberation is literally the peak of the formless realm of Samsara for them because of Incorrect views particularly that of conceiving phenomena to exist as independent they can never really abandon Self grasping let alone the subtlest levels of this delusion. Those who achieve this distinct accomplishment usually belong to the Jain's or Hindu following but it is not actual liberation.
The Abrahamic faiths get no where near this accomplishment at the most they could accomplish would be rebirth within the Desire realm of the Gods, Some of what is practiced amongst them they would be lucky to reach a higher realm at all.
I don't think calling another persons path as "samsaric" and not leading to "actual liberation" is right speech or a right view. Personally, I don't think Buddha would be that pleased to hear that one who claims to follow his path thinks it is the only legitimate one.
Also, nice to hear that you think those who are Abrahamic would not "reach a higher realm" and won't accomplish what you apparently can. :-/
I do not think people full of such hate would be able to reach I higher realm imho.
True, such people of hate could not possibly reach a higher realm (if such realms exist). However, not everyone who is Abrahamic is hateful. There are many beliefs within these three traditions, ranging from dry and legalistic; to mystical; to flat out "heretical". To brush every single person of one of these faiths (which is over 50% of the earth's population) as the same is, in my opinion, foolish. Likewise, despite the fact that Buddhism teaches compassion, there are certainly some very hateful Buddhists in the world.
Regardless of one's faith, everyone has the capability to be compassionate or hateful.
Buddhadharma is the only method in the world that leads to liberation and great enlightenment, Many others train their selves to the peak of Samsara but lack the tools to break through.
@caz: Mahavira was also enlightened and the teachings of Mahavira formed the religion of Jainism.
moreover, Hinduism also states that initially there was sunyata - from this sunyata, arose Universal Consciousness (Shiva) as a manifestation - something like sunyata and Shiva are the two aspects of the same thing - from Shiva, arose matter(Shakti or Prakriti) through manifestation, which lead to the creation of Samsara - in the end, everything dissolves back to Shiva or shunyata. Also, Yoga-Sutras of Patanjali contains 8 steps to follow to realize True Self. Also, Lord Krishna taught that the ultimate goal of human life is Self-Realization.
Christ and Mohammad became one with God - now, the question comes what you can call God? is God the same as a ruler of heaven, as Hinduism or Buddhism states - or - is God another name for the ultimate reality. how can we know if it is not the later thing? So if God is another name for the experience of ultimate reality or peace, which can be seen through ending of ignorance, then the paths of Christ and Mohammad can also lead to ultimate reality - provided, we leave the rites and rituals and put things in correct perspective.
so all these religions also have the path for ending of suffering and leading to ultimate reality.
The problem with other paths is they are Samsaric, Liberation is literally the peak of the formless realm of Samsara for them because of Incorrect views particularly that of conceiving phenomena to exist as independent they can never really abandon Self grasping let alone the subtlest levels of this delusion. Those who achieve this distinct accomplishment usually belong to the Jain's or Hindu following but it is not actual liberation.
The Abrahamic faiths get no where near this accomplishment at the most they could accomplish would be rebirth within the Desire realm of the Gods, Some of what is practiced amongst them they would be lucky to reach a higher realm at all.
I don't think calling another persons path as "samsaric" and not leading to "actual liberation" is right speech or a right view. Personally, I don't think Buddha would be that pleased to hear that one who claims to follow his path thinks it is the only legitimate one.
Also, nice to hear that you think those who are Abrahamic would not "reach a higher realm" and won't accomplish what you apparently can. :-/
I do not think people full of such hate would be able to reach I higher realm imho.
True, such people of hate could not possibly reach a higher realm (if such realms exist). However, not everyone who is Abrahamic is hateful. There are many beliefs within these three traditions, ranging from dry and legalistic; to mystical; to flat out "heretical". To brush every single person of one of these faiths (which is over 50% of the earth's population) as the same is, in my opinion, foolish. Likewise, despite the fact that Buddhism teaches compassion, there are certainly some very hateful Buddhists in the world.
Regardless of one's faith, everyone has the capability to be compassionate or hateful.
as i read all comments. i think you didn't distinguish between karma concept and Cessation Of Suffering concept. according to the buddhism's fundamental view of any teachings that if a teaching correspond four noble truth and 8 eightfold paths, it would be considered path of Cessation Of Suffering, 8 eighfold paths are such as right view(that is perceiving sunyata ,interdependence, anatta, and etc ) Right intention ... etc. since abrahamic and other religions such as hinduism fundamentally can't correspond such buddhist core concepts it would be considered as a not ultimate path to Cessation Of Suffering because believing in ultimate creator is against anatta or there is no soul or being that is everlasting, and such thing as a kind of everlasting creature exist forever means it against concept of interdependence, and a creature such exist and contact with mortal beings as we are means it agains concept of sunyata or emptiness. and your previous post mentioned other religions people who do better karma, but doing good karma or bad karma no matter what it doesn't lead a person to Cessation Of Suffering if the person doesn't perceive 8fold path. i am not against your hinduism or any other religion, but from sift with core concept of buddhism itself to the teachings you mentioned, they can not correspond buddhism fundamentally. indeed historically hinduism and buddhism interact with each other and share some common concept and similar names, and one time buddhism spread whole india and was famous religion while hinduism was losing its domination and then they had to upgrade their religion, then they got concepts ideas from buddhism that is why some hinduist say buddha was a avatar of vishnu.
Comments
The difficulty for all of us when reading the stories of people like Abraham is that the right and wrong views they portray may be in the eye of the beholder. It's not always easy to be sure either way, especially when those stories are written with a very small technical vocabulary and meant for people who couldn't read or write and thought and communicated in ways we can hardly imagine.
It is certainly possible to interpret the world's religions so that only Buddhism leads to the cessation of suffering, but I doubt that anyone would think that this is a sound basis for believing it.
I think you are very mistaken by saying 2/3 of Abrahamic religions. I was raised in a religious household of a Jewish mother and Catholic father. I was educated Catholic and followed Orthodox Judaism for many years before coming to the conclusion neither were the right "fit" for me. Never did we sacrifice animals, humans or any sentient being. And neither did my fellow adherents. Are you referring to kosher and halal practices perhaps? If so, it would really be in the best interests to say so. Misrepresenting other paths to make a point does not really fit in with the Buddha's teachings (according to my understanding, which I am the first to admit my be greatly flawed).
In metta,
Raven
From the Gnostic Gospel of St. Thomas by Tau Malachi:
Regardless of one's faith, everyone has the capability to be compassionate or hateful.
indeed historically hinduism and buddhism interact with each other and share some common concept and similar names, and one time buddhism spread whole india and was famous religion while hinduism was losing its domination and then they had to upgrade their religion, then they got concepts ideas from buddhism that is why some hinduist say buddha was a avatar of vishnu.