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categorical definition.
Hi, I was wondering if Buddhism allows itself to be categorised?
I was quite surprised when one of my openly-pantheist friends said that he was Buddhist. I thought when he told me that was a pantheist, that he had ceased to be Buddhist.
I have this idea that Buddhism is atheist, in that it denies the need for a God.
Is it even considered a religion, or a philosophy?
Am I already making an issue of something unimportant, by asking for the right words to link Buddhism to?
Thanks.
I was quite surprised when one of my openly-pantheist friends said that he was Buddhist. I thought when he told me that was a pantheist, that he had ceased to be Buddhist.
I have this idea that Buddhism is atheist, in that it denies the need for a God.
Is it even considered a religion, or a philosophy?
Am I already making an issue of something unimportant, by asking for the right words to link Buddhism to?
Thanks.
0
Comments
Your question reminds me of Dostoevsky's comment that when in discussion with atheists he had the impression that they were talking about different things.
For me, Buddhism is the only true "broad church", inclusive of all sorts of views on deities and, even, on a Supreme Being, because the Buddha told us, in very clear terms, that these were unprofitable subjects for debate. Thus an 'atheistic' position or a 'theistic' one are both as tangential to the real thrust of the teachings.
Buddhism has helped me to look at the world the way it really is - not how I would wish it to be.
::
I'm not Buddhist though.. Not yet some might say.
Thank you both for replying, by the way.
As for Magwang, I respect your beliefs, but in addition to being atheist, I'm also agnostic (and I happen to love words too
So, I'm not sure I believe in a Truth, only that there are many different beliefs.
It always makes me happy to see others happy though. I'm not a devangelical atheist.
After mingling with evangelicals for the last few years, I have learned that is their faith that sustains them. It's pointless to argue over the existence of god or heaven or whatever. It doesn't really matter what the 'faithful' believe (witness the diversity of the Abrahamic religions). They like to sing with their hands in the air. It makes them feel good for a while.
I know for myself, that I don't know anything. All I know is what I believe in. Quite Kantian actually.
I always thought Sartre is like Devil's Foodcake. Dark rich chocolate. Yum.
Judge for yourself, and don't rely on anyone's opinion, even the Buddha's! He was very clear on this point. Don't take his word for it - see for yourself!
Happy hunting!
It's late at night here anyway. Haha.
Yeah I know.
I was brought up Muslim, and my dad always reminded us that we were given minds for a reason.
.........and some Buddhists like to do prostrations and some Parsees still burn their dead in Towers of Silence and some people put on dinner jackets for 'black tie' occasions. Doesn't make any of them better, worse, cleverer, stupider, more or less in touch with 'reality' (whatever that may be).
As for witnessing the diversity of 'Abrahamic religions', we should not blind ourselves to the multiplicity of Buddhisms.
I find it interesting that the discussion should veer off into 'anti' comment about any particular branch of theism.
Nia_Nymue, your father is a wise man and true to the deep spirit of Islam.
And speaking for myself, I hate prostrations! But I do them anyway, or at least a reasonable facsimile of...
Palzang
Thank you for the correction, Palzang-la. Of course you are right - I wrote too quickly. The fact is that I found Magwang's sneer at the way some Christians pray to be simply nasty and unnecessary. Standing, jumping, kneeling, waving hands in the air or sitting facing a wall - it is all a matter of choice and nothing to sneer at.
Or, of course, sitting in total silence
As to your question, I think it can be safely said that the Buddha didn't discuss things like the existence of a Supreme Being or the origin of the universe and so on because, as Simon put it so well, these were unprofitable subjects to debate. In other words, these are the wrong questions to be asking if one is concerned about finding an end to ones suffering. That doesn't mean they aren't fascinating questions and we can't have a whole lot of fun thinking and talking about them. But in Buddhism, they don't get us anywhere because Buddhism teaches us that as unenlightened beings we are not only deluded beings, we are simply incapable of understanding certain things, such as the origin of the cosmos or the intricate workings of kamma and so forth, in our present state. If we were to take these questions and pursue them very seriously, as if we could learn the truths of them for ourselves, we would run the risk of becoming lost in a thicket of views. At best it would be a waste of our precious time and at worst we could drive ourselves quite insane. I can personally attest to the latter.
In a nutshell, the Buddha taught only three things; suffering, the cause of suffering, and the way out of suffering. But as you can imagine, these three things entail quite a large amount of learning, most often more than one can accomplish in one life span. So time is precious, especially time as a human being because it is in this form, as opposed to other forms like animal or ghost, that we are most able to hear and understand the Dhamma and therefore have the best chance of attaining enlightenment. Knowing this as he did, the Buddha wanted us to ask the questions that would be relevant to finding our way out of suffering.
For me personally, I've found it most helpful to give up my reliance on a Supreme Being in order to take full responsibility for where I find myself in life and to go forward on my own two feet in the knowledge that my future is entirely up to me and to my present thoughts and actions. Having been brought up a Christian I often find myself falling back on old habits like using the word 'God' in everyday speech and I've had to catch myself when I'm about to pray for something or ask 'God' something. Now I have to find the way by myself, with the help of the Buddha's teachings of course. Giving up my reliance on a god has helped me grow up and I've found that what everyone told me wasn't true; childhood isn't necessarily the best time of your life. I'm a much happier and healthier person now and the more I grow the happier I become.
Hope this helps somewhat and again, a big welcome to the board. It's so good to have more people here with a Muslim background.
Danke!
Yup, I know the Buddha considers metaphysics and things that most Western philosophy concerns itself with non-issues. Very practical, actually.
I may be stretching the mark if I say that the Buddha sounds rather Agnostic to me. (?) Refer to your words that I emboldened. I believe that too. (:
It's so good to meet people. One of the things I realise is fruitless to worry about but I still think about sometimes is how there are SO many people in the world - each one different - and I'll only meet a limited few in my entire lifetime.
I'm greedy. I like to know a lot of people from before me, to try to convince me that other people do exist.
It doesn't matter that much to me. I like it best when I can feel genuine happiness around me.
your post was very helpful by the way. I mean, I vaguely know the stuff, but you know.. my mind wanders.. lol and it helps that it's reinforced by someone who clearly has better knowledge on Buddhism than me.