Non-theist Buddhist

distortedchild

Hello, I'm just curious if there are any Buddhists out their that used to be atheists or follow the teachings as more of a phiosophy than a religon.

I used to be an atheist, and I follow the teachings as more of a way of living.

KarmaDondrupTashi

On the conventional level it may be good to follow a theistic religion. Or perhaps a philosophy. Or maybe even Buddhism.

On the ultimate level is there any religion? What is there to be named? Is there any "God" or "philosophy" or "Buddhism" left?

Anything that makes you remember that compassion is in fact the ultimate, is good.

RayfieldNeel

Though raised a Christian, I believe I have been a functioning agnostic for many years. Over time my values have moved in a particular direction that...hey, what do you know?...happened to match the Buddhist path pretty well.

I've had multiple moments of reading Buddhist literature where I would simply point at the book and say "YES! OMG I've thought that for years! Thank you!"

RichardH

Started out in Hermetic philosophy which led into Theosophy. Theosophy has an interesting link to modern Buddhist history, in Sri Lanka in particular (a whole other story). Theosophy (the teachings of Alice Bailey) lead into Brahminism, so I began in the mid eighties to practice under a Yogi, Pundit Ravi Shankar (not the musician). After a while it became clear that absorption practices where a dead end. I also realized that the "pure I" found in formless absorption was just another subtle object of awareness. Godhead went Poof! It was like starting out with some pretty unsophisticated notions of God and refining then over and over again until nothing was left. After this I was an Atheist for a while until the absurdity of that position became unavoidable as well. Left with a deep agnostism, Buddha Dharma was the logical step.

distortedchild

My values do coincide with Buddhism. That's why I follow the teachings and that's why I meditate. But I don't belive in demons or spirits or even one or more god(s)

Ncrypto

I'm not a follower of Buddhism but a 'user' of it. I see it as a tried and tested system that potentially holds many benefits. As with all things in life, the secret is to keep the good stuff and throw out the dubious. As Buddhism is a dharma not a religion, and can't really be compared to something like an Abrahamic faith as it comes from the context of Indian culture, it is perfectly fine to reject the parts of Buddhism that don't seem to make sense (such as reincarnation and karma) and retain what's useful (meditation, metamorphosis of the ego, metaphysics and philosophy of identification).

RichardH

My only problem with Buddhism is the lack of really interesting headgear, like they have in Greek Orthodox. There may be some rally nice hats in Tibetan buddhism, like some really tall stuff. But mostly there are no hats. A friend and I were thinking of designing some headgear. I would like to have that has a headband or something, with a big eye painted on it. Or maybe something really cool like Caiaphas in Jesus Christ Superstar . He had the fat hat and the other guy had the skinny hat. :vimp:

Ncrypto

I agree with you Richard. As far as I'm concerned, one of the most important things for any human culture, community or even a nation, is headgear. The Tibetans have some of the nicest hats on this planet. I like the detailing and design of Tibetan hats as seen in Tibet worn by Tibetans, but the colours would have to be toned down a bit if they're to be worn in places like the UK.

RagsToRich

I am somewhere between agnostic and atheist. I certainly believe in something, but I don't believe our conceptions are accurate or verifyable enough to say for sure. Words like God and Heaven are so polluted with conventional ideas that I avoid using them... for now.

The teachings of buddahism I like a lot - more so than any other major religion (although I tend not to think of buddahism as a religion), but don't necessarily adhere to them all - I mean, they vary from school to school as well.

jovialprankster

distortedchild wrote: »

Hello, I'm just curious if there are any Buddhists out their that used to be atheists or follow the teachings as more of a phiosophy than a religon.
I used to be an atheist, and I follow the teachings as more of a way of living.

Yep, I'm right with you on this one. :thumbsup:
I'm not sure what I 'do' is Buddhism, but most of my 'beliefs' (maybe ideas is a better term) are based on basic Buddhist teachings.

Linc

Atheism, I think, is a natural first reaction to people turned off by the religion they grew up with. It represents rejection of current beliefs without having anything to fill the void.

I think you'll find Buddhism is a greatly varied entity; some branches are more inclined to religious beliefs, while others are strictly philosophy-based and quite separate from any belief structure. Give yourself time and you'll figure out where you fit in the continuum.

My learning as a student of Soto Zen fits with what little you've mentioned about your own position.

Stephen

distortedchild wrote: »

Hello, I'm just curious if there are any Buddhists out their that used to be atheists or follow the teachings as more of a phiosophy than a religon.

I started out an atheist, scientifically-minded and rejecting any attempts by my parents to accept the Christian religion on "faith" because it didn't make sense to me.

My brain has been in overdrive concerning the truth of life ever since I was a kid, and I think that's what prepared me for Buddhism. In recent years I would classify myself as an agnostic; I believed there was a greater truth but that we as an insignificant and minuscule part of the universe did not know it (and may not ever know it).

I've only studied Buddhism off-and-on for about a year or two, and only within the past couple of months have I had my personal realization and awakening to the truths of Impermanence, Selflessness and Dependent Arising. This awakening gave me supreme confidence in the rest of the teachings and there is no falling back now; there is only one direction.

The way I practice Buddhism is with a completely open mind, neither as a religion nor as a philosophy, but more science+religion+philosophy. The parts of it that I have no direct knowledge of (no realization of) such as devas, hungry ghosts, rebirth, etc... I accept these as a part of the teachings with confidence that when I some day reach full enlightenment the answers will be apparent.

I find it best to avoid either believing or disbelieving in things you haven't realized for yourself. That ensures that you do not develop an attachment or aversion toward "beliefs". It isn't about what you believe, but the wisdom gained by direct penetration of your mind of the reality of all phenomena (as you meditate upon the core concepts of the Buddha's Dhamma, which turns out to be the true Dhamma).

It's hard to categorize Buddhism because it is so unique, and no other teachings express the way to liberation.

Transmetaphysical

I heard that a Zen Master, when asked if he believed in God or not, replied: "If you believe in God, then I don't. If you don't, then I do."

Or as Dalai Lama replied when asked about the question of God: "God exists or God does not exist. Leave it for us. Your task is to learn how to live peacefully."


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Fran45

The Dalai Llama quote is interesting: "Leave it to us" ?

What does that mean? To whom is he referring?

Stephen

Perhaps he meant leave such questions to those who have already learned to live peacefully, if any. The goal of Buddhism is the cessation of suffering; it's not about knowing whether there's a God or not, as that has nothing to do with the reason that we suffer.