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Buddhism - Philosophy or Religion?
So lately I am getting more and more interested in Buddhism. I have been reading a lot of stuff lately about it and it kinnda strikes me that Buddhism is more of an ethical philosophy than religion. There is nothing religious or out of this earth (like angles or demons) like for example in occultism, Castaneda Shamanism etc. It seems more like philosophy to me. Is this true or not?
The only thing that is bothering about the Buddhism is no alcohol policy. I love my beer too much:)
The only thing that is bothering about the Buddhism is no alcohol policy. I love my beer too much:)
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Buddhism is both a philosophy AND a religion. (Ask any Buddhist monk, nun or Lama, at a Buddhist temple if this is not so.)
The philosophical aspect is that of it being a religion which focusses inward, on training the mind, and being personally responsible and accountable to nobody or anything, for your actions, save to yourself.
There is no omnipotent and everlasting Godhead in Buddhsim, so we do not externalise our practice. All process and progress is internal.
Two:
Alcohol is not forbidden in Buddhism.
You are just encouraged to be Mindful, and take care of its influence, and what it does to you....
It's up to you (as it is with anything else) to be skilful in your thoughts, words and actions.
I don't see it as an obligation, bond or reverence.
For me it is a philosophy of life. There are many.
Some people I don't know if its genetic but they can do it. I can meter out the buzz but I can't go to bed. Actually I sit through cravings but then I get happy and expansive, without the beer. In that crazy mind I buy the beer and drink. Its an adaption with simple social maladption and numbing my mind to the pain.
There is a religion of Buddhism, and then there is Dharma.
The two are not the same; There was Dharma before Buddha, at every point in every possible world.
namste
Explaining life as we now see it after having attained these insights.
As oppose to think the best way to go through life like any other philosophy.
If you take Buddhism as philosophy, you are basically reading the account of somebody else progress, with many extremely important points which cannot be understood in a intellectual way only, and cannot be realized by reading about them and thinking about them.
I used to practice Buddhism as a philosophy and it helped me immensely in life. Still I could never stop chasing happiness and creating more problems for myself. Now I've chose Buddhism as a religion and by meeting fellow Buddhist and practicing following the precepts I finally feel I'm on the right path. To answer your question Buddhism is both a philosophy and a religion and you are free to incorporate any of it into your life.
It doesn't matter to me if someone thinks it isn't a religion as that is their own internal struggle to contemplate. Language's purpose is so that we can communicate and the dictionary is what we use to define words to facilitate said communication.
And sometime no.
Buddhism is like Beer, and Beer is like Buddhism.
You can buy it. You can take it home with you. You can put it in the fridge. You can leave it there. You can open it and consume its contents.
But ultimately, its how much of it that you ingest that matters. What was on the label never really carried that much relevance.
But what the heck do I know? I'm just new here. Merry Christmas, happy shopping.
PS - Thank you to the creators, owners and members of this wonderful site, sometimes I wish to contribute a little something.
I say it's neither; it's psychology, a science of the mind. A methodology for liberating oneself from one's neuroses. That, combined with mysticism, via meditation. Easterners say it's a religion, but I don't see where religion comes in, except for those Eastern traditions that worship the Buddha pretty much as a god, and combine traditions of ancestor worship with Buddhism. (There was a thread about that on here recently.)
So...maybe it's all of the above.
Depends what you mean by God, worship, and Buddha. Ancestor I assume refers to a lineage tradition paying respects to the previous teachers and thanking them for keeping the dharma alive so it could get to YOU.
No, that's not what ancestor worship means. In some parts of Asia, worship of one's predecessors is an ancient tradition. It's big in Taiwan, for example. Old folk traditions get mixed in with Buddhism here and there. (See the "Buddhism from Different Perspective" thread.)
I think there are a number of studies that suggest that in moderation it is actually good for your health.
In terms of one's Dharmic progress, I would be interested to see why the odd beer there and here, is considered unwholesome.
Cold beer in the summer with friends outside what could be better. It's a form of meditation for me at least.
[The Buddha] "My teaching is not a doctrine or philosophy. It is not the result of discursive thought or mental conjecture like various philosophies which contend that the fundamental essense of the universe is fire, water, earth, wind, or spirit, or that the universe is either finite or infinite, temporal, or eternal. Mental conjecture and discursive thought about truth are like ants crawling around the rim of a bowl - they never get anywhere. My teaching is not a philosophy. It is the result of direct experience. The things I say come from my own experience. You can confirm them all by your own experience. I teach that all things are impermanent and without separate self. This I have learned from my own direct experience. You can too. I teach that all things depend on all other things to arise, develop, and pass away. Nothing is created from a single, original source. I have directly experienced this truth, and you can also. My goal is not to explain the universe, but to help guide others to have a direct experience of reality. Words cannot describe reality. Only direct experience enables us to see the true face of reality."
p. 212-213
I think it can easily be labelled both.
Click here for some of my thoughts about the fifth precept.
You might find this interesting.
See Talisman's quote of the Buddha saying it's neither doctrine nor philosophy. That is interesting!
As concerning the alcohol as other author said it really depende what people drank in that time when Gautama was preaching. We all know that people in India in general don't drink that much. It also has a lot to do with cultural side. And I think beer here and there never killed or made anyone stupid. It's supposed to be healthy in small dosage.
What he cautioned at the time, is completely relevant and appropriate today, the passing of centuries has done nothing to diminish or alter the fundamental teachings he gave.
"All things in Moderation - including Moderation".
Find the Middle Way.
It depends who you ask. It is certainly possible to pursue Buddhist practice as neither a philosophy nor a religion, just a a practice.
Does psychotherapy result in knowledge, or the verification of knowledge? It results in a greater understanding of oneself, as does the practice of Buddhism.
Buddhism is not a philosophy.
Buddhism is not a science.
It is merely Gotama's prescription for liberation from dukkha.
He said something to the effect, "That question will only lead to trouble and is irrelevant."
Therefore I never refer to Buddhism as a religion since the question of God is never raised and never supposed to be addressed. I call it a "psychology," like what's used in a therapist's office to free the mind on a more practical level.
There are however rituals and practices involved which make it appear as a religion, I see them (repetition, prayer, chanting, ritual, offerings) as concrete ways of focussing the mind, NOT as invoking "god."
Is this correct?
BTW, AFAIK, calling Buddhism a science is demeaning (in my limited view). Science can never answer "huge" spiritual questions since every answer science gives results in ten more questions! Due to it's methods it's caught in that more-Q-than-A bind and that will never change. Despite what they promise about CERN and the LHC.
Great, so it's pharmacy, too! No, but psychologists make prescriptions, too. So I'm sticking with my vote that it's psychology.
That means: beliefs which personify and describe what "God" is all about (likes, dislikes, wants, expectations, personality, predictable behaviors).
Though they may be politically expedient, spiritually speaking, such are efforts are absurd. The referent of the term "god" is huuuuuuge and has very little to do with a our currently embodied mind using our limited sense organs while living in a society.