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Is There a Common Ground between Buddhism and Islam?
There is absolutely nothing in common between Islam and Buddhism. Islam is theistic - believes in divine, whatever - whereas Buddhism denies inherent reality to any object, whether worldly or otherworldly.
This is a statement that cannot be justified. You are making the mistake of associating Islam solely with the dogmatic religion of the masses. If you do this with Christianity or Islam you do them an injustice. If you dig into Islam you'll find that the teachings of many sages is perfectly consistent with Buddhist doctrine. As for theism, I have an essay here by a Sufi explaining that Allah is not a God, and this is the Sufi view. Or try reading Rumi or Al-Halaj.
I don't think it is necessary to argue much on this point. The literature is there for all to see thanks to the internet. The poetry of Rumi is enough to verify that Islam can, and some would say should, be an investigation of the same mysteries addressed by Buddhism, and with the same results.
But don't expect too many Sufis from earlier times to be upfront in presenting their message. Those who did, like their Christian conterparts, tended to meet grizzly ends at the hands of the literalist establishment.
Buddhism does not care for god, divine, or anything sacred at all. In fact, it even denies that anything could have any inherent reality. Sufism, otoh, affirms divinity, and, owing to its nondual philosophy, could be compared with advaita to a degree.
Please do list the similarities, compare them side by side. Then we will get a better idea, thanks.
I don't think that is necessarily what is inferred by "common ground". I think common ground often refers to how can we live together, not necessarily what do we exactly agree on.
Please do list the similarities, compare them side by side. Then we will get a better idea, thanks.
I don't think that is necessarily what is inferred by "common ground". I think common ground often refers to how can we live together, not necessarily what do we exactly agree on.
And I might go back to an interview with Anwar Sadat years ago, not long before he was assasssinated, where he pointed out that those who are obsessed religion spend far, far, far, far more time looking for differences, and almost never looking for similarities.
There is absolutely nothing in common between Islam and Buddhism. Islam is theistic - believes in divine, whatever - whereas Buddhism denies inherent reality to any object, whether worldly or otherworldly.
There is LOADS in common between Islam and Buddhism - the most important being that they are both paths chosen by sincere human being capable of suffering and wanting not to.
Even to deny Buddhism as theistic is to go further than the Buddha went (who was ambiguous on the matter).
Please do list the similarities, compare them side by side. Then we will get a better idea, thanks.
OK:
BUDDHISTS: A bunch of people who sincerely follow a belief system that will bring them to salvation.
MUSLIMS: A bunch of people who sincerely follow a belief system that will bring them to salvation.
There is absolutely nothing in common between Islam and Buddhism. Islam is theistic - believes in divine, whatever - whereas Buddhism denies inherent reality to any object, whether worldly or otherworldly.
There is LOADS in common between Islam and Buddhism - the most important being that they are both paths chosen by sincere human being capable of suffering and wanting not to.
Even to deny Buddhism as theistic is to go further than the Buddha went (who was ambiguous on the matter).
Please do list the similarities, compare them side by side. Then we will get a better idea, thanks.
OK:
BUDDHISTS: A bunch of people who sincerely follow a belief system that will bring them to salvation.
MUSLIMS: A bunch of people who sincerely follow a belief system that will bring them to salvation.
You can also add
KKK: a bunch of people who sincerely follow a belief system that will bring them to salvation.
Al Queda: a bunch of people who sincerely follow a belief system that will bring them to salvation.
Please do list the similarities, compare them side by side. Then we will get a better idea, thanks.
I don't think that is necessarily what is inferred by "common ground". I think common ground often refers to how can we live together, not necessarily what do we exactly agree on.
Then you are not talking about a comparison between the Islamic religion and the Buddhist religion; rather, you want to know whether different cultures, in this instance Islamic and Buddhist cultures, can coexist peacefully. That's fine, but this has more to do with sociology than it does with theology or philosophy.
I'm going to ask you what people seem to ask you in almost every thread in which you become very much involved. What is your intent here. It seems to me that -- as usual -- you are trying to spread something that is the opposite of compassion.
I think it's a bit unfair to ask for a list of similarities since it would take a lot of work. Why not just read the literature? It is extensive and the similarities are not well hidden.
The document that @Silouan referred to in this thread has some good stuff in it on this very issue:
"The only thing that does really bring about some promise of working is this attitude that I mentioned that His Holiness the Dalai Lama follows in religious dialogue: that there are certain issues which are held in common. You don’t just say that “Well, in Buddhism we don’t believe in God,” and that’s the end of the discussion; this is not going to get you anywhere. But you get into the discussion in terms of what are the common assertions here……
But again, as His Holiness says, what’s the best religion? The best religion is the one that teaches you to be a kinder, more compassionate person, whatever that might be. So does that mean that they’re all aiming for the same goal? Well, it’s very interesting because His Holiness doesn’t mention the same goal as being salvation or liberation or enlightenment, or something like that, which you find in the traditional texts. But rather, he speaks on a very basic level of another one of his main issues, which is basic human values—basic human values and religious harmony. These are his big issues. The basic human values are to be a kinder person, to be more compassionate, to be more understanding of others; this sort of thing."
That, @music, was the direction I was trying to go in. I have a local shop run by Sunni Muslims (the Shabbir family) and we always talk about what we have in common and we realise we have a lot in common. The other day Mr Shabbir acknowledged that he considers the Buddha to be a Prophet of Allah, based on his righteousness and wisdom.
My experience of approaching people and seeing what we have in common has always been positive and I start with our common humanity. I don't believe the Buddha saw it any other way....
Comments
OK:
BUDDHISTS: A bunch of people who sincerely follow a belief system that will bring
them to salvation.
MUSLIMS: A bunch of people who sincerely follow a belief system that will bring
them to salvation.
KKK: a bunch of people who sincerely follow a belief system that will bring them to salvation.
Al Queda: a bunch of people who sincerely follow a belief system that will bring them to salvation.
Something you wish to share?
At present you can do no better but at least you know better exists.
It exists in Islam and in Buddhism and there is a list of worthy attributes in you, perhaps you can compare, list and share them when you are ready.
:wave:
"The only thing that does really bring about some promise of working is this attitude that I mentioned that His Holiness the Dalai Lama follows in religious dialogue: that there are certain issues which are held in common. You don’t just say that “Well, in Buddhism we don’t believe in God,” and that’s the end of the discussion; this is not going to get you anywhere. But you get into the discussion in terms of what are the common assertions here……
But again, as His Holiness says, what’s the best religion? The best religion is the one that teaches you to be a kinder, more compassionate person, whatever that might be. So does that mean that they’re all aiming for the same goal? Well, it’s very interesting because His Holiness doesn’t mention the same goal as being salvation or liberation or enlightenment, or something like that, which you find in the traditional texts. But rather, he speaks on a very basic level of another one of his main issues, which is basic human values—basic human values and religious harmony. These are his big issues. The basic human values are to be a kinder person, to be more compassionate, to be more understanding of others; this sort of thing."
That, @music, was the direction I was trying to go in. I have a local shop run by Sunni Muslims (the Shabbir family) and we always talk about what we have in common and we realise we have a lot in common. The other day Mr Shabbir acknowledged that he considers the Buddha to be a Prophet of Allah, based on his righteousness and wisdom.
My experience of approaching people and seeing what we have in common has always been positive and I start with our common humanity. I don't believe the Buddha saw it any other way....