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Secular Buddhism? Religious Buddhism? Why not both? Or neither?
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But seriously, no proof is needed for anyone who's spent some time around religious practitioners, assuming they were paying attention of course.
But in a sense, from my perspective, that's what makes secular Buddhism secular Buddhism -- that we don't ascribe to some standard model of Buddhism. We think for ourselves, and make our own decisions about what Buddhism is or should be.
And, most of us don't try to shove secular Buddhism down anyone's throat. We just say, "Here's what we think...."
Having a religious faith in God, and being a non religious Buddhist.
People have reasons for thinking the way they do.
The labels make things unnecessarily confusing.
%
I do not believe that things -- like the earth, or the solar system, or the universe, or life -- happen by coincidence.
As to Robot's comment about "having a religious faith in God"...he'd have to define that before I comment. But I will say that I do not believe in a micromanager God.
I was thinking of God as a creator.
What I mean by that is that I am skeptical of the concept of prayer. It seems to be that once you're here, it's up to you...which is actually quite parallel to much thinking in Buddhism. While I can be convinced about prayer, I have yet to see any worshipping Christian explain why some prayers are answered, others are not, or provide any evidence that something happened because of prayer.
Praying when you are in need of nothing, is something else. When you pray for another to be delivered from there suffering - that is a powerful cause for change in the external and internal world. That is the boddhisattva in you.
I also chatted with a number of Thai Buddhist friends about praying, and right-or-wrong they admitted that they did...and I've watched Thais praying for good luck in the lottery and the such.
It happens all the time.
Not always for the best, but that is only my opinion.
Taking up Buddhism might cause someone to stop drinking or drugs. Their mental and physical health can improve. They can make new friends.
I haven't had that experience. I don't know any Buddhists personally.
I have had some bad experiences with born again Christians, but generally those were a result of me not accepting the new arrangement, in which I am going to hell and they aren't.
But for myself, by significantly transformative I was thinking about qualities like wisdom, compassion, and selflessness.
What I find is that people who have a religious practice may be wise, compassionate, and selfless, but they were pretty much that way before starting. Foolish, sociopathic, and selfish people can go the full course in Buddhism and become priests and Zen masters, and they can pretty much remain that way. That's just the way it is, robot.
I'm on the toilet now. Thinking of you!
If you are a selfish child you will stay that way?
What about your own children? Were they wise, and selfless as babies? Have they changed?
Or is it that at a certain age your personality becomes permanent? What age is that?
Mixing and mashing religions is fine if all you want is to live an ordinary life/. But for serious practitioners, you have to choose and immerse your self . it is like going to university. If I can decide between medicine and engineering and fine arts. After 4 years of attending lectures of all the 3 courses and not taking any exams, I am neither a doctor, engineer or whatever.
No, I don't believe God abandoned the universe or gave up control over life. I don't believe that he can't exert influence on natural phenomena. (I do assume that Christ...and Buddha...and probably Mohammed, and others, were simply great teachers who were not supernatural).
I just believe that God doesn't work the way it has been claimed that he works. Once we're created, it's pretty much up to us to make of life what we will.
Yes, I am still religious, but in a different way than most. I feel comfortable walking into any Buddhist temple, any Protestant church, any Catholic church, any Unitarian church. I'm interested to go into Islamic mosques, although there are barriers to that, of course. Have been in Jewish mosques, and felt comfortable there. In all of those places I find a place I can focus. I accept what I can, and out the rest to the side.
Sincerely, I wish to understand what god means to you.
I have my own concepts; but am open to all interpretation. I am just a vavasour. Enlighten me.
But that's just my personal view. I could very well be all wrong.
Believing in a God always seemed like adult belief in Santa Claus, when I was a kid. He knows when you've been naughty or nice, and metes out punishment accordingly (Heaven or Hell). I never could understand why adults would believe in a Santa Claus in the sky. Who, rumor had it, had a son named Jesus. That's exactly why Buddhism appealed to me at that age; no make-believe. Just logic.
But no make-believe in Buddhism?
If you fancy yourself a secular Buddhist, are you also a secular theist?
Depends how deep one goes.
As long as we operate from ego, we reside in ego.
The transformed/transfigured/realized are partially ego and partly independent, with the real super heroes being gone, though that is beyond my pay scale.
In a very real sense, speaking from experience, compassion, wisdom and a taste for fish, opera etc, can be developed and refined. Fish and opera are optional but compassion and wisdom are inevitable, also humility and other virtues, which are often self evident, masked or ignored.
We are not talking about a hypothetical path. We are talking of what is trod by ordinary people on the road to awakening.
A few prayers on Sunday and a bit of puja each day, bit of change. Complete way of life. A lifetime devoted to transformation and what can one expect? You get what you pay for. Karma I think they call it . . .
:wave:
When I read Eckhart, Pseudo-Dionysius, The Cloud of Unknowing or certain other Christian theologians and mystics, I feel almost as if they are speaking about Buddhism in another language.
Actually, I've been re-reading Eckhart's sermons lately, translated by Maurice O'C Walshe. And if that name sounds familiar, that's because he converted to Buddhism and translated many Pali texts too. Not surprising one bit....
Sounds like an oxymoron to me, but if can make it work .......