Buddhism, an out of place religion?

reply to post by hyperion.martin


You never see any militant extremist Buddhists. It is ahead of it's time and so different from the other religions which focus on oneness and the self. Buddhists see us all as a part of a whole which I think we are finding is really the case. We are one big air exchange and related intimately.

True. I remember reading a story of an american who joined a buddhist temple in laos, i think. Later in the story he came back to visit the country after years were passed, and he described how the country was torn by civil war... and even the monks where being made to war upon each other. He described in one part how some of the monks he had trained with had captured enemy combatants, some of the other monks they had been in temple with, and how they all captors and prisoners alike sat and cried together. It was pretty heart rending. Wish i could remember the name of the book.

Originally posted by hyperion.martin
It just seems strange to me that everybody else in the world was worshiping a pantheon of violent, possessive or omnipotent gods.

How is this offensive? It's true!!!

But onto Buddhism - I wish I knew more about it, but from what I understand it's more of a philosophy indeed.

And no angry, violent and possessive gods to worry about!

It's my belief....that any sufficiently developed religion becomes a philosophy.



There are Buddhist teachings on the afterlife.



[edit on 28-4-2010 by hadriana]

Is anybody here a practicing Buddhist? If so, what is your view on the afterlife?

I consider myself buddhist, though with shamanistic and other influence, and i dont believe in an "afterlife". I believe that the universe is created of "consciousness" for want of a better word, as all matter is created of varying levels of vibrations. In that scope, i dont believe that consciousness or energy, or whatehaveyou, is ever destroyed, it just changes. We were before this life, and will be after it, perhaps in another form, or another dimensional level of vibration, or perhaps in another human body. Who can know? The reality i believe in, is that we are actually a part of all that exists, and our consciousness is sort of like a camera that focuses on the part that in this life is "me" but when i end this life, then my camera may choose to focus on another part. Limitless possibilities! For me though, i dont believe in "knowing" anything, and so my "beliefs" are constantly evolving.....sometimes faster than others.

personally i am an athiest
and i hate brainwashing and zalotry you find in most religions
religions are evil
however i have a fondness for bhudhism
it seems very peaceful though mystical, but the bhudhists perception of life after death is way better than the christian "beleive what i say or you will go to hell"

i think the bhudhists believe in reincarnation if your good you will come back in a life slightly better than the last if you are bad you will come back with a life sligtly worse than the last,
i could compare it to one life and mistakes you make when each mistake and good deed is a life in itself, then you metaphorically die and reach nirvana, and chill with kurt cobaine lol
no nirvana is a band but also the thing bhudhists search for
its a peace we have never known, no more reincarnation
im not entirely sure what it is
thats my take on bhudhism
not that i believe any of it, but it sounds waaaaayyyyyyyyy better than christianity

Well, there are indeed as many buddhisms as there are christianities. Commonly mistaken though, is the idea of karma, which actually originates in hinduism. Unbeknownst to most, the greatest of yogis often dont want "good" karma. In actuality they want NO karma, because just as bad karma begets bad reflection, good karma begets good reflection, but both cause influence in your life, and it is by NO karma that we truly gain mastery of our own lives, rather than it being influenced by outside forces.

I, however, see karma in a different way. I think its more that we internalize our actions, especially our repeated ones, and thus, the actions we take become who we are. In such a way, a person who gives a dollar to a needy person today, and again tomorrow, and so on internalizes their generosity and accepts it as part of themself until it just becomes part of their nature. It is something like momentum. So to me, a person creates themselves with their actions and habits, and this is what karma means to me, not some silly universal force that goes around with a tally book righting wrongs and such.

As to reincarnation, that may also be a mistaken concept, especially when modern quantum physics becomes involved, as they sometimes now disallow even the existence of time. So i profer the idea of OMNICARNATION. At one life, my consciousness may exist in the mind of a human today, at another it may be in a mountain or blade of grass far in the future, and in the next it may be within a dinosaur from the past.

As to nirvana, lets not mistake that for the christians "heaven". Nirvana is the state of understanding, which allows you to act from true will, rather than being ruled by emotions or other chemical reactions. Some confuse this with having to put aside all earthly wants and desires, but this is not so. Your dog or your fish are very zen! and they dont even have to try. When hungry, eat, when tired, sleep. This can be a good description of zen!

reply to post by nunya13


Thanks a lot friend

reply to post by pexx421


I love the word "omnicarnation". I remember I was having a conversation with someone a couple months ago and brought up the idea about reincarnation and how what if you are also "reborn" in the past or the distant future. It makes sense. It almost seems like if you believe in such things, then it should go hand in hand with the idea that time is not linear and therefore, you could be "reborn" in the past, future, AND present.

Going further, if we are all one, then there is no only you being reborn because you are everyone and everything at every given moment. (That sounds better in my head)

edit: typos

[edit on 29-4-2010 by nunya13]

reply to post by hyperion.martin


No problem, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

I feel Buddhism is more in line with the reality of existence then other religions/beliefs/philosophies, etc., but do not know if it should be labeled a religion or philosophy or both. I don't think either are wrong. Personally, what I see it as is a label for the eventual outcome of any conscious being who truly desires to progress and nothing more. Each individual gets there in a different way, but the destination is still the same.

And in response to someone's comment that it may be that we incarnate in the past/present/future, that would make a lot of sense and would mean that Buddhism isn't/wasn't before its time, but shows up in all times eventually, because it just makes sense and rings true. (That gave me something to ponder for a while lol).

edit: addition to comment

[edit on 29-4-2010 by Dredge]

Originally posted by Dredge
Each individual gets there in a different way, but the destination is still the same.

[edit on 29-4-2010 by Dredge]

I love this comment. For me, any religion of philosophy or what-have-you that requires you to live a certain way or abide by certain rules (that don't have to do not doing harm to others) automatically turns me off and I have no desire to try and be part of it.

I remember when Oprah (don't watch her just remember the controversy) had a discussion about this very thing on her show. Many members of the audience got involved. She was chastised for saying exactly what you did: that there are many paths to the same destination. She went further and said she didn't believe Christianity's view that the only way to eternal life is through Jesus. I'm sure I don't need to say more about how much people got really upset about this. Especially since she has such a huge tv viewing audience.

edit: typos

[edit on 29-4-2010 by nunya13]

The Most important teachings of the Buddha, the start if you like of the journey to understanding this life as things are, and trying to emulate what the Buddha Experienced is the "Four Noble Truths"

Below is an excellent short teaching on this by Robert Thurman Proffesor of Tibetan Studies and close friend and translator to the Dalai Lama, who has kindly allowed me to put these teachings on ATS.



And:



I have quite a few similair Audio/Video and Books on Buddhism on my ATS media Profile for anyone who is interested in learning more:

Mischevious Elf's Media Profile

Kind Regards,

Elf

Originally posted by DerbyCityLights
I believe Buddhism is a philosophy and not a religion. Same with Shintoism and Taoism.

I think it is a mixture of both a religion and philosophy

Religion or Philosophy

There's definitely a connection between Christianity & Buddhism which I also see as philosophy, rather than a religion. St. Thomas - a Disciple of Jesus travelled East to India. Maybe that's where the Relationship between Buddhism and Christianity comes from. Ironically the Gospel of Thomas is banned from the bible. Go figure!

There is speculation concerning a possible connection between both the Buddha and the Christ, and between Buddhism and Christianity. Buddhism originated in India about 500 years before the Apostolic Age and the origins of Christianity. Scholars have explored connections between Buddhism and Christianity. Elaine Pagels, professor of religion at Princeton University, analyzes similarities between some Early Christian texts and Buddhism. Describing teachings in the non-canonical Gnostic[1] Gospel of Thomas, Pagels says, "Some of it looks like Buddhism, and may have in fact been influenced by a well-established Buddhist tradition at the time that these texts were first written." [2] Albert Joseph Edmunds believed the Gospel of John to contain Buddhist concepts[3] and others have compared the infancy account of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke to that of the Buddha in the later Lalitavistara Sutra. During the life of Jesus Christ[4] and the period in which texts like the Gospel of Thomas were composed, Buddhist missionaries lived in Alexandria, Egypt.[2] Historians believe that in the fourth century, Christian monasticism developed in Egypt, and it emerged with a corresponding structure comparable to the Buddhist monasticism of its time and place.[4]

en.wikipedia.org...
en.wikipedia.org...

The New Buddhism: The Western Transformation of an Ancient Tradition

atheism.about.com...



[edit on 30-4-2010 by kindred]

buddhism is certaly ahead of its time, and there are wery few possibilities of brainwashing there.

reply to post by hyperion.martin


yes and yes, sir

Buddhism still allows you to think RATIONALLY and LOGICALLY...the same can't be said about Christianity. They accept the stories in the bible as truth, no matter how insane some stories are if you apply it in today's world.

A few Buddhist quotes:

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then beleive them to be true.

I've always thought of Buddhism as a less restrictive form of spiritual discipline or expression, simply because it seems there are far fewer "intermediaries" than exist in the other "major" religions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Afraid I can't comment on this notion with regard to Hinduism, as I just don't know.

Buddhism seems to me to have much more of a "DIY" aesthetic in terms of spiritual development. As someone already noted, it's an eastern philosophy so perhaps that is why there seems to be a striking difference in approach.

I wonder what "Christianity" would be like today, had not the Roman state and Paul got their mits on it...when I think of Buddhism I sort of oddly always think of a quote attributed to Jesus in the Gospel of Thomas, which reveals a more "gnostic" or "essene" sensibility than the words of the canonized New Testament Jesus: "If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you."