Facepunch, your opinions?
[b]The facts:[/b]
[quote]Buddhism is a philosophy / religion based upon the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (566 - 486 B.C.). He was an Indian prince born in Lumbini (a town situated in what is now Nepal), destined for a privileged life.
According to legend for his life, before his birth, Gautama had visited his mother during a vision, taking the form of a white elephant. During the birth celebrations, a seer announced that this baby would either become a great king or a great holy man. His father, wishing for Gautama to be a great king, shielded his son from religious teachings or knowledge of human suffering.
At age 16, his father arranged his marriage to Yashodhara, a cousin of the same age. She gave birth to a son, Rahula. Although his father ensured that Gautama was provided with everything he could want or need, Gautama was troubled and dissatisfied. At the age of 29, Gautama was escorted on four subsequent visits outside of the palace. Here Siddhartha came across an old crippled man, a sick man, a dead body and an ascetic. This is known as the Four Passing Sights which lead Siddhartha to recognise the reality of death and suffering and the cyclical nature of human existence (samsara). He then left the palace, abandoned his inheritance and became a wandering monk, seeking a solution to an end of suffering. He began with the Yogic path and although he reached high levels of meditative consciousness, he was not satisfied.
He abandoned asceticism and realised the power of the Middle Way. This is an important idea in Buddhist thought and practice. To seek moderation and avoid the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. At the age of 35, meditating under a Bodhi tree, Siddhartha reached Enlightenment, awakening to the true nature of reality, which is Nirvana (Absolute Truth);
The dustless and stainless Eye of Truth (Dhamma-cakkhu) has arisen.
He has seen Truth, has attained Truth, has known Truth, has penetrated into Truth, has crossed over doubt, is without wavering.
Thus with right wisdom he sees it as it is (yatha bhutam) ... The Absolute Truth is Nibbana, which is Reality. (Buddha, from the Dhatuvibhanga-sutta (No. 140) of the Majjhima-nikaya)
Thus Siddhartha Gautama became known as the Buddha. 'Buddha' (from the ancient Indian languages of Pali and Sanksrit) means 'one who has awakened'. It is derived from the verbal root "budh", meaning "to awaken" or "to be enlightened", and "to comprehend".
The Buddha taught that the nature of reality was impermanent and interconnected. We suffer in life because of our desire to transient things. Liberation from suffering may come by training the mind and acting according to the laws of karma (cause and effect) i.e. with right action, good things will come to you. This teaching is known as the Four Noble Truths: Dukkha: Suffering is everywhere
Samudaya: There is a cause of suffering, which is attachment or misplaced desire (tanha) rooted in ignorance.
Nirodha: There is an end of suffering, which is Nirvana (the possibility of liberation exists for everyone).
Maggo: There is a path that leads out of suffering, known as the Noble Eightfold Path (right view, right thought, right speech, right conduct, right vocation, right effort, right attention and right concentration). Metaphysics of Buddhism
Buddha was correct that The gift of truth excels all other gifts, for only truth allows us to act wisely. This website is devoted to explaining this fundamental Truth about Reality (Nirvana) from the Metaphysical foundations of Space and Motion (not Time) and the Spherical Standing Wave Structure of Matter.
Buddha was very close to understanding Reality as he knew that Matter was both Impermanent and Interconnected; The world is continuous flux and is impermanent (Buddha) and as Fritjof Capra writes; The Eastern mystics see the universe as an inseparable web, whose interconnections are dynamic and not static (Capra). This impermanence / flux is caused by the continual wave Motion of Space (which causes both Matter and Time) and the Interconnection of all things is due to the Spherical In and Out Waves which interact with all other matter in the universe.
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find anything that agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. (Siddhartha Gautama - The Buddha), 563-483 B.C.[/quote]
[b]The opinions:[/b]
[quote]Sam Harris expressed this view of Buddhism in his essay "Killing the Buddha" (Shambhala Sun, March 2006). Harris admires Buddhism, calling it "the richest source of contemplative wisdom that any civilization has produced." But he thinks it would be even better if it could be pried away from Buddhists.
"The wisdom of the Buddha is currently trapped within the religion of Buddhism," Harris laments. "Worse still, the continued identification of Buddhists with Buddhism lends tacit support to the religious differences in our world. ... Given the degree to which religion still inspires human conflict, and impedes genuine inquiry, I believe that merely being a self-described 'Buddhist' is to be complicit in the world's violence and ignorance to an unacceptable degree."
"Killing the Buddha" is from a Zen saying -- If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him. Harris interprets this as a warning against turning the Buddha into a "religious fetish" and thereby missing the essence of what he taught.
But this is Harris's interpretation of the phrase. In Zen, "killing the Buddha" means to extinguish ideas and concepts about the Buddha in order to realize the True Buddha. Harris is not killing the Buddha; he is merely replacing a religious idea of the Buddha with a non-religious one more to his liking.[/quote]
[quote]In many ways, the "religion versus philosophy" argument is an artificial one. The neat separation between religion and philosophy we insist on today didn't exist in western civilization until the 18th century or so, and there never was such a separation in eastern civilization. To insist that Buddhism must be one thing and not the other amounts to forcing an ancient product into modern packaging.
In Buddhism, this sort of conceptual packaging is considered to be a barrier to enlightenment. Without realizing it we use prefabricated concepts about ourselves and the world around us to organize and interpret what we learn and experience. One of the functions of Buddhist practice is to sweep away all the artificial filing cabinets in our heads so that we see the world as-it-is.
In the same way, arguing about whether Buddhism is a philosophy or a religion isn't an argument about Buddhism. It's an argument about our biases regarding philosophy and religion. Buddhism is what it is. [/quote]
[quote]What is religion? Those who argue that Buddhism is not a religion tend to define religion as a belief system, which is a western notion. Religious historian Karen Armstrong defines religion as a search for transcendence, going beyond the self.
It's said that the only way to understand Buddhism is to practice it. Through practice, one perceives its transformative power. A Buddhism that remains in the realm of concepts and ideas is not Buddhism. The robes, ritual and other trappings of religion are not a corruption of Buddhism, as some imagine, but expressions of it.
There's a Zen story in which a professor visited a Japanese master to inquire about Zen. The master served tea. When the visitor's cup was full, the master kept pouring. Tea spilled out of the cup and over the table.
"The cup is full!" said the professor. "No more will go in!"
"Like this cup," said the master, "You are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"
If you want to understand Buddhism, empty your cup.[/quote]
[quote]
Buddhism is a Philosophy. That is the reason why people of all faiths and no faiths practices it.
It depends on how you define religion. Zen Buddhism was first introduced to the U.S. at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago 1893; for the last 40 years it has been introduced in College Comparative Religion courses as a World Religion via the Huston Smith book, The World's Religions and it is legally protected as a religion in this country.[/quote]
In before [b]My name is Earl[/b] references.
Philosiphy.
[QUOTE=Egg_Toaster;20773385]Philosiphy.[/QUOTE]
Please pick an option that is on the poll. :smile:
why not?
depends on who you are obviously. I think it was intended to be a philosophy but for many it is a religion
[QUOTE=Vedicardi;20773415]depends on who you are obviously. I think it was intended to be a philosophy but for many it is a religion[/QUOTE]
I can agree with that. It is my religion. It would make sense as to why people would have different opinions.
But, a religion technically is:
[quote]A religion is a system of human thought which usually includes a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, deity or deities, or ultimate truth.[/quote]
I think it can apply to Buddhism in certain ways.
It is a philosophy, unless you belong to the mahayana sect.
There isn't an "opinion" to have on the matter.
[QUOTE=that1dude24;20773508]It is a philosophy, unless you belong to the mahayana sect.
There isn't an "opinion" to have on the matter.[/QUOTE]
I have yet to read about that, Rated informative for informing me of such sect.
It depends on the sect. Philisophy for most until you get into spiritual concepts and then it becomes religious.
Philosophy.
Philosophy, however there are some sects which are religious in nature and treat Buddha as a diety.
It's a philosophy.
[QUOTE=Jacklus;20776756]Philosophy, however there are some sects which are religious in nature and treat Buddha as a diety.[/QUOTE]
[b]"In Buddha we trust."[/b] :raise:
A belief.
Buddhism is the only decent "religion" there is.
id say philosophy for what i know, i did not bother to read, i havent got the time now, but i will later
Well its a bit of both. But so are all religions. I researched Buddhism a little bit in the past. I think its such a beautiful philosophy. But it also has a lot of religious elements that a lot of people here would stick their nose up at, contrary to what they say.
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