Buddhism, is it really a religion?

i see no reason, the same god who was channelled by jesus, moses and mohammid, along with every other revealer of organized belief, couldn't have told the first buddha, to tell people about everything else and never mention a god. quite possibly what people needed in that time and place, as quite possibly now as well, was not to fucus on a particular individual, but on how to live in ways that avoid contributing to suffering and the motivations that create conditions that contribute to suffering.

i also find it, one of those, "god works in mysterious ways" sort of things, that maybe, precisely because of the exile of tibetan buddhism to darmsala india, more people have heard the present deli lama's message of hope and compassion, then ever would have, had he, as would have otherwise been, the political as well as spiritual leader, of a nation of tibet.

this is not to say that i don't consider it an unfortunate thing, that tibet, and quite a number of other places, arent completely indipendent and with their own unique and diverse cultures.

but i do find it interesting, and a cause to speculate, that whatever god or gods or forces of the universe, personified or unpersonified, there may be, are trying to tell us something, that no fanatcism of any persuasion ever can, has, or will.

something about what is real in the heart and the spirit, that we don't have to invent names for gods, and pretensions of knowing anything about them, to in a sense share affection with the unseen, and bennifit to others, motivated by doing so.

=^^=
.../\...

 

I've heard it called a religion but also, by a buddhist, also a mind set. As in you can practice other religions as well a Buddhism

 

By most definitions I'd say it's a religion, although this also does lead into how we understand definitions - do we see Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism etc., and come up with the word religion to describe them, or do we come up with a description of what religion is and then see what fits into it.

By the latter, Buddhism could be a religion or it could not be. By the former, Buddhism is a religion, and if it jars with the definition than the definition is wrong.

As I understand religion, it's less about believing in a god or gods, and more about believing at all. To me, if one believes that there definitely is no god, rather than being uncertain about it, that is as religious as believing that there is one.

In other words, it's beliefs rather than assumptions about the universe. If you believe in reincarnation, for example, you are not basing that on possibility or relative likelihood of it happening. You're just believing it.

 

In my opinion, Buddhism is what is called by people when they are pointing out the group of people & teachings who spread Buddha's teaching after he was alive. Nowadays, when people practice Modern Buddhism oftentimes they might find it's not so helpful for their life as they don't teach how to live correctly right now, in Buddhist scripture. The tradition passed down Buddha's teachings, but the quality of the truth from his teachings degraded as it was handed down over time due to people's consciousness being different so the resulting teaching which was given changed. So , naturally people sometimes consider Buddhism as similar to a religion, even though I'm not sure it's right to call it that. I'm still learning..

But even though Buddhism is like a religion, I have heard that there is a big difference between existing Buddhism and real Buddha's teaching.

Metta,

Paul

 

It is a religion, yes, but its underlying wisdom is more universal. So, in that way it is also an understanding that transcends the path. I was listening to Ken Wilber last night, and he mentioned an old Japanese Zen saying, "Hunt two rabbits, catch neither." So in that sense following a path is important too...

 

I've always thought of Buddhism as a lifestyle.

 

it's rather a way of life

 

Buddhism is reality