Hi, just question, name of Buddhists “Holy Scripture/Book”??

Discussion in 'Buddhism' started by Xboxoneandsports32490, Aug 16, 2023.

  1. Tishomingo

    Tishomingo Members

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    What happens if you do? Will you be excommunicated? I generally identify as a Christian, and I try to go by what I consider to be the basic teachings and example of the biblical Jesus: unconditional love of God and neighbor, including society's rejects, and the Golden Rule, which many religions accept. However, I don't believe in some of the doctrines typically associated with Christianity: vicarious atonement, the virgin birth, the resurrection, an afterlife, a transcendent but interventionist God (I tend to be a panendeist), etc. In church, we were saying the Apostle's creed once, and I whispered to my wife "I don't believe any of this". She whispered back, "it's just words".

    I feel much the same way about Buddhist "doctrine". During my conversion experience to Christianity, I was introduced to the concepts of upanada and taṇhā, which I found helpful in dealing with the Adam and Eve myth in Genesis. But other Buddhist beliefs--non-self, karma and rebirth--I put into the same category as virgin birth, resurrection of the body, and life everlasting (amen). Doesn't mean they aren't true, but I find them hard (and unnecessary) to believe. As for the "core" notion of dependent origination, or pratitya-samut pada, I accept the idea that everything is connected to everything else, although I wouldn't rule out a point of origin--Big Bang, Creator, whatever. Speaking of taṇhā, I see no point in clinging to 5th century B.C. metaphysics to justify beliefs that can stand on their own merits. Both Christianity and Buddhism are mixtures of divine truths and human folly. The challenge is sorting one from the other.
     
    Last edited: Oct 1, 2023
  2. KathyL

    KathyL Super Moderator Super Moderator

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    You can't simultaneously believe two mutually exclusive beliefs. You pick one or the other. You went on to describe how you simply discard one of the conflicting beliefs. And that is okay. It makes you Buddhist-ish and/or Christian-ish, rather than Buddhist or Christian.

    There is no power in Buddhist with the authority to excommunicate. It is not like excommunication would have any meaning.
     
    Tishomingo likes this.

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