Why Buddhism is not really a religion but a great philosopy?

Question

meditation brings wisdom, which goes far beyond knowledge....

Answer 1

Buddhism is a teaching.

Lord Buddha teaches.

The answers are within us. We are to realise it. Lord Buddha shows us the answers, make us realise by teaching.

Answer 2

Saying that Buddhism is a philosopy , a religon or a way of life is like only seeing parts of the whole picture.

If you get bogged down by the labels of religon, philosopy , way of life ,..etc , you are constrained by that defintion and you do not see the whole .

There is a story that illustrates this , which was related by The Buddha Himself,

Once , there were 4 blind man . They were brought to an elephant and each blind man could only feel the part of the elephant that is in front of him. They were then asked to tell others what is an elephant .

One blind man felt the thick legs of the elephant and said ," I know what is an elephant , it is thick and tall, just like a thick tree trunk ! "

The 2nd blind man , which felt the tail of the elephant said ," No, it isn't , it is soft and thin and flexible , just like a rope ! '

The 3rd blind man , which felt the ears of the elephant said," No, you are all wrong. An elephant has a wide flapping texture , just like a big banana leaf ."

The 4th blind man , which felt the trunk of the elephant said," You are all wrong and I am correct , an elephant is a long thick flexible tube ! "

We are just like the 4 blind man if we approach Buddhism by those labels and we will never see the whole picture.

It is a philosopy , a religon or a way of life and more.

It answers our every question on existence , yet, it can offer refuge and worship as in any religon.

It is also a way of life, because it has daily rituals and moral conduct practices that are observed everyday.

It is also a spiritual practice ( eg. meditation ) .There are spiritual attainments that one can attain by constant practice, which you have to practise it to experience it, to get the real benefits.

On the other hand, for a layman and a beginner , Buddhism could be any of those labels . And you could approach it as a religon or a philosopy or way of life at the beginning .

However, I think one should progress on and at some point decide to go past those labels.

IMHO, only at that point , then true wisdom will surfaced.

Answer 3

well b'cuz der r no myths ,customs n cultures to adhere 2.......Buddhsm is the teachings n da philos made by LORD BUDDHA its simply treated lyk a religion cuz loads o ppl actually go by da teachins n philos......................which mainly hv 2 do wid peace truth n patience which is y so many ppl folow buddhism..............................Im a buddhist maself......................................................nansel :D

Answer 4

what??????so??