Anyone interes Buddhism faith? How many people in the US are Buddhist?

Question

I was raised Christian but I'm not sure of christianity. I think buddhism makes much more sence. I don't like christianity because people say if you don't think the way the christians do think you will go the hell. Buddhism makes so much sence. By the way I'm baptist and i'm 16

Answer 1

i am not a buddhist but i praise buddhism whoose main theme is peace...you would love it...

Answer 2

I am a practicing Buddhist. I was raised Roman Catholic, but could not grapple with basis on woman's role, race, and it's foundations. I didn't like the idea that I was born condemned, could only be saved by blessed water and not by being a good person.

It's the 4th largest religion, with about 360 million followers, although it can really be considered a philosophy, meaning that it's a guide to life rather than a scripted group that isolates and condemns.

Because it began in northeast India and spread to other regions, there are several sects and types of Buddhism. Don't get lost in it. The foundation of Buddhism is common sense and personal growth, so follow your heart. Just consider the Six Perfections of Concentration, Effort, Ethical behavior, Generosity, Patience, and Wisdom. If you are ever lost, I would suggest that you merely meditate on the eightfold path of Right beliefs, Right aspirations, Right speech, Right conduct, Right livelihood, Right effort, Right mindfulness, and Right meditational attainment. Best of luck and I hope that your religious search makes you content.

Answer 3

Buddhism means different thing to different people. To some, it's a life philosophy. It's a way to look deep into oneself, to improve oneself as a way to improve others around you. It teaches peace, love and tolerance and everything has a cause and effect relationship.

To others, it is a religion, with lots of different Gods to worship.

Here's a definition from Yahoo dictionary:
1. The teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct, wisdom, and meditation releases one from desire, suffering, and rebirth.
2. The religion represented by the many groups, especially numerous in Asia, that profess varying forms of this doctrine and that venerate Buddha

To me, I'm in the former camp. I was brought up in a Christian school, but I thought Buddhism the life philosophy makes so much more sense. I don't really understand all the different Gods in Buddhism, too confusing, and they all have really hard to remember names.

Check out this web site http://www.baus.org/ for Buddhist Association of the US. They have a lot of free books that you can request that they mail to you free of charge and read up on the topic.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

Buddhism is a great philosophy. Budda himself said he was a man and not a God. you can appreciate the philosophy which is so on target and not make it your religion. I saw the Dali Lama last year in DC at the MCI center conference and he said "There is no right religion" "one truth many paths" Buddhism does encourage tolerance, Peacefulness, and emotional control. It does not focus on a relationship with the creator. Again more of a philosophy than a religion

Answer 6

I was also raised a Christian, but left the faith a long time ago. I have studied many religions and I am particularly interested in the parallels between the teachings of the Buddha and Jesus. I would recommend the writings of Thich Nhat Hanh if you'd like to explore these similarities.

I wish that more people would understand that one can practice the Dharma (the teachings of the Buddha) from within one's own faith; one is not required to become a Buddhist in order to practice these teachings. However, many religions do not have room or allow for such. I say this to let you know that you do not have to leave your faith to learn the ways of Buddhism, but I would encourage you to explore the Dharma - either way.

I will warn you, however, that you might be shocked at first when you start a formal study of Buddhism. I am, at best, a novice, but there are some things that I struggled (and still struggle with to a degree) to understand. Often these are only understood through their subtleties. For example, in Buddhism there is no separate Creator God and, as a result, Buddhism is often described as an "atheistic religion." There is also no individual, unchanging, eternal soul in Buddhism, as this concept is understood in Christianity. The goal of a Buddhist is not to reach heaven, but to achieve nirvana - this is a state of mind, not a physical or metaphysical place. Until one reaches nirvana, one is bound to the Wheel of Samsara - the cycle of birth-death-rebirth - and one continues to exist in a world of suffering. Of course, the Buddha taught the cause of and the remedy for suffering (in The Four Noble Truths) and provided the means to address and overcome it (in The Eightfold Path). And Buddhism does not have a concept of hell, as taught within Christianity.

As for the number of Buddhists in the U.S., reliable data on Buddhism in the U.S. is hard to come by. But it appears that Buddhism is definitely growing.

According to the American Religious Identity Survey (ARIS) conducted by the Graduate Center of the City University of New York in 2001, found that the estimated number of American adults who identify themselves as Buddhist was 1,082,000 in 2001. The percentage change from 1990-2000 was a 170% increase.

Current estimates of the number of Buddhists in the US range from 2.5 to 4 million. If these figures are correct, Buddhsim would be the third or fouth largest religious group in the U.S. (behind Christianity, persons with no religious identification, and possibly Islam).

Don Morreale lists over a thousand centers in the U.S. and Canada in his "Complete Guide to Buddhist America," and the Pluralism Project currently lists 1212 Buddhist Centers in the US, which indicates continued growth of this population through to the present time.

I think that a good online resource to start with is Buddhanet.net ( http://www.buddhanet.net/ ), supported by the Buddha Dharma Education Association, Inc. Please feel free to contact me directly if you would like more advice.

Namaste.

Answer 7

I practiced Buddhism for a while. I like it, it's very peaceful... but Im a Christian now not because "I think the way Christians do" but because If God wants me to do it His way, then I better.

Answer 8

I have read that 6% of the world follows Buddhism.

Answer 9

ok first of all the word is sense not "sence".

Anyways, I'm atheist, however I have a great deal of respect for Buddhists. Their beliefs are that of peace and love which is noble and hard to find in religion (or at least hard to find the members practicing).

Answer 10

there's only loving- kindness, compassion, mindfulness, right thoughts & intentions, etc. in all of us. we just need to cultivate it. these good qualities does not only belong to buddhists, there are many (religious or athetists) people out there who possessed these qualities too.

Buddhism depends more on understanding than faith.

Simply speaking, this is to avoid harming others and to help them as much as possible. Another way of expressing this is, Abandon negative action; create perfect virtue; subdue your own mind. This is the teaching of the Buddha. By abandoning negative actions (killing, etc.) and destructive motivations (anger, attachment, close-mindedness, etc.), we stop harming ourselves and others. By creating perfect virtue, we develop beneficial attitudes, like impartial love and compassion, and do actions motivated by these thoughts. By subduing our mind, we cut away all false projections, thus making ourselves calm and peaceful by understanding reality.

The essence of Buddha’s teachings is also contained in the three principles of the path: definite emergence, the dedicated heart and wisdom realizing emptiness. Initially, we seek definitely to emerge from the confusion of our problems and their causes. Then, we see that other people also have problems, and with love and compassion, we dedicate our heart to becoming a Buddha so that we are capable of helping others extensively. In order to do this, we develop the wisdom understanding the real nature of ourselves and other phenomena.

Answer 11

in my opionion, Christianity has all the answers> Jesus Christ is unique in his message and miracles. He is the "truth the way and the life"> I feel that buddhism is too unclear w/ that meditation and also hard and confusing> yet it is only a good "philosophy" since they don't believe in God, but we need Jesus Christ since he is direct,loving, and our savior! pray to Jesus that you may remove ur doubts! don't lose faith!! I strongly believe we will never find any clear answers by meditating, unless we pray to our creator, Jesus Christ, for answers. peace.