Buddhism.....is Buddhism considered a religion?

Question

IS Buddhism a religion? If you are a practicing Buddhist and hold down a job, how could you help me practice also? How would you go about trying to convert me? What are the pro's and cons? I've only just started reading the basics but i somehow get lost & slightly confused (duh!) Are there any good web-sites that would help me practice for e.g. meditation or prayer? There is a temple in my city but i work at night and i find the times of the temple too hard to manage.

Answer 1

yes, it is technically classed as a religion but maybe also a philosphy as there is no god or maybe way of life
pros about buddhism:
no god to worship, the buddha wants to be treaten as an equal
it teaches to respect everyone elses opinion rather then with other religions saying they are the ONLY religion
it helps you become one with nature and become happy
meditation (fun)
no silly books you have to read, you just have to know the stories
no holy war

cons about buddhism:
you have to give up things that you don't need and basically give up all desierables...
the monks are selfish because they dont want anything and then demand it off the people. (but at least it isn't like the catholic church that demand money off people)
no eating meat
free choice of clothes (muslim women)

it is a religion that actually split off, along with judism and another one from the much earlier religion of muslim or something like that...
buddha - the person(s) who founded the religion (Siddhārtha Gautama 563- 483 BCE)He refuted the idea of man's having an immortal soul and did not preach of any Supreme Deity. Instead he taught that man should seek freedom from greed, hatred and delusion, and enlightenment through realizing the Four Noble Truths and following the Eightfold Path.

buddhism - the religion itself founded 2500 years ago which originated in India or burma.. people aren't sure

buddhist - the believer.

the Four Noble Truths -The first teaching given by Buddha Shakyamuni: the truth of suffering, the cause of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path to cessation of suffering.

the Eightfold Path- The Noble Eightfold Path, according to Buddhism and as taught by Gautama Buddha, is the way to the cessation of suffering, the fourth part of the Four Noble Truths. It is summarized into three important categories: wisdom (pañña), virtue (sila), and concentration (samadhi). it looks like a wheel

you probably know the story of the buddha, how he was a prince and was shielded from pain and then he saw death, age and illness and become all anarchist and ran off and started meditating under the special tree

you don't really need to practice anything, there are no specific prayers but if you want you can do meditation which is so cool and its good because you don't have to change a room or anything like you would have to with a lot of religions to turn them into shrines.

convert? i'm not a buddhist, but there are loads of good points there, wouldn't you like to be happy but not have to spend much money?

well you can ask them to open it at a reasonable time for you to go to the temple, but its not like you have to stay there all day.
the temples are very cool, they are very simple and have "sand pits" which basically you rake and rake and rake patterns into the and and it releases negative energy and it shows what sort of person you are!

they also believe in karma.. which is cool! what goes around comes around! but in more depth... and you turn into an animal if your bad

main philosophy - about greed and pain so thats how it was founded

go on the website no 1 for mediation
2 and 3 = fesitivals(3 is bbc and more detailed)
4 and 5 - eightfoldpath

Answer 2

I will try to address the many aspects of your question, although I am not very knowledgeable.

Buddhism is a religion, but the approach to spiritual questions, which are based on the realisations of the Buddha, is systematic and does not require or encourage faith without understanding.

The basics of Buddhism are that:
- Enlightenment exists;
- There are methods to learn how to become Enlightened;
- There are others who are using and learning the methods;
- These (above) three are available for support, inspiration and shelter.

One of the most important aspects of Buddhism is the transmission of the teachings of the Buddha. Learning to practice involves learning from a teacher or spiritual friend. As a result a teacher and a lineage are important, and there are many of both (teachers and lineages).

Here are a few Internet links to start:
http://www.buddhanet.net/
http://www.lioncity.net/buddhism/index.php
There are many more (just do a search), but remember that the help and support of others is really important.

I would not even think about trying to convert you.
The pro's and con's have to be defined and experienced by you. In general, from my point of view and experience, the pro's are a reduction of neurotic tendencies. The con's (which are really pro's) are that one has to face ones neurotic tendencies, which, and again I write from my point of view and experience, is not always particularly pleasant.

Just reading will not really adequately give you the full flavour of the Buddhist teachings, but reading and understanding are important. Being confused is not entirely a bad thing in that it means that things are "brewing."

Find a place where:
- the teachings of the Buddha are transmitted in a way that is in good repute among other Buddhists. The Internet is good for this;
- you are comfortable with the place, the people and the teachings. It is very important to be comfortable in order to begin to practise.

You have to give yourself time. Examine the teachings and the teachers. Don't rush, that just adds to the confusion. Once you have established a connection with a tradition of teaching, then avoid the temptation of criticising others.

Answer 3

The religion of the future

The religion of future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal God and avoid dogmas and theology, covering both natural, spiritual. It should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers to this description."

Albert Einstein
(Talk on "Science and Religion", Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A. 19th May 1939).


http://www.triplegem.net/

You can access quite a number of Buddhism literature through above website. If you are a beginner, better to start with the titles for beginners.

As Pali was the language used by Buddha, most of the Buddhism literatures contain Pali words. It is a good idea to use one of the Pali-English dictionaries freely available in the internet.

There are 2 major branches in Buddhism, ie. Theravada Buddhism (TB) and Mahayana Buddhism (MB). They look the same or very similar to a non-Buddhist but they are not. When you read a Buddhism literature, try to figure out whether that is TB or MB. Otherwise you will get confused.


Finally, please remember Buddhism is not all about meditation, chanting prayers and playing shaolin martial arts.

Answer 4

What is a religion? If it is a belief system which includes one or more deities, then Buddhism isn't strictly a religion. Buddha is revered as a God in some branches of Buddhism, but as a teacher in others. The latter are philosophies not religions.

Answer 5

Though I am not a practicing Buddhist per se, I regularly attend teachings at a local monastery and have adopted many of their principles.

Yes, it is a religion, but one without a god. The Buddha is revered and respected, but not worshiped. Holding down a job isn't a problem, but one of the tenets of the Eightfold Path is "right work"--i.e., work that harms none.

Buddhists don't convert. They just teach. Idea is, if you don't get it this lifetime, you'll be back for another at some point.

Pros and cons: Hmm. Interesting way of putting it. The Four Noble Truths will, I really believe, lead to a happy and fulfilled life; however, there is the cost of detachment to consider. Many laypeople can balance the two to some extent, however.

I'd say your best bet would be to simply talk with someone at the temple; the monks are usually accomodating for one-on-one teaching. (If they put you off, go back--that's part of the teaching, showing your desire for it by bugging them about it!) There's a wonderful book, can't recall the author but the title is Liberation In The Palm Of Your Hand. A bit dense, but good for starting out--take your time with it if you pick it up, it's meant to be taken in slowly.

I wish you well on your search.

ETA: This is a quick study. I'd be happy to share some more information if you'd like to message me.

Answer 6

Buddhism is not much of a religion and same goes to Christianity. From my understanding, religion is a belief that there's a supernatural being call God. Example of religion is Islam (believe in one god), Hindu (believe in many god), Taoism (believe many gods) etc.. Buddhism is more like a philosophy which teach people how to be a good human and basically the teaching is just from human perspective. Christianity is also not a religion but it's a relationship with God. The relationship only valid if we believe that God send Christ to save us from sin by dying on the cross and on the third day he rose again. If we believe, we can pray directly to God and ask Him for forgiveness of our past sin. From then on we can start anew and be a new person with freedom in Christ which means free to do anything except sin. For more information, refer to the source provided below for all the religion or question that you want to know. Take care.:)

Answer 7

buddhism isn't a religion, and you don't get 'converted'...

To many, Buddhism goes beyond religion and is more of a philosophy or 'way of life'. It is a philosophy because philosophy 'means love of wisdom' and the Buddhist path can be summed up as:

(1) to lead a moral life,
(2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and
(3) to develop wisdom and understanding.

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 8

I used to go out with a religious education teacher who was heavily into Buddhism, there are 2 types (you probably know that) Indian and Chinese.I don't think they convert you or even teach, i think its more like they encourage you to find your own path to enlightenment.I'm the guy who wanted to know about Dave Grohl's sound, you gave good advice, but i have been playing for 18 years and I'm quite advanced, i just want that sound for some songs I'm recording with the band, i think i have a rough idea of what heads to use but i don't wanna fork out before i know for sure. do you have any handy drummer's links?

Answer 9

I often wonder that. As an atheist, with a strong anti-religious stance, I am often given Buddhism as an example of a non-harmful religion that does not presuppose the existence of a Deity. In which case I would say it is more of a philosophy.
But it does engender belief in the preternatural, and deference to the deified (The 'Lord' Buddha for example) and it promotes acceptance of irrational thoughts and a non-critical embracing of highly speculative concepts, so I would lump it in with other religions in the general 'hogwash' tray of life.

Answer 10

Nope it is not considered a religion, more of a philosophy. There is no God in Buddhism except for a philosopher which is Siddharta Gautama that teaches people the way of life. I used to be a Buddhist but I'm a Christian now