are buddhists atheists?

Question

according to buddhism they dont believe in a higher supreme being but would they still be classified as atheist although they have a form of religion?

Answer 1

We are agnostic, we neither believe nor do we disbelieve in a higher power. Buddhists do not believe Buddha is a god, he was a mortal man and now he has left the samsara and no longer exists. We also believe in an afterife (reincarnation) while atheists do not.

Answer 2

No, Buddhists believe in gods just not one ultimate superior being. They worship many different gods, like the moon god, god of agriculture, things like that. They are considered polytheists and are not atheists.

Some also don't consider Buddhism a religion but rather a way of life because they do not believe in a ultimate god. But this is usually based on a Western form of thinking.

Answer 3

Buddhism is a way of life, not really a religion. They believe in nature and the good of human nature. I personally wouldn't classify them as atheists, but they may be. Ask one.

Answer 4

Theism is the belief in a god that has a personal relationship with their creation. Deism is the belief in a god with no relationship or interaction with their creation.

Buddhism is a religion based on the teaching of Gautama Buddha that suffering is inherent in life and that one can be liberated from it by mental and moral self-purification.

This makes buddhists neither. Buddhism neither rejects nor supports a creator or savior. It is simply a belief in a certain form of salvation through one's own ability.

Answer 5

NO, Buddha specifically said that he was not a God, he was only an Enlightened Person. Buddhists can be members of a religion and still be good Buddhists. Buddhists believe in a way of live and one that is compatible with most religions.

According to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BuddhIsm
"Buddhism (also known as Buddha Dharma, "the teachings of the awakened one") is a religion, a way of life, a practical philosophy, and arguably a discipline of psychology. Buddhism focuses on the teachings of Gautama Buddha (Pali: Gotama Buddha), who lived on the Indian subcontinent in or around the fifth century BCE "

"When used in a generic sense, a Buddha is generally considered to be a person who discovers the true nature of reality through years of spiritual cultivation, investigation of the various religious practices of his time, and meditation. This transformational discovery is called bodhi - literally, "Awakening" (more commonly called "Enlightenment"). Any person who has become awakened from the "sleep of ignorance" by directly realizing the true nature of reality is called a Buddha. Gautama Buddha is said to have been only the latest of many of these; there were other Buddhas before him and there will be others in the future. According to Gautama Buddha, any person can follow his example and become enlightened through the study of his words "Dharma" and putting them into practice, by leading a virtuous, moral life, and purifying the mind.

Concisely put, the aim of Buddhist practice is to put an end to the stress of existence. "I teach one thing and one thing only: suffering and the end of suffering" (The Buddha). To achieve this state of the end of suffering (Nirvana or Nirodha), adherents train and purify the mind by following the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, eventually arriving at an understanding of the true nature of all things. In this way all ignorance and unhappiness is ended, and liberation attained. Buddhist teaching encourages individuals to practice and verify the Buddha's teachings based on their own personal experience, and also after consulting with 'the wise'. If they find the teachings are valid (leading to more happiness and less suffering), they can apply these teachings in a practical form into their daily life if they so wish."

In another words Buddhism is a way of looking at life. It has nothing to do with God and is perfectly compatible with most religions. An Enlightened Person is as close to a Christian Saint as a normal person can get. Jesus can easily be considered to have been an Enlightened Person; his suffering on the cross was to help all of mankind. The end of his suffering and his resurrection was a promise that this can happen to all good Christians. The study of the Bible is the Christian road to Enlightenment, just as the study of the Tora or the Koran is the road to Enlightenment for Jews and Moslems respectively. If Jesus, or Mohammed met the Buddha they may have differed on many minor details, but in their over all views they would have agreed with each other.

A Buddhist can be an atheist; they can also follow the Hindi, Chinese, Christian, Jewish, or Moslem faiths.

Prophecy+...: They don't believe in false gods so they aren't pagans.

Abigale C: Buddhism is called a religion so it will be accepted, but it doesn't deal with God, or the works of God.

kidcyborg...: Buddhists can believe in God or not. Buddhism doesn't cover God.

bobm709: The Buddha himself said, 'No I am not a God, I am only a person searching for enlightenment.

robert p: They can have Jesus, Mohammad, or the Great Gizmo as their God. They are not concerned with God only a way to live their lives.

andy c: Don't confuse Buddhism and Hinduism.

djs820: Thank you for bothering to know the answer, or at least research, it before answering the question.

CrazyCat: you made a few good points, but atheists don't have a religion and are not a religion. You can't have what you don't think exists.

Mirage: At last a true Buddhist speaks. I am an atheist, but I honor the bible for its teachings of a moral code and a guide on how to live your life. I honor Buddhism more because it concentrates on the way to live our life without bringing imaginary beings into it.

phoenix_s...: Thank you for bothering to know the answer, or at least research, it before answering the question.

paloma: They can have God, Jesus, Mohammed or the Great Gizmo like I said. Their beliefs aren't really a religion, they are a way to live your life and it is perfectly compatible with the teachings of Jesus.

Sela: "Yes =" what does that mean? Do you think that they equal nothing or do you think that you and your sect is on the only road to Enlightenment. The original Buddha seems to have had the same general ideas as Jesus did.

Answer 6

are Buddhist really atheists, monotheists or polytheists?

There is no clear-cut answer, since many use these terms differently. A complete answer to the question would resemble one of at least this length. However, Buddhism explains how theism evolved through history, and it is from this that we can see how Buddhism sees itself in comparison. In the ancient days of lack in understanding of nature, when humans experienced the wrath of nature, they instinctively assumed there to be gods of nature who were angry at them. Thus arose belief in earth gods (who create earthquakes), mountain gods (who create landslides), river gods (who create floods), lightning gods (who create lightning storms)... This is probably birth of polytheism. Some time later, it occured to humans that these myriad gods should be under the control of a supreme God who created and governs them, without which there would be total chaos. This is the birth of monotheism.

With the coming of Buddhism and its above understanding, none of the gods or God were taken as spiritual refuges, as the Buddha's complete awakening to the reality of life, the universe and everything clarified the earlier (mis)understanding of the nature of gods. But this is not to say no gods exist at all. In fact, in Buddhist cosmology, there are 26 intricately defined heavenly planes among its 31 planes of existence. The inhabitants of the heavens are of course, gods. And anyone who had created sufficient good karma can be reborn as a god, though a godly rebirth is not Buddhism's final aim. Its final aim is to urge all to become Buddhas - ones who have realised total freedom from the rounds of life and death.

Atheism is also often lumped together with nihilism, which is in turn related to the total lack of morals. Not that Buddhists are "atheist" in the strictest sense of the word (as explained above), if one examines the Buddhist code of ethics, one will discover that Buddhism has perhaps one of the world's most comprehensive and compassionate moral system, which even takes into consideration of plants and the smallest sentient beings (eg. insects). Buddhism is incredibly conscious not only about human welfare in terms of promoting anti-sexism, anti-racism, anti-casteism, anti-speciesism, anti-dogmatism, anti-religious intolerance... it is also mindful of ecological and animal welfare. Thus is the first impression of the Buddha for many that of the embodiment of all-rounded compassion and wisdom.

Answer 7

Funny you should ask...I was watching a show about God last night...entitled God. They had a bhuddist 'master' on there and asked him. He said yes indeed they are atheists. Apparently they believe that their teachings are just "The Way", something like a raft that you might need to cross a river. Once you are on the other side, he says, you would be stupid to keep carrying the raft around.

Answer 8

They believe in the human's higher spiritual achievement that is guided by scientific proof and spiritual pursuit. The supreme being to them is an achievable pursuit of human knowledge on how to free oneself from the bondage of ignorance and the usages of all elements that sustains life.

Answer 9

Yes
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Answer 10

In a loose definition of religion, yes, they are a religion. In a more strict definition in which a god is a necessary element... No.

I consider it a religion because it depends on faith in the supernatural.