to Buddhists?

Question

i'm a religious studies major and i'm just a little curious..... are there any Buddhists who combine their Buddhist beliefs with monotheistic faiths?.... is that accepted within your monotheistic faith? are there any sects of Buddhism that believe in God or gods


***if you are not a Buddhist please do not answer

string beans in garlic sauce?.... i work third shift so this is what time i'm normally up.... but i swear some of you just need to go to bed..............

Answer 1

I used to be a Buddhist so maybe I qualify to answer....

There is some crossover in the US between Judaism and Zen Buddhism. The people who do this have actually coined a word for themselves: "Jubus". I'm not making that up....

There's also been a lot of crossover between Zen Buddhism and the Trappist monks of the Catholic Church to the extent that the Trappists have occasionally been referred to as "Zen Catholics". I used to be friends with a Catholic woman who was into this particular synergy.....

Answer 2

I use a LOT of Buddhist teaching in my belief structure. My belief system is independent though....I studied and came to my own conclusions.

I found that the concept of unity fits really well with the concept of aligning your will with the will of God.

I believe that God is infinite (which means all things) and that translates to Buddhism as the unity of life.

He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.
Buddha

This is enlightenment and to my understanding is sought in all religions who seek spiritual Truth.

Love God (break it down to the concepts associated with the word minus the personality) and love you neighbor as yourself.....You can not attain this unless you relinquish self.

Since you are in a studies class I will not give the examples in the wording of all the other religions I am familiar with and trust that if you are interested you can find them.

The Eastern philosophies that do not mention God are still using the concepts attributed to the word.....they just refuse to put a human personality or will to those concepts and view it as more of a natural law or force.

I realize this isn't exactly what you asked for but I hope it helps.

Answer 3

I know a guy who is a Buddhist but combines this with Hinduism in some sort of New Asian Religion. It works fine for him, and neither religion condones it. There are many sects of Buddhism, so I wouldn't know if any believed in God/s.

Answer 4

I am not a Buddhist but a keen follower of Buddhism so maybe I have the answer for you.

The Vajrayāna sect of Buddhism or "Diamond Vehicle" (also referred to as Mantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Tantric Buddhism, or esoteric Buddhism) shares the basic concepts of Mahāyāna, but also includes a vast array of spiritual techniques designed to enhance Buddhist practice. Vajrayāna Buddhism exists today in the form of two major sub-schools: Tibetan Buddhism and Shingon Buddhism. One component of the Vajrayāna is harnessing psycho-physical energy as a means of developing profoundly powerful states of concentration and awareness. These profound states are in turn to be used as an efficient path to Buddhahood. For this, they do worship not only Lord Buddha, but also Mahakala (a form of Lord Shiva) and Mahakali (Goddess Shakti).

Using these techniques, it is claimed that a practitioner can achieve Buddhahood in one lifetime, or even as little as three years. In addition to the Theravāda and Mahāyāna scriptures, Vajrayāna Buddhists recognise a large body of texts that include the Buddhist Tantras. Native Vajrayāna is practiced today mainly in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, Kalmykia, Siberia, areas of India, and – in the Shingon and Tendai schools – in China and Japan.

Answer 5

It's not really about beliefs, its more about the way you live...you'd probably have to learn an Asian language if you were really serious...maybe you could learn how to cook string beans in garlic sauce...have you heard of lao foo jzih?

Answer 6

Yes, I am a Christian who also follows Buddhism. Although I know other people who do this, I do not know of any traditional church that accepts this choice.

There are more and more "new thought" and "interfaith" churches today who cater to all positive faiths.

Answer 7

The Buddha taught to benefit all beings in the universe. Buddhism’s virtuous teachings, therefore, extend to all cultures or people: It is multicultural.
There are many different variations which have developed with little conflict. This has been because at its core is a philosophical system to which such additions can be easily grafted. Buddhism explains the reality of life and the universe: that all beings are equal by nature and that all teachings are equal. The Buddha said many times that the wisdom to understand the true reality of life and the universe, and the virtuous abilities to cultivate are all already within our true nature. Buddhism teaches us to have a broad mind, one that overflows with sincerity, purity, equality, proper understanding, and compassion. Everyday, we must strive to awaken to this reality. Being contented with all conditions and settings is a good example for all, and striving for attainment of freedom of mind and spirit will help to awaken.
Buddhism is a philosophy of life expounded by Gautama Buddha ("Buddha" means "enlightened one"), who lived and taught in northern India in the 6th Century B.C. The Buddha was not a god and the philosophy of Buddhism does not entail any theistic world-view. The teachings of the Buddha are aimed solely to liberate sentient beings from suffering.

Gautama Buddha taught the four noble truths: that there is suffering, that suffering has a cause, that suffering has an end and that there is a path that leads to the end of suffering. He saw that all phenomena in life are impermanent and that our attachment to the idea of substantial and enduring self is an illusion which is the principle cause of suffering.
Freedom from self liberates the heart from greed hatred and delusion and opens the mind to wisdom and the heart to kindness and compassion.

there is no creator-god in buddhism, or is there any supernatural being who can condemed you to hell, or promise you heaven.
heaven & hell is in your mind.
gods in buddhism: Bodhisattvas are "Enlightenment Beings" who are on the path toward Nirvana, the end of suffering, the realm of Perfect Peace. They work not only for their own Enlightenment, but also for the Enlightenment of all sentient beings. Once Bodhisattvahood is attained, the Bodhisattva is instructed by a Buddha.

http://www.buddhistinformation.com/buddhist_attitude_to_god.htm

i'm practising 'ch'an'/ zen. Absolute faith is placed in a person’s own inner being. It appealed because of its emphasis on the uselessness of words and the insistence of action without thought.
Zen teaches the possibility of enlightenment in the here and now, unlike the tendency that have developed in other strands of Buddhism as far off goals. It teaches that enlightenment is a spontaneous event, totally independent of concepts, techniques or rituals
Esoterically regarded, Zen is not a religion but rather an indefinable, incommunicable (fukasetsu) root, free from all names, descriptions, and concepts, that can only be experienced by each individual for him- or herself. From expressed forms of this, all religions have sprung. In this sense Zen is not bound to any religion, including Buddhism. It is the primordial perfection of everything existing, designated by the most various names, experienced by all great sages, saints, and founders of religions of all cultures and times. Buddhism has referred to it as the "identity of samsara and nirvana." From this point of view zazen is not a "method" that brings people living in ignorance (avidya) to the "goal" of liberation; rather it is the immediate expression and actualization of the perfection present in every person at every moment.

Answer 8

It has become quite fashionable these days to call oneself Buddhist.If you are a serious student , you will need a more reliable source than this.

Answer 9

I'm a Buddhist, but I combine it with another atheistic religion - Satanism.