The best branch of Buddhism for Atheists/Agnostics?

Question

Is there a branch of Buddhism that is better suited for Atheists or Agnostics?

I asked a question before regarding reincarnation and many replys stated that there is no branch of Buddhism that does not believe in reincarnation. Is there a branch that does not emphasize it as much as the others?

Answer 1

I read a book by Thich Nhat Hanh, where he describes a view of reincarnation that I think just about everyone could accept. That is, that when your body decays, that which decays nourishes the soil, and feeds other organisms, and perhaps contributes to the growth of a plant, which in turn nourishes other organisms, and so on. This really acknowledges the Buddhist teaching of impermanence and Not-self (that nothing has a real "self").

Answer 2

in buddhism, it is the 'rebirth', not 'reincarnation'.
Buddhist do not believe in an eternal soul. It is the mind-stream, not the soul, which goes through rebirth and cycles in existence.
reincarnation is a hindu idea.
http://www.buddhanet.net/3-gqga.htm

All the Buddhist lineages do not affirm the belief in a sovereign creator. Even though Buddhism is labeled by scholars at times as atheistic this can be wrongly applied because Westerners often view “atheism” as meaning a rejection of spirituality and religion. Buddhism contains many spiritual and religious elements, even though Buddhism is truly an education and training.

Individuals should approach Buddhism without trying to categorize it into another form of philosophy. The Buddha’s teachings were his own pure and authentic insight about how to end suffering for the whole world. Attempting to mix these teachings with political ideologies, economic systems or other terms can cause confusion.
Buddhism is: The teachings of the Buddha and their application into daily life and meditation practice.

- If for whatever reason Buddhism appeals to you, obviously a bit of reading cannot do any harm. You could try a few introductory books from any tradition to get a closer idea of what Buddhism can mean for you
- Try not to get confused with the various traditions: just go for what feels right and ideally do a course. Amazingly, it seems to me that at least 90% of the people stick to the tradition they started in - somehow karma seems to be at work there... Anyway, the biggest differences between the Buddhist traditions are usually more on the surface than in the ideas behind the appearances. Although for example in Zen you will find very little ritual etc., and in Tibetan Buddhism you may be overwhelmed by it, at the core of the practice are the same ideas, just different methods.
- Once you decide to get involved with a specific tradition, make sure you are not dealing with a controversial/dubious teacher or school; although someone may wear Buddhist robes or calls him/herself a lama, guru or even Acharya, that does not make him or her a saint.... There are unfortunately a fair amount of questionable 'Buddhist' teachers and centers around the world.

you may want to read up more on Theravada buddhism, or zen/ ch'an buddhism. maybe it'll appeal more to you.
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/intro_bud.htm <<< basic buddhism guide

Answer 3

If any branch of Buddhism believes in reincarnation, I would not be interested. But thank you for thinking of me :-)

Answer 4

I will provide an answer from a Buddhist perspective if you'll allow me.

I am Buddhist and practise in the Theravada tradition. In my view I don't think it is possible to disregard the concept of Rebirth if you are contemplating the practise, although I may be misinterpreting your understanding of reincarnation as opposed to Rebirth.

Would I be correct in the assumption that you consider Buddhists believe in Reincarnation rather than Rebirth..? I'll answer then assuming this is the case and explain the concept of Rebirth, as it is a very very different concept than Reincarnation.

Consider then Reincarnation. This concept involves a person's soul, that being the person's personality and other characteristics incorporated into an esoteric energy or spirit leaving the body after death and then being inserted if you will into another body and then that new person being born. This is definitely not the Buddhist view.

Buddha taught in the Dharma that a person or in Buddhist terms a human Life, consists of 5 impermanent and temporary Skandhas or Parts, and 1 permanent but very elusive and immaterial Part called Buddha Nature for want of a better term, personally I don't like the term but there it is. It is this Part of us which evolves and it does so because it is directly affected by all of our experience both good and bad...follow so far...?

The 5 impermanent Skandhas hold all of our physical characteristics such as personality, gender incorporated in our physical body, consciousness, emotions, ideas, opinions and so on all of which are subject to impermanence, because of their nature.

As we live and interact with other Life, we enact actions determined by our consciousness and mind set which in turn have consequence. This phenomenon is known as Karma, Consequence as a result of our Action or conversely Action which results in consequence. This is often misinterpreted by non Buddhists as some esoteric cosmic reward or punishment for Actions taken and is an incorrect view.

The consequence of our personal actions then have consequence no matter how insignificant the Action. Actions include but are not limited to thought, speech and deeeds. These consequences can have immediate, future or even far future effect on us and those around us. Karma then or consequence is a vital part of our future happiness and we as humans affect it directly.

To Buddhists, Life is a cycle as is all natural phenomena. The cycle is known as the cycle of Life. Birth, through Life causing consequence in a positive sense, negative sense or a neutral sense, past Death. Once we die al of our 5 impermanent Skandhas disolve and only we remain...we as in our real and permanent Buddha Nature which has gone through changes due to our Life experience just gone. If the consequences of our Life are all positive and no negative consequence remains then we have evolved enough to evolve upwards to a higher Realm as so we do. However, if we have some negative consequence unresolved due to our death then this will influence our Rebirth. The 5 Skandas are reformed in different measure due to the influence of our unresolved cosequences...Karma... and rejoined to our Buddha Nature and we are Reborn.

This process is not possible withour the concept of Rebirth as a result of Karma. Rebirth is not necessary if Karma is only positive. Without Karma there is no cycle and no consequence to our actions.

I hope that I haven't confused you with the terms used. I have tried to explain them as best I could, but I often fail in this regard.

Peace my friend from a Buddhist

Answer 5

There is no 'Buddhism for atheists'. The idea is ridiculous. In the whole of Buddhism you are going to find mystical and metaphysical mumbo-jumbo of some form or another, that will most certainly be torn asunder by the gross scepticism of any self-respecting Atheist.

I say, stop worrying about new terms in which to define yourself and start believing and practicing what you want. You don't need to be a (whatever)-Buddhist to practice what the Buddha prescribed. You don't have to be an Atheist to disbelieve in God.

Answer 6

were thinking just the same, IM me if you have some useful ansurs... [e-mail]

Answer 7

Zen\Zen.