How is Buddhism not a cult?

Answer 1

Technically, ALL religions are cults. Yes, even your own. A "cult" simply means a body of believers. Only fairly recently in history has the term taken on a negative meaning.

In the modern meaning, Buddhism would not, generally speaking, match the standard identifiers of a cult. You can walk away without fear of retribution. You are not worshiping the living leader of the religion (there are many different types of Buddhists, for example, but the ones who feel that they are being led by the Dalai Lama are certainly not worshiping the Dalai Lama). Buddhism is a very large belief system, and doesn't even worship gods in the same way that other groups do. It just doesn't match the standard criteria for a cult.

Answer 2

How do you define cult? I was at a wedding recently where I was seated for dinner with an ex-Chicago thug and radio personality turned Christian minister. It was obvious to me that his faith extended to the nice car and house that the congregation bought him. This creature had the audacity to say that the Church of Religious Science that one of the table members attended is not a real church but one of those California fads (read "cults")!
Buddhism is no more a cult than Southern Baptist Church is a cult.
Remember Henry the VIII formed the Church of England cult so that he could have his way with women without the Roman Catholic pope's cult interfering.
The VIII may be off but the facts are otherwise unassailable.

Answer 3

What is a cult? Try explaining that to your self and compare it with the teachings of Buddhism? Then you will know your answer.

But then again if you know buddhism in depth, you wouldn't be posting questions like this right.

Answer 4

A cult is a group of people who organize around a strong authority figure. Cults, like many other groups, attempt to expand their influence for the purposes of power or money. However, to achieve these ends, destructive cults employ a potent mixture of influence techniques and deception to attain psychological control over members and new recruits. This fundamental level of control is known alternatively as 'brainwashing,' 'thought reform,' or 'mind control.' A successful induction by a destructive cult displaces a person's former identity and replaces it with a new one. That new identity may not be one that the person would have freely chosen under her own volition.

Hope the above definition of what a cult is answers your question.

Answer 5

How is it a cult? That's obviously what you think so why don't you enlighten us as to why Buddhism is a cult. Which one of these definitions are you referring to?

cult: noun 1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers: the physical fitness cult.
3. the object of such devotion.
4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.
5. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.
6. a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.
7. the members of such a religion or sect.
8. any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific

Answer 6

All religions start out as cults , until their followers grow into the thousands, that makes it a religion. Both cults and religions don't want their followers asking to many questions, and they both tend to always ask for money. Any one who wants your money and only gives you advice, is a crook. The pretty much includes all religions, cults, scientologists, they are all usually ran by men who don't care about manipulating whoever they need so they can live without paying taxes and working.

Answer 7

It depends on whether a person wants to identify with "Christianity" as a religion or Jesus Christ as a person that came to tear down religiosity. Read the New Testament, particularly the gospels. What group of people was Christ the most ruthless to? Yep, you got it, the religious. He called them "whitewashed tombs" and a "brood of vipers". So, no, a true Christian wouldn't call Buddhism or Hinduism a "cult", we'd just say they don't have the truth, because the truth is in Jesus.

Answer 8

In Buddhism, understanding is the most important thing and understanding takes time. So do not impulsively rush into Buddhism. Take your time, ask questions, consider carefully, and then make your decision. He was concerned that people should follow his teachings as a result of a careful investigation and consideration of facts.

Try to be critical at everything you see and hear, but do not be afraid to open yourself up, and give new ideas the chance to settle in; in other words, avoid accepting things before you have taken time to 'sit on it' (meditate), and also avoid rejecting things before you 'sat on them'. Especially if we grew up in a different religious tradition, our prejudices often go deeper than we think - be aware of your own mind.

Answer 9

Buddhism is not a cult. It's a retarded question. As retarded as if I'm asking "How is your clown face not a cult?"

Answer 10

They take the Non-Cult pills, like a vaccine.