is buddhism a religion or a philosophy? can buddhist believe in god?

Question

can you practice buddhist believes and and believe in god? i like the philosophy behind becoming "enlightened" or at least becoming a better person but a small part of me believes in god.

Answer 1

of course you can

And you don't need permition from anyone. You have the power to make your own path, and follow it.


Buddha was a man that reached enlightenment, through God.

Blessed Be)O(

Answer 2

Some call Buddhism a philosophy and some see it as a "religion" by definition. It's mostly philosophy, and is about using philosophical and analytical examination to understand who we really are (or are not, as it were) and so on.

Some people feel they're Buddhist and believe in an omnipotent creator being. From a philosophical/analytical standpoint, I personally believe the idea of an omnipotent creator being is illogical, but that arises from years of analytical study of religions, the history of religions and so on before stumbling onto Buddhism, which just told me what I already instinctively believed and gave more logical reasons than the ones I had even.

The best thing to do is make sure you understand what the concepts of "enlightenment" and such are. You don't have to be Buddhist to get benefit from the Buddha's teachings. Take your time, study, chew it all over on your own and come to your own conclusions about things. The Buddha himself always said to NEVER take his word on anything alone but to test it like one does gold, in the marketplace.

About becoming "a better person"... you can do that with any religion you like that you seek wisdom and altruistic teachings from. So if you like Buddhism, more power to ya... if you don't more power to ya... what's important is that you find something that makes you happy and teaches you that wisdom and altruism I'm always chirping about in here.

Hope this helps some.

_()_

Answer 3

Depends on how you conceive of God and whether you have direct experience. Buddhism is the path of experience...Buddhists do not want to believe anything. So if you have direct experience of God...fine...otherwise the Buddhist viewpoint is Agnostic (don't know if there is nor is not a God). Buddha himself neither claimed or disclaimed the existance of God or gods.

I know there is a God and I see how it fits in the Buddhist teachings and ideas (ie. in the end anatman and atman are the same). But I have a direct experience of God...so there is no belief involved.

Buddhism could be considered a religion or philosophy - depending on sect, beliefs, personal practice...etc...etc. What does it matter?

~ Eric Putkonen

Answer 4

Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world, being exceeded in numbers only by Christianity, Islam and Hinduism. It was founded in Northern India by the first known Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. In 535 BCE, he attained enlightenment and assumed the title Lord Buddha (one who has awakened)

As Buddhism expanded across Asia, it evolved into two main forms, which evolved largely independently from each other:

Theravada Buddhism (sometimes called Southern Buddhism; occasionally spelled Therevada) "has been the dominant school of Buddhism in most of Southeast Asia since the thirteenth century, with the establishment of the monarchies in Thailand, Burma, Cambodia and Laos."
Mahayana Buddhism (sometimes called Northern Buddhism) is largely found in China, Japan, Korea, Tibet and Mongolia.

To which might be added:

Tibetan Buddhism, which developed in isolation from Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism because of the remoteness of Tibet.

Since the late 19th century:

Modern Buddhism has emerged as a truly international movement. It started as an attempt to produce a single form of Buddhism, without local accretions, that all Buddhists could embrace.
"Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural & spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unity" A widely cited, but spurious quotation attributed to Albert Einstein 1

Answer 5

the main properly known reason being is the perception that there isn't a God, this subsequently to a pair makes it a philosophy and makes it technically atheist (so i don't fairly understand "awaken atheists!"). regardless of the reality that not proved by using technological know-how many Buddhists do not see any contradiction, purely as many Christians have self assurance in God and stick to technological know-how (regardless of the reality that not literal interpretation of the Bible). Karma if seen from a phucological attitude (i.e. i've got self assurance insulted and harm simply by fact I even have tried to harm somebody with insults interior the previous) does not signify a topic. Reincarnation like a God won't be able to be disproved by using technological know-how (somewhat if the God is cut loose seen dimensions).

Answer 6

Buddhism is more llike a philosophy than it is a religion. you can believe in God, but they chose not to.
All religions tend to make us become better people, and become "enlightened" , its actually good that if you're a buddhist and believe in God!

Answer 7

Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, which is also a philosophy and a system of psychology.[1] Buddhism is also known as Buddha Dharma or Dhamma, which means the "teachings of the Awakened One" in Sanskrit and Pali, the languages of ancient Buddhist texts. Buddhism was founded around the fifth century BCE by Siddhartha Gautama, hereafter referred to as "the Buddha".

Early sources say that the Buddha was born in Lumbini (now in Nepal), and that he died around age 80 in Kushinagar (India). He lived around the fifth century BCE, according to scholarship[2]. Buddhism spread throughout the Indian subcontinent in the five centuries following the Buddha's passing, and thence into Asia and elsewhere over the next two millennia.

Indian Buddhism has become virtually extinct, except in parts of Nepal. The most frequently used classification of present-day Buddhism among scholars[3] divides present-day adherents into the following three traditions :

Southern Buddhism, or Theravada (its own usual name for itself), also known as Southeast Asian Buddhism, or Pali Buddhism - practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and parts of Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Bangladesh (Southeast Asia)
Eastern Buddhism, also known as East Asian Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, Sino-Japanese Buddhism, or Mahayana - practiced predominantly in China, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Singapore and parts of Russia
Northern Buddhism, also known as Tibetan Buddhism, Tibeto-Mongolian Buddhism, or Vajrayana, sometimes called Lamaism - practiced mainly in Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan and parts of Nepal, India, China and Russia.
An alternative scheme used by some scholars[4] has just two divisions, Theravada and Mahayana, the latter comprising both Eastern and Northern. Some scholars[5]use other schemes. The term Hinayana, referring to Theravada and various extinct Indian schools, is sometimes used, but is often considered derogatory, and the World Federation of Buddhists recommends it be avoided.

Buddhism continues to attract followers around the world and is considered a major world religion. According to one source ([5]), "World estimates for Buddhists vary between 230 and 500 million, with most around 350 million." However, estimates are uncertain for several countries. According to one analysis[6], Buddhism is the fifth-largest religion in the world behind Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and traditional Chinese religion. The monks' order (Sangha), which began during the lifetime of the Buddha in India, is amongst the oldest organizations on earth.

In Buddhism, any person who has awakened from the "sleep of ignorance" (by directly realizing the true nature of reality), without instruction, is called a buddha.[7] If a person achieves this with the teachings of a buddha, he is called an arahant. Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, is thus only one among other buddhas before or after him. His teachings are oriented toward the attainment of this kind of awakening, also called enlightenment, Bodhi, liberation, or Nirvana.

Part of the Buddha’s teachings regarding the holy life and the goal of liberation is constituted by the "The Four Noble Truths", which focus on dukkha, a term that refers to suffering or the unhappiness ultimately characteristic of unawakened, worldly life. The Four Noble Truths regarding suffering state what is its nature, its cause, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation. This way to the cessation of suffering is called "The Noble Eightfold Path", which is one of the fundamentals of Buddhist virtuous or moral life.

Answer 8

It's system of practical philosophy. It doesn't actively discourage belief in God but it doesn't focus on it as being necessary. The emphasis is upon adhering to a set of moral precepts and thereby attaining enlightened consciousness.

Answer 9

Budhism is a man-made philosophy to help you live your 80ish years on earth quitely and peacefully. Then you die, and stand before the True God of the universe, your creator, where you will give an account of everything you do here on Earth.

God will be on His throne as a Good Judge, and if you have broken His law, then He will see you as a lawbreaker. God's law is the 10 commandments. So if you have ever lied, God will see you as a liar. If you have ever taken anything that is not yours, you will be guilty before God of being a thief. If you have ever lusted you will be an adulterer at heart because God will judge not only on outward actions, but He sees your thought life and what you do in dark places.

So What will you say to the King of the Universe. The God in who's hand the universe resides. The God that is outside of space and time. The God who controls the winds and the lightning. He is stronger than the mightiest beast and he is all knowing, and all wise. He strung together your DNA out of the chemical elements that He built from the Atoms He designed so that each cell would be organized in perfect unity to form muscles, blood, skin, organs, bones and a brain to think and realize that something greater than self made you.

This God is Good, and Holy, and upholds perfect moral purity. Even your most righteous acts are but filthy rags compared to Him. So what will you do when you meet your creator face to face? Will you embrace Him as having already known Him, or will you be full of shame when all of your sins have been revealed before the courtroom of creation? Will you be taken to heaven or end up in Hell with the rest of the rebellious men and women on this planet who only live for self gratification.

The bible says that all have fallen short of God's glory. All have sinned and all deserve punishment. You, me, everyone. God is Good and must exercise Justice. God can not lie, therefore, He must punish crime where ever it is found.

You can rest assured that if a murder gets away here on earth that eternally he will be brought to Justice. But God won't stop there. Just as a murderer justifies murdering, liars justify lying. God will treat them the same on the Day of judgment. As for the sexually imoral and all liars, their part will be the lake of fire that burns forever. God is more Holy and more pure than you can ever imagine, and every time you sin, you are making yourself an enemy of this Great God.

So will you be innocent or guilty? Will you go to Heaven or Hell? Made up philosophies will not help you when you stare into the face of your Creator. The bible says all men stand condemned before God.

So what will you do? What hope is there for you? God did something so you don't have to end up there. God took your punishment for you upon Himself. Imagine the God of the universe coming down into the form of man and living a perfect, righteous life. The ONLY one ever lived. Only God could have done that. Then He, Jesus, when to the cross and suffered the wrath of your sins upon himself. Isaiah 53 said He was bruised for our iniquities. Imagine what it would take to bruise the God of the universe. It would take suffering eternal Hell. Now imagine eternal Hell fire and the worst punishment imaginable. God suffered that eternal torment for you. Only God could have drank the cup of God's own wrath to save us.

So when you die 1 of two things will happen. If today you repent of your sins. Turn from them, because they are what sent Jesus to that cross. And if you put your trust in Jesus. It is a step of faith, but if you do this, then you will pass from eternal death to eternal life. You will be saved and God will Justify you before all of creation. He will adopt you into His family and grow you in purity and holyness. And when you die God will be glorified forever and ever because you and I, being wretched sinners, will be saved by a Good and Great God.

Or if you choose to reject the one and only truth and turn to man made ideas, then you will also glorifiy God. When you are given Justice in God's court, all of creation will glorify God for ridding it of such a criminal. And God will be glorified for being faithful and a good and perfectly fair and good judge as you are bound hand and foot and tossed into the lake that burns forever.

So the issue is not hell, because we all deserve it. Pride will say that you don't deserve hell, but the voice of God will say that you do deserve punishment for your wrongdoings.

So what will it be. Jesus is calling you out. Jesus said... "I am the way, the truth , and the life. No one comes to the father but by me" The way to eternal life is Narrow, and that path is ONLY through Jesus Christ. And it is not by works, less any man should boast. You can not work your way to heaven. The work has already been done. You simply are called to repent... and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and love Him because He loved you so much that He already died for you.

Get right with God today, because it won't matter if you believe in some god when you die. It will matter if you trust in the savior.