Who else agrees that Buddhism is more of a philosophy than a religion?

Question

help me solidify my argument?

Answer 1

yes buddhism is more philosphy than religion.

Answer 2

in my view I see it as a faith because it involves the supernatural and that's my definition of religion. I even have copied and pasted a quote right here that disagrees with me however. i assume, finally, you are able to desire to make up your person techniques. In my journey, people who say Buddhism is a philosophy and not a faith usually recommend it as a compliment. they're attempting to declare, i think of, that Buddhism is something different than the superstitious rubbish they suspect faith to be. in this view, faith is a jumble of primitive folklore that humankind drags in the process the a protracted time like a cosmic protection blanket. faith is passionate and irrational and messy. yet philosophy is the flower of human mind. it somewhat is functional and civilized. faith evokes conflict and atrocity; at worst, philosophy incites straightforward arguments over espresso and dessert. Buddhism -- some Buddhism, besides -- is a prepare of contemplation and inquiry that would not count on concept in God or a soul or something supernatural. as a result, the belief is going, it can not be a faith.

Answer 3

The Gautama Buddha himself was dismissive of philosophy as well as religion - "when someone shoots an arrow in your stomach, do you start asking questions like who made it, what wood is it made from, what bird did the feathers on the end come from - or do you just get on with pulling it out?"

In its original form, then, I would argue it's not so much of either philosophy of religion as a *methodology* - a psychological / spiritual / psychiatric [perhaps] path, a set of guidelines for "good" living rather than a whole belief system in itself. Much later of course the philosophy was developed round it, but it's not essential to the crux of the method.

Answer 4

Buddha was an atheist. He never taught anything about supernatural beings or the afterlife. He used the hindu myth of past lives to tell parable type stories.

Some sects of Buddhism have tried to make Buddha into a god, which missed the point. Look at the four noble truths and the 8 fold path. Nothing supernatural in either.

Answer 5

Bud·dhism as a definition from Answers com
The teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct, wisdom, and meditation releases one from desire, suffering, and rebirth.

How can we define suffering to people in Africa and other places of the world who have no means to avoid hunger, oppression and infestation. My believe is that the achieved enlightenment is an attempted escape from reality, because there is more than one's suffering, we can also suffer for other's suffering, and if we would not, where is then our completion of divine nature.

The goal of achieving nirvana as an individual while overseeing the suffering of others demonstrates clearly that what was said in Buddah's philosophies (that there is not ego) is not true.

Apart from the Faith, the no defacto of entering nirvana and the no defacto of sitting next to God of Jesus could have in fact the same value.

The concept of a man being reborn as a dog has no meaning of divination because of the inability that such state imposes on the dog as for how to achieve a better state when a dog has no materialistic or divine reasoning.

If nirvana is pursued in liberation from a chain of rebirth states, and no consideration is given to undoubtedly define why this is so, and under what or who's rules or forces of action this has come to be like that, it is just the same as the negation of a supreme being over us. Somewhat like a spiritual Darwinist evolution theory.

Answer 6

Just the same as Kwanza is not a holiday, but a list of attributes to live by.

As far as I know, Buddhism is philosophy turned religion. Mr. Buddha may have held some wisdom, and over time people came to worship him. It's shame - he's in the grave. They worship a dead man who can do nothing.

Answer 7

Why does it have to be anything. For me the point is that it teaches non-violence and compassion, instead of war against non-believers or God's rejection of non-believers.

If we would take some of those teaching and learn from them, then that is all that counts. I personally refuse to be a part of a religion or philosophy, just keep taking the good from the best and learn from it.

Answer 8

You may want to point out to whoever that Buddhism comes from eastern philosophy, NOT THEISM. This is why you get all these people claiming they can mix buddhism and Christianity, because buddhism is rooted in philosophy and Christianity is rooted in religion.

Answer 9

Many schools of Buddhism have fused with the local folk religions of different cultural areas, such as Southeast Asia, and have deviated far from what the Buddha taught...

Answer 10

You don't worship anything in Buddhism, it's a way to live your life. When you see people bowing to Buddha it's out of respect for the person, not in worship of him. Buddhism is a path through which some people find happiness. Since there is no diety being worshipped it is not a religion.

Answer 11

I completely disagree. It has not only philosophy but ceremony and it has dogma, which are all three necessary and sufficient components to a religion. Philosophies in and of themeslves do not have ceremony. Religions CAN be non-theistic. Please reread that last sentence. Giving me thumbs-down votes won't change that fact.

And I don't buy into that line of "It's more of a way of life than a religion", because EVERY religion claims that about themselves.