Would we have invented the airplane?
Note: am only half serious :)
Thank you
2007-10-20 05:23:30 · 22 answers · asked by Antares 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Uhm, being buddhist.... The world would be a mess - trust me on that - Buddhism is NOT by itself a solution to peace. It is just an individual psychological practise.
2007-10-20 05:29:19 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
It would be indeed a boring world. However, I presume that we would find ways to differentiate ourselves. I think it is human nature. I don't think everyone should be Buddhist. In fact the true goal of Buddhism is not the propagation of the religion but the happiness of all living beings. To lead them to the ultimate reality that we are already 'Buddhas' or enlightened. Shakyamuni (Siddhartha Gautama) wasn`t concerned with the religious propagation, nor any of the other Buddhas that came after him. It was always about awakening the people from their suffering. By emphasizing the importance of the organization over the individual happiness of each person, whether they practice Buddhism or not, you lose the original intent of the enlightened one.
A Buddhist perspective
Thank you for your question.
2007-10-21 01:10:49 · answer #2 · answered by Just me 2 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
if the world was entirely Buddhist it wouldn't be much different to now in many respects. Socially it would be more coherant and in general people would be happier with their lot in life, yet on the converse side being fatalistic has it's own drawbacks.
Many Buddhists are just as violent as their non Buddhist bretheren, and wars and factional fights in Buddhist nations are just as bloody and deadly as anywhere else. This is a fact that is often overlooked by those who have never actually lived in a Buddhist nation for any period of time.
2007-10-20 12:42:28 · answer #3 · answered by Ian W 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It might seem that if all the world followed a certain religion, like Buddhism, we would live in a Utopia. However, it is not the religion that is the problem. All of the major religions advocate peace and love, and there are still people who follow them and do harm to others. I don't think that Buddhism is immune to this either. Just like other religions or practices, many people are culturally bound to it. So, no matter which religion you chose for this question, the answer would be the same; the world would still be filled with humans who choose to interpret their beliefs in any fashion they desire.
2007-10-20 14:40:47 · answer #4 · answered by NRPeace 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good question. All religions deteriorate according to the lowest common denominator. And, what has become of Buddhism - although admirable in many ways - is a too focused obsession with detachment from the world. I do not believe that this was the founder's intention. The Eight-fold Path to non-suffering is rather a call to perfection of 'being in the world.' However, the peaceful world we would live in would undoubtedly cause another type of adept to appear pointing toward transcendence and creation in the present life - such as Jesus. But, then observe the deterioration of his insight and "way."
2007-10-20 12:39:06 · answer #5 · answered by MysticMaze 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I can't stand the thought of hearing "Nam myoho renge kyo" that many times . . . but that's because of my weird upbringing. My father went through a Soka Gakkai Buddhist phase for about 4 years and actually chanted that phrase one million times as a type of devotional activity (I suppose). He had a little counter that went up to 1,000; then every time it rolled over, he made a tally mark in a notebook. When the notebook had one thousand tally marks, he knew he was done.
2007-10-20 12:40:12 · answer #6 · answered by Skepticat 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I would imagine that life would be more peaceful and enjoyable----no war for one thing. I'm not sure about technological progress, though. Since more people would be more focused on self-discovery and compassion toward others rather than personal gain, perhaps the sacrifice would be less tech, more serenity. On the other hand, there are so many different sects of Buddhism that it would be difficult to tell how life would really be like. Perhaps it would be much like China prior to communism.
2007-10-20 12:29:34 · answer #7 · answered by Heart of Fire 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
We would probably have the same world we have now because Buddhist or not Human nature is Human Nature.
2007-10-20 12:32:51 · answer #8 · answered by courage 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
possibly more peaceful. It depends how seriously people were into it.
airplanes? I don't know .. yes? We probably would still have invented airplanes.
2007-10-20 12:29:52 · answer #9 · answered by rrrawwwr im a monster 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Well hairdressers would be out of business. Besides, most of our inventions are unnecessary to most Buddhists.
2007-10-20 12:27:32 · answer #10 · answered by ? 7 · 7⤊ 2⤋