Do you have to except everything Buddhism teaches, follow their rituals, to be called Buddhist?

Question

Okay. Sorry if that is confusing.

I mean:
Do you have to except everything that Buddhism teaches and practise their rituals in order to be considered as a Buddhist?

The Lovely Androgynous Couple: oops. *blush*

I meant accept :)

xyz. Please don't generalise. As you can see below your answer, some people can believe in god and be a Buddhist at the same time. As for me, if that is how you define logical then I am not "logical", and I wish to remain this way. But thanks for the answer.

zenterribilis: But I don't like meat lol. Never eaten it either.

Answer 1

No, in fact Buddha told people not to believe anything he aid just because he said it and one of the hindrances to enlightenment is clinging to rules and rituals.

Put simply Buddhism is the study of suffering and how to rid yourself of it, make this your goal and you are Buddhist if you want to be :)

Names really mean very little though, all you truly need is this examine yourself and to follow this simple advice
"Do less bad,
do more good,
purify your mind." - Buddha

Answer 2

I think you would need to follow the foundations of what makes buddhism, these things include:
1. The Eightfold Path (Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfullness, Right Concentration)
2. The Four Noble Truths (Life means suffering, the origin of suffering is attachment, the cessation of suffering is attainable, the path to end suffering)
3. The Five Precepts *observe and abstain from* (harming living beings, taking things not freely given, sexual misconduct, false speech, intoxication drinks and drugs that cause heedlessness) - while there are plenty more, the first five are most recognized for the layman practitioner.
The above three items all flow into each other and really aren't that hard to follow once you've put them into practice.
While some people view Buddhism as a religion, I personally believe it is a spiritual way of life. There is no 'god' attached to buddhism onle the recognition that each living being has buddha within them (buddha is not a person per se, it's a word that describes a state of being).

http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/

If you would like any other references please feel free to contact me, I'd be happy to provide more information.

Answer 3

The Buddha taught 3 Golden Rules from which all other rules and precepts spring from:

1. Do all Good
2. Do no Evil
3. Keep the mind Pure

Some put it this way...

1. Love Everyone
2. Harm No One
3. Keep your Mind Pure

In the Kalama Sutta, the Buddha told his followers:

Do not believe in anything (simply) because you have heard it.

Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations.

Do not believe in anything because it is spoken and rumoured by many.

Do not believe in anything (simply) because it is found written in your religious books.

Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders.

But after observation and analysis when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conductive to the good and benefit of one and all then accept it and live up to it.

So... the short answer to your question... if the teaching or ritual works for you... then you follow them... but to be a Buddhist is to live along the lines of the 3 Golden Rules or the 5 precepts of No Killing, No Stealing, No Sexual MISconduct ( keyword here is misconduct), No False Speech and No Intoxicants that cloud the mind.

Answer 4

they have not got faith, commonly, in a private eternal countless maximum suitable yet in a state it is so: Nirvana Many ,probable maximum , Buddhists have faith in gods and /or bodhisattvas and different spirits yet some Buddhists are finished aganostics and a few are atheists i recognize of monotheistic Buddhists and that's appropriate in maximum sorts of Buddhism to belong to diverse (and frequently conflicting theologically) religions Theism isn't needed for the Buddhist philosophy or practice of the 8 fold path and 5 Precepts in many understandings of Buddhism Many Buddhists honor Jesus as a bodhisattva or in keeping with probability a Buddha or a n incarnate god yet many extra honor him as a instructor and wiseman Catholicism says that one won't be able to be a Catholic Christian and a Buddhist ( or any non Christian faith)on an identical time. check out the Catechism of the Catholic Church There are uncomplicated theological, cosmological, anthropological and different alterations between catholic Christianity and the numerous sorts of Buddhism yet there is a lot convergence in morality or maybe practices Arnold Toynbee theory that there became right into a extra physically powerful gulf between Mayhayana and Hinayana(Theravada) Buddhism than Mayayana and Christianity by means of place of "saviours " and centrality in ethics of compassion in the two

Answer 5

There are many types of Buddhists and many types of rituals. You begin where you are; with your life; your routine; your obstacles. You do not need to take on the cultural trappings of foreign cultures. Nor do you need to align with some pre-established belief system.

What you need is determination to discover the truth for yourself in your life. Buddhism doesn't provide the answers. It provides the tools. Ethics is the foundation. Meditation is the technique and instrument. Wisdom is what arises when you put these tools to use. The cessation of suffering and ignorance is the result.

Answer 6

I would say no. For one reason, there are many different sects of Buddhism (Mahayana, Theravada, Zen, etc.), so that line gets a little blurred because they each have their own special practices. I think if you follow the broad-stroke path (The 8 Noble Truths), you can claim the label.
There are many Christians who have masturbated and not cut off their hands...and they still call themselves Christian.
My point is, you're allowed to make mistakes and/or not follow every rule to a T. We're only human, afterall.

Namaste

Answer 7

Buddha excepts nothing, the only ritual that is needed is to understand ones' own self and to have compassion toward others. Buddha taught that one has to find and understand ones self in order to be enlighten.

Answer 8

Technically to be called "Buddhist" all you have to do is accept and follow the 8-fold path.

Answer 9

True Buddhism is something different from what people practice in the name of buddhism in far east, or what westerners have understood from chaotic books about it.

Buddhism does not teach anything... it is more about un-learning, about un-becoming, about Non-being

A state we call in hinduism as Turiya ...beyond explanations, beyond attributes, beyond theories, dogmas and rituals

Answer 10

No. You do not have to. I think it is more like how to you believe in Buddhism, how do you understand it and practice in your life. Buddhism theory is difficult to understand.