I have only touched the most superficial level of Buddhism, yet I have been impressed deeply by the profoundness and merciful nature of it. At the same time I also observed many misunderstandings around, which I hope to briefly discuss. I am certainly no expert yet.
I personally do not think Buddhism is a religion (well, religion is hard to define. Clifford Geertz simply called it a "cultural system". But I think religion has a superhuman element), but a philosophy, because Buddhism is non-theist and non-metaphysical. And even though it is no doubt a philosophy, Buddhism is much less concerned with moral and ethics, but with wisdom - not the wisdom to leave behind the material world, but the wisdom to see how we are habitually clinging to the impermanent phenomena.
Buddha was not super-natural, nor super human, nor God, but a prince who got enlightened under the Bodhi Tree, i.e. he came to understand the essence of life and suffering and became enthusiastic about spreading his philosophy in hope to mitigate/rid suffering of humans.
Buddhism teaching intends to reveal to people the innate Buddha nature of oneself and one only needs to discover it by dusting it off. Buddhism does not worship Gods. Buddha himself said "worship nobody but the wisdom he teaches". Buddhists are encouraged to respect teachers (Buddha), because that is good karma (I will discuss karma next).
Buddhism is not institutionalized, which is the way many other major religions adopt. One does not have to carry out a number of rituals or follow many rules or pay an annual fee to become a member of the club. One does not need to swear allegiance and exclusivity to the club either. One only needs to believe in the four seals (to be discussed later) to be a Buddhist. Also, you probably have never seen anybody on the streets or in a subway station giving out pamphlets to try to convert you into a Buddhist. And you probably have not heard of any war that was initiated by Buddhists in the name of Buddha or justice, nor to purge different point of views.
I personally do not think Buddhism is a religion (well, religion is hard to define. Clifford Geertz simply called it a "cultural system". But I think religion has a superhuman element), but a philosophy, because Buddhism is non-theist and non-metaphysical. And even though it is no doubt a philosophy, Buddhism is much less concerned with moral and ethics, but with wisdom - not the wisdom to leave behind the material world, but the wisdom to see how we are habitually clinging to the impermanent phenomena.
Buddha was not super-natural, nor super human, nor God, but a prince who got enlightened under the Bodhi Tree, i.e. he came to understand the essence of life and suffering and became enthusiastic about spreading his philosophy in hope to mitigate/rid suffering of humans.
Buddhism teaching intends to reveal to people the innate Buddha nature of oneself and one only needs to discover it by dusting it off. Buddhism does not worship Gods. Buddha himself said "worship nobody but the wisdom he teaches". Buddhists are encouraged to respect teachers (Buddha), because that is good karma (I will discuss karma next).
Buddhism is not institutionalized, which is the way many other major religions adopt. One does not have to carry out a number of rituals or follow many rules or pay an annual fee to become a member of the club. One does not need to swear allegiance and exclusivity to the club either. One only needs to believe in the four seals (to be discussed later) to be a Buddhist. Also, you probably have never seen anybody on the streets or in a subway station giving out pamphlets to try to convert you into a Buddhist. And you probably have not heard of any war that was initiated by Buddhists in the name of Buddha or justice, nor to purge different point of views.
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