Your religion

Yes. Let's go after some Buddhists.

@ ffbj what kind of Boeddhist are you? zen, Tibetian, or the other(I forget the name )

I'm a muslim(Sunni) and I am pretty relegious and I am convinced that it's the right path of every human being but at the same time everyone has the right to beleive in anything he wants
It's just a difference in point of views..

Titus: I follow the Soto Zen tradition. This Japanese tradition follows from the Chinese Ts'ao Tung. It is in basis, Mahayana, or great vehicle.

There was a new article in our local paper (I live in a town of 9000) called 'Faith Works' that was highlighting some of the works by the churches and ecumenical organizations through the area, and then the next week a letter-to-editor by an atheist blasting the religious article ... then this week another follow-up where a religious person said 'the tone the atheist person took affronted me, but they are absolutely right'.

The point is that all people can do good for others, and the assumption that people of faith are the only ones doing it is counter to what every faith teaches and terribly hypocritical ...

ffbj can i ask you some questions? if you would rather not openly answer them in the forum, i understand and I will ask in a pm?

Can you tell me a bit more about living as an buddhism? i mean not the theories and such, but how you do that in real life?
oh and yeah from where are you?

Do you believe in a cyclish way of life? rebirth?

Holly Near sums up how I feel for the three abrahamic religions.

Holly Near, I Ain't Afraid (mp3)

I ain't afraid of your Yahweh
I ain't afraid of your Allah
I ain't afraid of your Jesus
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God

I ain't afraid of your churches
I ain't afraid of your temples
I ain't afraid of your praying
I'm afraid of what you do in the name of your God

Rise up to your higher power
Free up from the fear it will devour you
Watch out for the ego of the hour
The ones who say they know it
Are the ones who will impose it on you

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Sure Titus just sent a pm. I am from Minnesota.

Among the world's major religions, Buddhism is without a doubt the one with the most variety. Some sects don't even sound like the same religion as others. It's because Guatama lived and taught for so long (it's in dispute, but five decades or more).

I think there's a lot to like and respect about Buddhism; and I, myself, practiced it for five years (but that was a long time ago).

It would come as a big surprise to many of the folks I knew back then, but Buddhism actually helped me appreciate Christianity. Not right away-- it took about a decade to lose my discomfort with western religious thinking afterwards.

Some people believe Christ may have studied Buddhism for a while before he began his ministry. I wouldn't be surprised. It's a smart way of looking at things and provides perspective even if you don't believe in it or practice it.

Squeek said:

Some people believe Christ may have studied Buddhism for a while before he began his ministry. I wouldn't be surprised. It's a smart way of looking at things and provides perspective even if you don't believe in it or practice it.

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There's pretty strong indication that Christianity is based on Buddhism, but also on Mithra which is a Persian god. However, the ethics is almost an Aristotle ripoff. Aristotle is by historians considered one of the most influental people of the modern world, his pupil Alexander The Great is considered the most influental. (Paul/Jesus is at 4th position).
1. Christianity is deeply influenced on the work of Aristotle. Just read his work on ethics and understand it's written 400 years prior to the supposed birth of christ.
2. The ethics and the doctrine of the Catholic Church is based on Aristotle.
3. The scientific disciplines were founded by Aristotle and he's the most important figure in natural science of all time.
4. Aristotle's teacher Plato founded the first Academy.
5. After Aristotle's pupil, Alexander the Great, spread his ideas to the arab world, his ideas deeply influenced the arabic culture which was the reason that arabic culture peaked during the European dark ages. When the crusaders pillaged libraries all over, one of the things they brought back was greek philosophers books that then inspired the renaissance.
6. Martin Luther was deeply influenced by Aristotle.
7. Aristotle's work laid out the foundation of science during the enlightenment.

JemyM said:

There's pretty strong indication that Christianity is based on Buddhism....

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The premises of each are altogether different, so I can't imagine a serious argument for that. There are a few sects of Buddhism that do seem sort of like Christianity, but they're exceptional and don't seem like Buddhism. There are many thousands of sects of Buddhism, so it's not easy, even for religious scholars, to define it to everyone's satisfaction, let alone compare it with other faiths.

Squeek said:

The premises of each are altogether different, so I can't imagine a serious argument for that. There are a few sects of Buddhism that do seem sort of like Christianity, but they're exceptional and don't seem like Buddhism. There are many thousands of sects of Buddhism, so it's not easy, even for religious scholars, to define it to everyone's satisfaction, let alone compare it with other faiths.

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Actually, there are books written on that subject and people have spent their careers on proving it. Others suggests that Buddhism and Christianity are offshots from the same religion (where Christianity branch is blended with the Old Testament).

I wont put my life in line on the theory however since I have not read the whole theory.

See ffbj's comment about the guy who wrote the college paper. Study is a part of the practice of Buddhism, JemyM. There are a whole lot of people who have studied it their entire lives. The authors you're talking about seem to be questioning mainstream thinking, and that's fine. But it is what it is.

I'll admit that I've heard it said that Buddhism is the inspiration for virtually all other religions. I never believed that, myself.

There are many similarities. I myself tend to believe that the inspiration is similar. That is the view of the interconnectedness of all beings. If you look at Christ's second commandment. 'To love others as you love yourself.' You can interpret that in two ways. One, the traditional way, is that you love yourself so you should love others in the same way. The other, is that others are your self.

When Christ was baptized by John a voice came from the clouds saying: 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased'. From one perspective we can view this as God saying that he is happy with the life that Jesus is leading. In another way we could interpret it as God, who is in Jesus, as he pervades all things, is pleased as he is in Jesus, or part of him.

There are many influences. Certainly Aristotles' Ethics was one. For me where the comparison diverges is in the belief in a Supreme Being, God. In Buddhism this is an anomaly, for no being can exist forever or comes into being without a concurrent cause. The Buddha said that all compound things must eventually degrade into their elemental components. In other words, everything dies.

ffbj said:

For me where the comparison diverges is in the belief in a Supreme Being, God.

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That's the essential difference when comparing the two, yeah. Christianity begins with that distinction and deals with it in a simple straightforward way. Paul emphasized the importance of that simplicity. Not only does Buddhism see that differently, it considers it in an elaborate way.

Without entering the debate per se, one interesting comment I've read is that the 3 magi were Buddhists??!!

I really don't get that Buddhist monks story, does it mean I am not faithful enough to understand it???

Ehumm.

The only religion I believe in is this :

One day, something happened and life appeared in many forms everywhere.
On our planet and probably in other solar systems.

There is an almighty lifeforce that Created everything by some powerful means of energy and life keeps on goin' and goin'. Well, on this planet at least.

One of these lifeforms is sentient, it thinks, it knows that it exists...
It is the Human race...

As Descartes said : "Cogito Ergo Sum". "I think therefore I am".

We are the supreme lifeform on Earth.
We are responsible for almost everything that happens on this planet.

I think that there can be other lifeforms somewhere else but they have yet to be manifest themselves here. Yes, I've heard of UFO's, Area 51, Roswell, etc.

I think rationnaly, with what I can see and analyse.
Remember. In the Middle ages, science was known as Magic.
We have surppassed many boundries that have never been thought possible to breatch a few decades ago.

About supreme beeings that inhabit the Sky, the celestial vault, Heaven or whatever your beliefs have designated it, other material planes of existence, well, I think that they are just Fairy Tales.
Please, do not throw me stones, unless you have never sined.
Every Religion, country, nationality, has bred, in time, aons, its own definition of Spirituality. All their frantic attempts at proving their point, beliefs, all the chaos that has bloomed from this, is enough for me to believe that there is no true God.
Spirituality is beautiful. I think, sometimes, that I should read the Bible and ponder on its scriptures. I am actually reading a book about positive thinking (written by Norman Vincent Peale) and there is a lot of talk about the Bible and beeing religious... Maybe some day.

It is my belief. I know for a fact that I go to bed each night and I wake up the next day. Everytime, I am grateful that the Supreme beeing, that I call the Creator, has given me another day of existence. Unfortunately, I do not do much of it but at least I do not do too much evil with my life. I try to be a nice person to as much people as I can. It is hard because I am afflicted with anxiety disorder and other stuff like that. Like I said, I try real hard.

About my supposed religion : Well, I know that I was baptised but don't even know if I am a Christian or a Catholic... I don't even care.
I don't practice. I have an 85 year grandma that still does. I admire her.

The Story of Jesus Christ, his mother and the Apostles is nice but I know for a fact that it has been distorted as time whent by and that as it has been misinterpreted as it has been transcribed so many times before.
There was a Testament and then, for a reason that I don't even know, there appeared a New Testament!!! WTF!!!

WHY? They, humm, the clergy, or whoever, were not satisfied with one of their definitions so THEY decided to change the past? I don't know and I don't care.

My Religion is to live a happy life and to be nice to as much people as I think deserve it.

Thank you for reading this.

Peace be with you : Shalom Alehem!

Enodenroh!

I lost faith when I did a serious attempt to learn as much about the history of God and Jesus as possible. In my logic, if I only had one chance to reach afterlife, I would not waste it on being lazy, accepting the first religious view just because my parents had it. I was smart enough to realise that the world is large and Christianity is just a minor part of it. The more I studied Christianity and other religions the less I could support Christianity as true. I realised that priests cherrypicked the bible and I found all the passages that they never told me when I was young.

Im older now and after studying psychology and philosophy I understand Christianity in a way that was not possible when I was still a Christian. I cannot say that the New Testament is better or more peaceful than other religions, they are all basicly the same, they just change the weight on how much they focus on each area. The Quran, for example, put much greater weight on helping poor than Christianity. It even introduced voting rights for women 1300 years prior to christianity. Compared to the Bible, the Quran is paradoxically better for women!!! But the secular society in the western world have made us drop many of Christianity's traditions in favor for the new world that have very little in common with christian teachings, that's why women have more rights in the western world than in the islamic world. However, a femenist who believe in christianity is like a freed slave still living on the plantation.

I do not believe Christianity is a force of good. I believe it cripples the victim at a vulnerable moment and abuses their life for it's own purposes. All monoteistic religions create a virtual people that is against everybody else and in many ways themselves as well. Theese religions remind me alot about nationalism and when they blend with nationalism they can turn really ugly. They work as a catalyst for both good and evil behavior and the amount of good do not justify the bad. The good is twisted in a non-rational way. It focus alot on sex and nudity that is not more harmful than digesting food. It oppose the rights of thought, women and children. It complete ignore major issues such as drugs and the environment. It even suggests the wrong solution to nearly everything such as how to keep family and fighting diseases. The good parts of it (do not kill/the golden rule etc) is a part of every religion known to man and even pre-christian philosophies. In many ways a good christian are forced to override the bible using some parts of Jesus teachings to debunk others (which works just as good in the other direction).

I earned most of my moral compass through children books when I was really young, and I had non-biblical heroes that always did good and fought the bad. I do not remember being that effected by christianity at all, except that it made me feel extremely bad for reaching puberty and having a rough life as a teenager (which I blamed myself for due to christianity). The fact that I can compare multiple religions and dissect what's good about them and what's bad about them have made me realise that I have outgrown theese religions and if I ever intend to be religious I'll better create a new one.

JemyM - I agree with most of what you are saying, but don't think that religion is such a binary thing as you seem to suggest. Many people hover in the gray area between faith and doubt.

Although I am Catholic, I have a strong bias against organized religion. I did a similar survey of religion that you speak of back in my teens many moons ago, and came to the conclusion that it is 'the way' that matters, and that is what we teach our kids.