6 ms·

The parent comment reflects a common misconception about Buddhism. In reality, it's not at all a religion in the traditional sense -- there is no "god" of Buddh

by jal278 11y ago

The parent comment reflects a common misconception about Buddhism. In reality, it's not at all a religion in the traditional sense -- there is no "god" of Buddhism to believe in, and there is no concept of "faith" as a virtue. It's easy to practice Buddhism from a purely scientific mindset. Basically, Buddhism is a personal experimental science, where through repeated introspection you attempt to probe the nature of consciousness -- i.e. meditation and reflection. As I understand it, Buddhism is about understanding reality as it is (not as we might like it to be, i.e. eternal life/soul/etc.) -- it's a very pragmatic approach. There is a certain amount of "woo woo" that sometimes gets mixed in with Buddhism, because it draws in a "new age" crowd -- but there is no conflict between being secular/atheist and practicing Buddhism. For example, Sam Harris is a vocal atheist but also a Buddhist -- see his very nice book "Waking Up."

snogglethorpe 11y ago
... but also remember that Buddhism mutated quite a bit as it spread around asia, and the term "Buddhism" encompasses quite a few different schools of thought...
- x5n1 11y ago
  The Western form of Buddhism itself is mostly a mutation where usually a few ideas are borrowed and then espoused as something profound (I am not talking about Western Buddhist monks, which again are their own Western version of these ideas). It takes a lifetime to understand many of these things, and so monks spend a lifetime trying to come to grasp with the mindset of what is being said, to cultivate that mindset. The Western user of these ideas is usually a lay person who read maybe a few books and then starts pretending as if they are a monk who has spent a lifetime developing a certain mindset. Religions are just that, a mindset. To be a religious person is to adopt a certain set of ideas as an ideology and a mindset and to become that sort of person. And often that sort of person can only exist within a society that is conducive to those ideas. And so monks go off into the forest with other monks and then have rituals and practices to try to cultivate the right mindset to become that sort of person. This is a very personal thing, it has implications for society but its most profound affect is on the thinking and behavior of the individual. The monks then interact with lay society as some sort of role models for how people ought to act. And the society support them with supplications of food and money to aid in their journey. Because all society can't be a monk.
xlm1717 11y ago
Sounds like an explanation designed to make Buddhism palatable to secular audiences to me. Also seems like a stretch to me calling yourself a Buddhist if all you do is meditate to try to find yourself. There have been plenty of religions in history without a "god". Many people believe in nature spirits or even in personal spirits; the latter is the kind of spiritualism that a great many Buddhists believe in. And Buddhism does have many concepts that have to be taken as an article of faith: Samsara, Karma, and Nirvana. Faith in a spirit that transcends death and lifetimes is not scientific, and if a so-called Buddhist does not believe these things, I have to wonder what kind of Buddhism they are following.

by jal278 11y ago

snogglethorpe 11y ago

... but also remember that Buddhism mutated quite a bit as it spread around asia, and the term "Buddhism" encompasses quite a few different schools of thought...

x5n1 11y ago
The Western form of Buddhism itself is mostly a mutation where usually a few ideas are borrowed and then espoused as something profound (I am not talking about Western Buddhist monks, which again are their own Western version of these ideas). It takes a lifetime to understand many of these things, and so monks spend a lifetime trying to come to grasp with the mindset of what is being said, to cultivate that mindset. The Western user of these ideas is usually a lay person who read maybe a few books and then starts pretending as if they are a monk who has spent a lifetime developing a certain mindset. Religions are just that, a mindset. To be a religious person is to adopt a certain set of ideas as an ideology and a mindset and to become that sort of person. And often that sort of person can only exist within a society that is conducive to those ideas. And so monks go off into the forest with other monks and then have rituals and practices to try to cultivate the right mindset to become that sort of person. This is a very personal thing, it has implications for society but its most profound affect is on the thinking and behavior of the individual. The monks then interact with lay society as some sort of role models for how people ought to act. And the society support them with supplications of food and money to aid in their journey. Because all society can't be a monk.

xlm1717 11y ago

Sounds like an explanation designed to make Buddhism palatable to secular audiences to me. Also seems like a stretch to me calling yourself a Buddhist if all you do is meditate to try to find yourself. There have been plenty of religions in history without a "god". Many people believe in nature spirits or even in personal spirits; the latter is the kind of spiritualism that a great many Buddhists believe in. And Buddhism does have many concepts that have to be taken as an article of faith: Samsara, Karma, and Nirvana. Faith in a spirit that transcends death and lifetimes is not scientific, and if a so-called Buddhist does not believe these things, I have to wonder what kind of Buddhism they are following.