Buddhism is this the "religion" for non Theists?

[Bearman]

There has been a fair amount of quite heated discussions on these forums about religion of late.

I have joined in occasionally because I really struggle with the whole concept of "God" and the various sects that follow Him.

I was messing about googling various thoughts and came across this on Buddhism.

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm

we are often told by Theists that everyone needs a "belief". I don't but if I did this might fit my bill.

[steef]

Buddhism I would say I'd the least harmful of all major faiths. However it still requires a leap of faith. If we are to be reincarnated based upon our life, who decides if we have been good enough to go up to nirvana or bad enough to be knocked down to cock roach level If not a god? (Or some entity similar to one) For me it's just a slightly less offensive load off balls. I'd much rather have the dalai lama over for dinner than the Pope mind.

[ckn]

Buddhism I would say I'd the least harmful of all major faiths. However it still requires a leap of faith. If we are to be reincarnated based upon our life, who decides if we have been good enough to go up to nirvana or bad enough to be knocked down to cock roach level If not a god? (Or some entity similar to one) For me it's just a slightly less offensive load off balls. I'd much rather have the dalai lama over for dinner than the Pope mind.

If you treat buddhism as a way of life rather than a religion then you can just ignore the supernatural stuff.  An ex-squaddie friend of mine had a near fatal PTSD related mental breakdown back in the mid 90s and the one thing that helped him recover was just sitting talking to a buddhist monk for hours on end.  He's now a devoted buddhist but you'd never tell by looking at him, a huge brute of a guy with the sort of face that gets instant wariness in others who is now the most peaceful person I know.  His transformation was more than enough to gain buddhism a big positive impression from me.

[JohnM]

A Buddhist walks up to a hotdog stand and says, "Make me one with everything."

[bowes]

The Bhagavad Gita within Hinduism has a very good message not too dissimilar from the Buddhist one though it's a bit more practical and believes in God. Pretty much a universal practical teaching the same. The idea of a god sitting in the clouds roasting everyone that doesn't accept the blood sacrifice of his son makes no sense but the idea present both in eastern religion but also some more western ideas (Hermeticism, Kabbalah, even some early forms of Christianity and some current forms of Islam) of a living mind that things unknowable in its original form that the universe has manifest out of via different stages is much more believable especially when according to current science only 4% of the universe is matter we know of. The difference between a religion teaching people have a spark of God within them masked by experiences of the world etc is much more positive than Christianity's original sin teaching

[C H Calthrop]

Buddism in a 3rd world context is very different from it being practised by 1st world people.  The difference between getting over a stressful time at work and accepting crippling suffering as your lot because you will come back as something better adds a bitter twist to pseudo factual spiritual hokum........... You could become a Jedi with all the benefits of Buddism and none of the negatives.. 

[John Rhino]

Buddhism I would say I'd the least harmful of all major faiths. However it still requires a leap of faith. If we are to be reincarnated based upon our life, who decides if we have been good enough to go up to nirvana or bad enough to be knocked down to cock roach level If not a god? (Or some entity similar to one) For me it's just a slightly less offensive load off balls. I'd much rather have the dalai lama over for dinner than the Pope mind.

You are way off there with the God bit. No one decides, it's the law of karma, every action leaves an impression, an imprint if you like, on both yourself and the universe.

These imprints are regarded as "seeds"

These seeds ripen at some time in the future and determine both rebirth and also future conduct and conditions. It may be seeds sown in many lives previously that ripen. Thus it is almost impossible for an animal to gain rebirth in a higher form but easy for a human to go "downwards". That is why Buddhists prize all human like so highly.

Buddhists spend their lives removing bad seeds and sowing good ones.

You can be a Buddhist and have no belief in the supernatural but this is a western concept.

Many experts believe it's actually impossible for a Westerner to become a true Buddhist. We are just too results and goal orientated.

[Wolford6]

Many experts believe it's actually impossible for a Westerner to become a true Buddhist. We are just too results and goal orientated.

 

Not at the Bulls, obviously.

[Bob8]

There has been a fair amount of quite heated discussions on these forums about religion of late.

I have joined in occasionally because I really struggle with the whole concept of "God" and the various sects that follow Him.

I was messing about googling various thoughts and came across this on Buddhism.

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm

we are often told by Theists that everyone needs a "belief". I don't but if I did this might fit my bill.

For most people in the west, Buddhism is a far better route to spiritualityor chilling the F out than Christianity IMO.  If is suits you, go for it.  There are too many Buddhists around who are attached to some image of Tibet as a Shangri-la.  However, when it comes to meditation technique, there is no better place to start.

 

The nearest western equivalent of Buddhism from the West would probably be the mystical Catholicism (see Mester Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Thomas Aquanis or even Anthony de Mello).  It also puts huge weight on meditation and rejection of blind faith and dogma.  For them, God was unknowable and everyone going on about God was just going on about a model of God of their own making.  Give up trying to be good or happy, find peace and be free.

[tallsnow]

 

The nearest western equivalent of Buddhism from the West would probably be the mystical Catholicism (see Mester Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Thomas Aquanis or even Anthony de Mello).  It also puts huge weight on meditation and rejection of blind faith and dogma.  For them, God was unknowable and everyone going on about God was just going on about a model of God of their own making.  Give up trying to be good or happy, find peace and be free.

Meister Eckhart and Julian of Norwich, along with Father Anthony de Mello fall within what is known as Nonduality.

It also brings into question what true meditation is.

[tallsnow]

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm

we are often told by Theists that everyone needs a "belief". I don't but if I did this might fit my bill.

Reality, which is what you are seeking, fits no one's bill. Too many westerners fall into this trap.

I wouldn't advise anyone to follow buddhanet, unless you want a buddhism fix.