19 Aug 08
1 edit
Originally posted by scherzoMost Buddhists don't believe in any God(s) at all.
Not Christianity. Islam's fine; Buddhism's fine. Islam is an Abrahamic faith that believes that a single God's word was carried by a line of prophets, but the prophet Mohammed was the only prophet to directly record the word of God, so his word is most accurate. Buddhism is a Vedic faith that believes in multiple Gods. Not too sure about its actual beliefs.
Buddhism is non-theistic. The Buddha taught that believing in gods was not useful for those seeking to realize enlightenment.
http://buddhism.about.com/od/basicbuddhistteachings/a/basicshub.htm
19 Aug 08
Originally posted by no1marauderfrom your link: Buddhism is so different from other religions that some people question whether it is a religion at all. For example, the central focus of most religions is God, or gods. But Buddhism is non-theistic. The Buddha taught that believing in gods was not useful for those seeking to realize enlightenment.
Most Buddhists don't believe in any God(s) at all.
Buddhism is non-theistic. The Buddha taught that believing in gods was not useful for those seeking to realize enlightenment.
http://buddhism.about.com/od/basicbuddhistteachings/a/basicshub.htm
I practiced buddism for over 10 years. There is a difference between not relying on diety for enlightenment, and not believing in diety. The budda teaches that it is not useful, not that it isn't true. most buddist do in fact believe that there are powers that exist on higher planes of existances.
19 Aug 08
Originally posted by Rajk999Scherzo had the class to only talk up his preferred choice instead of smearing the alternative. If you represent Christianity then Islam's looking far preferable based only on this thread.
Not Islam, Christianity is fine; Buddhism's fine.
Anything is fine except Islam.
Islam is based on the teachings of Mohammed who was a child molester and a murderer. He preached violence. He is directly responsible for the religious fanaticism that plagues the muslim world
- the killing of apostates ie muslims who leave Islam and go to say Christianity a ...[text shortened]... ch Islam before joining because its a one way street. You cant change your mind after you join.
19 Aug 08
Originally posted by AThousandYoungClass. Yep. Thats when you whitewash the truth and make it sound nice. Its like a kind of political correctness .. like when you kill out a race you call it ethnic cleansing. Calling the killers sickening murderers is unclassy.
Scherzo had the class to only talk up his preferred choice instead of smearing the alternative. If you represent Christianity then Islam's looking far preferable based only on this thread.
So exactly what part of what I said is untrue?
19 Aug 08
Originally posted by RosnahMegatIbrahimThere are admirable tenets in Islam and Buddhism, but the difference is salvation and eternal life, which only Christianity can provide.
What is the difference between the three religions I wonder? I want to find one that suits mine. Please advise. Thanks.
19 Aug 08
Originally posted by scherzoNo, Buddhists do not “believe in multiple gods”. If any Buddhists use theistic language, you should probably consider it to be metaphorical. Buddhism should be considered closer to Advaita Vedanta than to more theistic expressions of Hinduism.
Not Christianity. Islam's fine; Buddhism's fine. Islam is an Abrahamic faith that believes that a single God's word was carried by a line of prophets, but the prophet Mohammed was the only prophet to directly record the word of God, so his word is most accurate. Buddhism is a Vedic faith that believes in multiple Gods. Not too sure about its actual beliefs.
With that said, I am not as familiar with all schools of Buddhism as I am with Zen. A given Buddhist might well have theistic beliefs—but they are in addition to basic Buddhism. Although various Buddhists hold to various metaphysical speculations, according to at least some accounts the Buddha eschewed such things. Again, however, I am most familiar with Zen accounts. A Zen Buddhist may, for example, believe in reincarnation of some sort—or she may not.
19 Aug 08
Originally posted by duecerI don’t know what “most” Buddhists believe. However, at least Mahayana Buddhism seems to be mostly nondualist, as opposed to dualistic theism.
from your link: Buddhism is so different from other religions that some people question whether it is a religion at all. For example, the central focus of most religions is God, or gods. But Buddhism is non-theistic. The Buddha taught that believing in gods was not useful for those seeking to realize enlightenment.
I practiced buddism for over 10 years. ...[text shortened]... ost buddist do in fact believe that there are powers that exist on higher planes of existances.
Again, however, even within Mahayana, I am most familiar with Zen. The point is that, whether one wants to call it a philosophy or a religion, Buddhism does not depend on a (dualistic) theistic god or gods. The same is true for Advaita Vedanta within Hinduism (it can’t be classed as anything other than nondualist essentially); Kashmiri Shaivism, despite it’s more (Shiva) theistic language, also cannot be properly understood unless one treats its theistic language as purely metaphorical/symbolic within a strictly nondualist framework.
People need to grasp that the great spiritual divide is between nondualism and dualism; there are other divides as well (e.g., formalism versus non-formalism*), but they may well derive from this one.
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* This is my language for what Fritjoff Schuon calls “exoterism” and “esoterism” in his The Transcendent Unity of Religions
19 Aug 08
Originally posted by Rajk999Everything. You have no idea what Islam is.
Class. Yep. Thats when you whitewash the truth and make it sound nice. Its like a kind of political correctness .. like when you kill out a race you call it ethnic cleansing. Calling the killers sickening murderers is unclassy.
So exactly what part of what I said is untrue?
20 Aug 08
Originally posted by no1marauderDo they?
Christianity makes that claim; so what? So do many other religions.
According to the buddhist, you will be stuck on earth forever more. Coming back to try again and again. That's not salvation, eternal life maybe...
In the islamic religion, you will receive 'physical pleasures' in the jannah after death. Even though it's the physical that caused your death. They also believe that some sins will 'condemn' you to hell. Salvation?
Christianity offers salvation for every sin and offers eternal life beyond the physical.
True that other religions claim to offer what christianity gives you, pity they're misleading so many people
20 Aug 08
1 edit
Originally posted by C U SoonYou are, of course, completely incorrect about Buddhism. That's no surprise; most Christians on this site are abysmally ignorant of the tenets of Eastern philosophies.
Do they?
According to the buddhist, you will be stuck on earth forever more. Coming back to try again and again. That's not salvation, eternal life maybe...
In the islamic religion, you will receive 'physical pleasures' in the jannah after death. Even though it's the physical that caused your death. They also believe that some sins will 'condemn' you ...[text shortened]... igions claim to offer what christianity gives you, pity they're misleading so many people
I fail to see much of a difference in Islam and Christianity as regards salvation. Some go to paradise, some go to damnation in each faith. Many Christians believe you get some kind of "new" body that lives eternally. There are differences in details, but not in the central belief in salvation for the believer.
So, Christian tenets regarding salvation and eternal life aren't anything unique or special.
EDIT: Here's a nice metaphor for the Buddhist concept of "rebirth":
One way to explain rebirth is to think of all existence as one big ocean. An individual is a phenomenon of existence in the same way a wave is a phenomenon of ocean. A wave begins, moves across the surface of the water, then dissipates. While it exists, a wave is distinct from ocean yet is never separate from ocean. In the same way, that which is reborn is not the same person, yet is not separate from the same person.
http://buddhism.about.com/od/karmaandrebirth/a/karmarebirth.htm
In fact, Buddhists don't believe "you" exist in any meaningful way. See http://buddhism.about.com/od/whatistheself/a/skandhasnoself.htm