Soo, since I'm getting sick and tired of threads on Atheism and Christianity, why not discuss a little about Buddhism?
From what my sister told me, Buddhism philosophy is the principle of energy. Energy passing from one situation, to the other. But I have a question; Gautama, the teacher of Buddhism, has said that he should not be considered a God, for he is not one. Then why did people form a religion based on his teachings, instead of just a wing in the philosophy section? This may be my lack of understanding of what religion actually is, but alas, not everyone knows all
Well, I'm not sure for how it became a religion at the start. You're right about the Buddha not claiming to be a God. However, some Buddhists did claim there were gods and deities, and just like us, are stuck in the reincarnation cycle if they haven't achieved Nirvana.
Now, the thing about Buddhism is that it is VERY (Can't stress enough), fragmented and fluid. There's really no central tenet except achieving Enlightenment, it varies from region to region.
The particular strain of Buddhism I used to subscribe to was mixed with Chinese folklore, Confucianism, Taoism and what not. As it made its way to Singapore via immigrants (My ancestors amongst them), they further mixed with the local culture. We have the Goddess of Mercy (Guan Ying), a Sea Goddess (Given Singapore was a port, the travellers wanted a deity to protect them) and many others. We even worship the generals from the Three Kingdoms Era (Perhaps you have heard of them via Dynasty Warriors?). If I'm not wrong, Guan Yu is the God of Business for us. There are various Buddhist temples here that are dedicated to various Gods/Deities (Even a Four Faced Buddha). I prayed to the Heavenly Jade Emperor (Ruler of the Chinese Pantheon) as well. Yet all these temples are still Buddhist.
If you go to say Japan, you would find Shinto Buddhism, a mix of what was Emperor worship and the worship of Royal Divinity mixed with Buddhism. The vast majority of Japanese people who take part in Shinto rituals also practice Buddhist ancestor worship. However, unlike many monotheistic religious practices, Shinto and Buddhism typically do not require professing faith to be a believer or a practitioner, and as such it is difficult to query for exact figures based on self-identification of belief within Japan. Due to the syncretic nature of Shinto and Buddhism, most "life" events are handled by Shinto and "death" or "afterlife" events are handled by Buddhismâ"for example, it is typical in Japan to register or celebrate a birth at a Shinto shrine, while funeral arrangements are generally dictated by Buddhist traditionâ"although the division is not exclusive.
Which is totally unorthodox, except for the fact that Buddha won't stop us from doing it. Buddhism is such a fluid religion or philosophy, and is constantly evolving.
So you're telling me a Dynasty Warriors character is actually a god in Buddhism? Interesting fact.
Well, considering you have just enlightened me with a lot of new facts I knew nothing about, I'm just going to guess Buddhism is more than I thought it to be eh?
So you're telling me a Dynasty Warriors character is actually a god in Buddhism? Interesting fact.
Nah, a God is a Dynasty Warriors Character.
Well, considering you have just enlightened me with a lot of new facts I knew nothing about, I'm just going to guess Buddhism is more than I thought it to be eh?
Much more. I don't even know much about Tibetan Buddhism or Mongolian Buddhism.
