The myth of Orpheus

[loCAtek]

LOL Okay, to explain the dualism; Buddhists are nontheists in that they don't worship a creator God, with a capital 'G'. Buddhists do acknowledge that there are spirits and deities (with a lower case 'd'), that whilst they deserve acknowledgement, they are not worshiped to gain favor or avoid punishment. All beings are one, as will be known when you attain enlightenment.

[Sean]

LMAO - Buddhists don't believe in the God of Abraham.

Well, all except for you apparently...

It's best to find out a little about Buddhists before claiming to be one...

Do Buddhist believe in god?

No, we do not. There are several reasons for this. The Buddha, like modern sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have their origin in fear. The Buddha says:

"Gripped by fear men go to the sacred mountains,
sacred groves, sacred trees and shrines".

Dp 188

Primitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world, the fear of wild animals, of not being able to find enough food, of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of gods in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong. To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, you will hear them say that the belief in a god or gods gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in a particular god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. The Buddha taught us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. He replaced fear, not with irrational belief but with rational understanding.

The second reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is because there does not seem to be any evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature, that their god exists and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine, some that she is feminine and others that it is neuter. They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their gods that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. Buddhists suspend judgement until such evidence is forthcoming.

The third reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin on the universe. But this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being without having to introduce the god-idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are millions of atheists and free-thinkers, not to mention many Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite. One often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps, enormous odds and difficulties, through their own inner resources, through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. But this argument only holds good if you accept the theological concept of salvation and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Based on his own experience, the Buddha saw that each human being had the capacity to purify the mind, develop infinite love and compassion and perfect understanding. He shifted attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding.

Source

I've bolded some bits to help you out...

Sounds like you should have more in common with Atheism than Christianity...

[loCAtek]

Are There Different Types of Buddhism?

There are many different types of Buddhism, because the emphasis changes from country to country due to customs and culture. What does not vary is the essence of the teaching — the Dhamma or truth.

• Are Other Religions Wrong?

Buddhism is also a belief system which is tolerant of all other beliefs or religions. Buddhism agrees with the moral teachings of other religions but Buddhism goes further by providing a long term purpose within our existence, through wisdom and true understanding. Real Buddhism is very tolerant and not concerned with labels like 'Christian', 'Moslem', 'Hindu' or 'Buddhist'; that is why there have never been any wars fought in the name of Buddhism. That is why Buddhists do not preach and try to convert, only explain if an explanation is sought.

Source

It could be like atheism; some say it's like quantum physics; Hindus and Buddhists came the realization of other dimensions and multiverses long ago.

• Is Buddhism Scientific?

Science is knowledge which can be made into a system, which depends upon seeing and testing facts and stating general natural laws. The core of Buddhism fit into this definition, because the Four Noble truths (see below) can be tested and proven by anyone in fact the Buddha himself asked his followers to test the teaching rather than accept his word as true. Buddhism depends more on understanding than faith.

The Buddha said, "There are as many different types of Buddhism as there are Buddhists."

He wished everyone to find there own spiritual path, which is why there is no Buddhist bible and the Dalai Lama is glad to speak to anyone of any faith, and support their beliefs.

...what is astounding about the Dalai Lama is how much more he is than the spiritual, symbolic and political (although he's stepping down from that role) leader of the Tibetan people. For those of us who believe religion is a source of inspiration and a bridge of cooperation, at a time when people presenting religion as a bomb of destruction are ruling the airwaves, the Dalai Lama is our single most powerful example. It is this part of his mission -- Dalai Lama as interfaith leader, which is also the subject of his most recent book, "Towards a True Kinship of Faiths: How the World's Religions Can Come Together" -- that has brought him to Chicago for a set of presentations sponsored by the Theosophical Society.


...


It is the perfect personal story to lead into a brief history of the Christian presence in Tibet, which began as early as the 17th century, and included an Italian Jesuit priest who wrote a lengthy text in Tibetan that the Dalai Lama cites as an important document of early Tibetan Buddhist-Catholic interfaith dialogue.

The rest of the book includes chapters on major world religions, in which the Dalai Lama essentially explains what he admires about Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and other faiths. He writes of the beauty of the Muslim call to prayer, the remarkable continuity of Judaism even in exile, Jesus as a symbol of service and love. There is a chapter on compassion, unsurprising as that is probably the term that His Holiness is most associated with, outside of perhaps 'Tibet' and 'Buddhism'. What is surprising is that the Dalai Lama writes about what he has learned from other religions about compassion. It reminded me of how King viewed Gandhi -- as someone from another religion who gave him a broader idea about values within his own.

His Holiness and the Art and Science of Interfaith Cooperation

[The Hen]

“I have come to the conclusion that whether or not a person is a religious believer does not matter much. Far more important is that they be a good human being.”. . . “That is why I sometimes say that religion is something we can perhaps do without.” - Dalai Lama.

[Sean]

Buddhism is also a belief system which is tolerant of all other beliefs or religions.

With the exception of Atheism of course... fuck that!

[loCAtek]

Who said that, sean?

Try out your own faith, Dalai Lama tells Geneva congregation
Ecumenical News International Feature

By Edmund Doogue

Those who engage in wars of religion do not put their own faith into practice, the Dalai Lama told an inter-faith congregation gathered at Geneva's St. Pierre Cathedral on Sunday, 8 August [1999].

The 64-year-old spiritual leader of Tibet's Buddhists, who has lived in exile from Chinese-occupied Tibet since 1959, was the guest preacher at the Protestant cathedral. The church service coincided with the annual Festival of Geneva, which this year had the Tibetan people as their special guests. Switzerland has about 2500 Tibetan residents, the biggest Tibetan community in Europe. More than 2000 people filled the cathedral to capacity for the service, while 3000 more gathered in front of the building and heard the address on loudspeakers.

Speaking in Tibetan, with his words interpreted into French by French Buddhist monk Matthieu Ricard, the Dalai Lama told the congregation that all the great religions deserved respect, and, if practised seriously, were a path to love and peace.

Those who waged war in the name of religion had, the Dalai Lama said, failed to look beyond their religion to other faiths which they opposed. If they did examine other faiths, they would recognize the same desire for transformation as in their own.

"It's not enough to belong to a religion," according to the Buddhist leader, who, according to Tibetans, is the 14th incarnation of the Dalai Lama. "You have to experience it. Spirituality is like a medicine. To heal the illness, it is not sufficient to look at the medicine and talk about it. You have to ingest it."

In spite of their differing methods, the great religions shared a common goal – to make people better, he said. He advised the congregation to follow seriously "your own spiritual path".

The Dalai Lama, the ministers of the Geneva cathedral - Vincent Schmid and William McComish - and Abbe Pierre, an 87-year-old prominent French priest and campaigner for the homeless, all called for the need for mutual respect of religions.

Geneva's Roman Catholic, Old Catholic and Orthodox communities, as well as Muslim, Jewish and Baha'i faiths, were all officially represented by senior officials at the service.

At the end of the service, Abbe Pierre told the congregation: "You see, I have not become a Buddhist. A woman journalist asked me whether I was thinking about taking up reincarnation. I told her: 'Oh, madam, once is enough'!"

The Sunday service was part of a major effort to make Geneva's cathedral a centre for inter-faith dialogue. Interviewed by ENI after the service, McComish, who is dean of the cathedral, said: "It was the first time I have seen people fighting to get into a church. It was like the sales in January. But once the service began, there was a great sense of calm."

He said that there had been some criticism of the invitation to the Dalai Lama, including from a local Evangelical pastor who had written to the cathedral saying the service would "bring down the wrath of God on the cathedral and the city".

Such comments, McComish said, ignored the Reformed tradition. Also, he said, "the Dalai Lama was not trying to turn people into Buddhists, he was trying to turn them into Christians".

Asked by ENI if there had been an official complaint by the Chinese authorities about the service, McComish said that he had not been contacted by the Beijing government. The Chinese authorities are often critical of the high profile and official welcomes given to the Dalai Lama on his travels and to the movement for greater freedom in Tibet. The Swiss federal government did not give an official welcome to the Dalai Lama. Swiss-Chinese relations are still smarting from a major diplomatic incident in the Swiss capital, Bern, in March this year when the Chinese leader, Jiang Zemin, was highly embarrassed by a Tibetan protest.

Commenting on the Swiss government's low-profile approach, McComish said that the federal government and other Western powers should realize that "if you collaborate with a totalitarian government that is persecuting people and beliefs, you become compromised. And I'm not necessarily referring to Christians and Buddhists."

McComish told ENI that on 24 October the cathedral - which in the 16th century was the church of John Calvin, a leading theologian in the history of Reformed Christianity - would host the first inter-faith service for United Nations Day.

"It's the first time the international community has felt the need to appeal to religious leaders," McComish said. "Fifty-six conflicts around the world have a religious element."

August 10, 1999

All articles (c) Ecumenical News International Reproduction permitted only by media subscribers and provided ENI is acknowledged as the source.


Ecumenical News International

Tel: (41-22) 791 6087/6515
Fax: (41-22) 798 1346
E-Mail: eni@eni.ch
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CH-1211 Geneva 2 - Switzerland



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Give people the freedom to co-exist.

[Sean]

So you don't have a problem with atheism then?

[loCAtek]

Not really


...unless they try to supplant their beliefs over others.

[Scooter]

So atheists should avoid acting like Christians. Good advice.

[Sean]

Very good advice there.

[thestoat]

I'm all for that

[loCAtek]

Thank goodness for Freedom of Religion/Spirituality!