E
Eucharisted
Guest
It’s hilarious that Buddha is worshipped as a god, when in fact he never believed in a divinity. It just goes to show how hypocritical Buddhism is.
Catholics, Christians, Muslims, whatever you are -- How Do You View Buddhism?
- Status
E
Eucharisted
Guest
It is worth noting that the Buddhist puja comes from the Hundist puja. The former includes veneration and offerings, while the latter includes offerings to deities. It is because of this undeniable connection, as well as the offerings which Buddhists make to sacred objects, that Buddhism encourages adoration of Buddha. Which is the hypocrisy of the religion.
R
rossum
Guest
Buddhism does have violence in its history, but it is not well known in the West because most of the violence happened before the West discovered Buddhist countries. The Tibetan Empire (600 CE - 850 CE) was built during the period that Buddhism was entering Tibet. During the feudal period in Japan many monasteries kept armies of warrior monks (sōhei) for fighting with other monasteries. They lasted from about 1000 CE to 1600 CE when they were suppressed by the Tokugawa.
As with other religions, not every Buddhist lived up to the ideals of the founder.
rossum
F
franki_rulz
Guest
Yes Buddha is worshipped as a God. The hindus believe him to be the 13th incarnation of Vishnu(one of their Gods).
Buddhism as such isnt hypocritical, its a nice and peaceful religion, one of the major reasons for buddha being considered god is the basic tenent of Santana dharma(the base of all dharmic religions), every thing is considered to have god in it. the hindus worship holy men and women as incarnation of gods. the early buddhist converts were mainly hindus who retained a lot of their hindu beliefs and that includes worshipping holy men/women. Buddha might have evolved into a “god” during that transition.
E
Eucharisted
Guest
Hypocrisy is neither nice or peaceful. Evil is never good.
T
Tsuwano
Guest
This is true. Of course, hypocrisy can be found in all religions and evil is often found within the holiest of persons. The trick is recognizing it within ourselves and eliminating it from our life.
E
Eucharisted
Guest
You miss the point. Buddha taught that no god exists, and Buddists worship him as a god. This is the same hypocrisy that’s found in Islam, where Mohammed said he didn’t want his tomb to become a place of worship and Muslims turned his grave into a mosque. This type of hypocrisy dose not exist in every religion but only in some, and it is a clear sign of a religion’s falsehood. For if the foundation of the house caves, how can the house stand?
But this is not to say that a religion without such hypocrisy isn’t false, nor that a religion with some hypocrisy in it is false. As you correctly stated, evil is found in every human heart.
T
Tsuwano
Guest
I didn’t miss your point at all. I chose to emphasize a different point.
R
rossum
Guest
This is incorrect. For example, the Buddha answered question from gods:Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Exalted One was dwelling at Anathapindika’s monastery, in Jeta’s Grove, near Savatthi. Now when the night was far spent, a certain deity whose surpassing splendor illuminated the entire Jeta Grove, came to the presence of the Exalted One and, drawing near, respectfully saluted him and stood at one side. Standing thus, he addressed the Exalted One in verse: “Many deities and men, yearning after good, have pondered on blessings. Pray, tell me the greatest blessing!”
Sutta Nipata 2.4
and again:I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s monastery. Then a certain goddess, in the far extreme of the night, her extreme radiance lighting up the entirety of Jeta’s Grove, went to the Blessed One. On arrival, having bowed down to him, she stood to one side. As she was standing there, she said to him, “Tell me, reverend sir, how you crossed over the flood.”
“I crossed over the flood without pushing forward, without staying in place.”
“But how, reverend sir, did you cross over the flood without pushing forward, without staying in place?”
“When I pushed forward, I was whirled about. When I stayed in place, I sank. And so I crossed over the flood without pushing forward, without staying in place.”
Samyutta Nikaya 1.1
It is also worth noting that those paradoxical Zen-style stories go back to the Buddha.
Since your initial premise fails, the rest of your argument fails.
Buddhism is not atheistic, it is just indifferent to the gods. They are living beings that, like ourselves, need to reach enlightenment in order to avoid more rebirths and more deaths.
rossum
A
AdrianP
Guest
A
AJTheMan
Guest
Not every Buddhist is perfect. Some people are “Buddhists” by culture but not by faith. Every culture has had it’s fair share of violence. But Buddhism always strives for non-violence. Buddhism is not violent. Men are. When you get so called “Buddhists,” men who aren’t really committed to the faith, that’s when you end up with atrocities.
Look at it this way. Christianity taught that we should love one another and be peaceful. “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.” Jesus says. But do we have Christian nations with Christian leaders that have caused wars and atrocities? Of course. We don’t hold it against Christianity though. Because we recognize that while these people may call themselves Buddhists or Christians, their actions are not always in alignment with their professed religion.
Anyways, I’m not sure exactly what you’re referencing but I’d find it hard to believe that Buddhism was introduced to Japan solely through war and conflict. Also, just to note, a quick look at wikipedia says this:
The arrival of Buddhism in Japan is ultimately a consequence of the first contacts between China and Central Asia which occurred with the opening of the Silk Road in the 2nd century BC, following the travels of Zhang Qian between 138 and 126 BC, which culminated with the official introduction of Buddhism in China in 67 AD. Historians generally agree that by the middle of the 1st century, the religion had penetrated to areas north of the Huai River.
I’m sorry. I never meant to disparage or “hold aloof” to anyone’s religion. Everyone has the right to worship the way they want (Unless if it’s like human sacrifices or something.
), so I don’t have a problem with your religion.To respond more directly, I don’t believe that I mentioned anyone’s religion other than Buddhism in the post that you quoted. So to say that I “held it aloof” to other religions is a bit bemusing because I never mentioned that Buddhism may somehow be better than another. I do not wish to cause division, remember that.
I do find it odd myself. I respect the Mahayana’s right to worship as they please. They genuinely strive for enlightenment and morality so I respect their ways. Not all Mahayana religions are devotional, however. Zen, from what I understand, it just clear cut meditation.
Also, to be clear, I don’t think that the Mahayana worship him as a God. I think he is venerated much in the same way that Mary is venerated.
To expand, the Buddha did teach of divinity. This is why he taught of a kamma. You cannot see or touch kamma but he taught of it. He taught of an afterlife too. Buddha believed in the divine.
I don’t think any school of Buddhism worships him as a deity. The schools do differ in their level of veneration though. Do Catholics worship mary? No. Do they venerate her? Yes.
Likewise, I don’t think that Buddhists see him as a God. Even the Mahayana. They just venerate him in a different way from the Theravada.
The Buddha never said that, actually. Buddhism simply doesn’t say yes or no. This is why some Buddhists are theists and others simply ignore the question. Buddha, I think, felt that the question was unnecessary. The question of why we suffer was his main issue. The rest, I think, didn’t bother him.
A parable:
The Buddha was sitting in the park when his disciple Malunkyaputta approached him. Malunkyaputta had recently retired from the world and he was concerned that so many things remained unexplained by the Buddha. Was the world eternal or not eternal? Was the soul different from the body? Did the enlightened exist after death or not? He thought, ‘If the Buddha does not explain these things to me, I will give up this training and return to worldly life’.
He put these questions to the Buddha who replied, “Now did I ever say to you that if you led a religious life you would understand these things? It is as if a man had been wounded by an arrow thickly smeared with poison, and his friends, companions relatives were to get a surgeon to heal him, and he were to say, ‘I will not have this arrow pulled out until I know who wounded me, of what caste he is, what his name is, whether he is tall, short or of medium height, what colour his skin is, where he comes from, what kind of bow I was wounded with, what it was made of, whether the arrow was feathered with a vulture’s wing or a heron’s or a hawk’s……’ Surely the man would die before he knew all this.”
“Whether the view is held that the world is eternal or not, Malunkyaputta, there is still re-birth, old age, death, grief, suffering, sorrow and despair - and these can be destroyed in this life! I have not explained these other things because they are not useful, they are not conducive to tranquillity and Nirvana. What I have explained is suffering, the cause of suffering, the destruction of suffering and the path that leads to the destruction of suffering. This is useful, leading to non-attachment, the absence of passion, perfect knowledge.”
A
AJTheMan
Guest
I’m enjoying the questions though, guys. Hopefully we can work together and inform each other. Any new questions are appreciated…if they are cordial! 
C
Contarini
Guest
Obviously any Buddhists who worship Buddha as a god disagree with you on what Buddha did or did not believe in. (The phrase “worship as a god” is being thrown around without being defined–it would be nice to hear some clarity on just what this means.) So no hypocrisy, any more than you or I are hypocritical for worshiping Jesus as God Incarnate even though many folks would claim that Jesus never wanted such worship.
No one is hypocritical for failing to agree with someone else’s interpretation of their religion!
Edwin
A
AJTheMan
Guest
Buddhists do not worship Buddha. Buddhists venerate him like Catholics venerate Mary.
The Buddha died. We have nothing to gain by “worshiping” him. He is gone. We pay homage to his great teachings by prostrating and taking refuge daily
S
Steven_John
Guest
Hi AJ and others,
do Buddhists seek refuge in other people living or dead, if they do what is meant by refuge and do they need to know the person or just know of them?
Bless ya
do Buddhists seek refuge in other people living or dead, if they do what is meant by refuge and do they need to know the person or just know of them?
Bless ya
N
narrowpath
Guest
Blessed Fr. Seraphim rose, who converted from eastern mysticism to Orthodoxy wrote a book on Buddhism, and also another one on eastern religions.
A good book on eastern Taoism is ‘Christ the Eternal Tao’.
Don’t worry, its not what your probably thinking (religious indifferentism, etc). The author is not a Taoist.
A good book on eastern Taoism is ‘Christ the Eternal Tao’.
Don’t worry, its not what your probably thinking (religious indifferentism, etc). The author is not a Taoist.
N
NoWings
Guest
Boring, depressing, and makes less sense than monotheism in regards to death.
T
Tsuwano
Guest
A bit like agnosticism.
N
NoWings
Guest
T
Tsuwano
Guest
Thanks for having a sense of humor. :tiphat:
- Status