Is Buddhism new age?

[TemplarKnight1]

And why?

It’s been around longer than Christianity.

 

[DavidFilmer]

A lot of “new age” movements borrow from Buddhism (there’s nothing new under the sun).

Obviously Buddhism itself is not new age.

 

[Dennis_Nedry]

Buddhism is very much new age. Even though it’s been around longer than christianity, look at it like this, it’s like the teens who like to wear retro clothing and glasses. It’s like the hipsters who wear rayban glasses even though they might or might not need them. Like myself I like to wear things that are retro, and use retro products. This revival of Buddhism will eventually fade away.

 

[mab23]

Buddhism is very much new age. Even though it’s been around longer than christianity, look at it like this, it’s like the teens who like to wear retro clothing and glasses. It’s like the hipsters who wear rayban glasses even though they might or might not need them. Like myself I like to wear things that are retro, and use retro products. This revival of Buddhism will eventually fade away.

I am not sure I follow

(MOST) Buddhism is religious Atheism

its not new age but some of the practices and or ideologies are present in new age-ism

 

[prodigalson2011]

Buddhism is very much new age. Even though it’s been around longer than christianity, look at it like this, it’s like the teens who like to wear retro clothing and glasses. It’s like the hipsters who wear rayban glasses even though they might or might not need them. Like myself I like to wear things that are retro, and use retro products. This revival of Buddhism will eventually fade away.

Buddhism is not new age. Though the New Age movement may have co-opted elements of Buddhism, as well as Christianity, Judaism and most every other religion, it is essentially an occult movement that developed from the work of Aleister Crowley in the early 1900s. Though he died in the late 1940s, many other influential people carried on his work, among them Timothy Leary, who believed that he was “Crowley reborn” and that his mission in life was to complete the work Crowley had started, and the Beatles, close friends of Leary’s who featured Crowley, claiming him as one of their heroes, on the cover of their most famous album; John Lennon would also later say that the whole concept behind the Beatles was “Do What Thou Wilt” (the credo of Crowley’s new religion, Thelema). Along with numerous other prominent figures of the mid-20th century, also influenced by Crowley, these were the people who laid the foundation for the New Age movement. So in fact, New Age ideas are based in Crowley’s particular brand of Satanism; really a sort of Luciferian Gnosticism (the “spirit” that Crowley supposedly channeled in his “Book of the Law” [the foundational work/“sacred scripture” of the Thelemic religion] identified itself with the Serpent in the Garden).

Buddhism is chic right now, but that doesn’t make it New Age.

 

[Auntie_A]

Traditional Buddhism recognizes that there is good and evil, demons, vices, virtues, right and wrong. New Age Buddhism is kind of like New Age Christianity: light, self-centered, with no sense of moral responsibility.

 

[InJesusItrust]

Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism, and New Age is very, very Hindu.

 

[aspirant]

New Age is a 20th century Western invention. Buddhism is an ancient Eastern religion.

New Agers may appropriate elements of Buddhism, as they do Christianity and many other religions, but that no more makes Buddhism “New Age” than it makes Christianity “New Age.”

 

[Dorothy]

And why?

It’s been around longer than Christianity.

You have gotten answers from many different angles and they are all somewhat right.

What I understand is that Buddhism is a belief system that does not reflect Divine Revelation. The Jews and Christians come from Divine Revelation, not from the limited (finite) mind of man, like the pagan nations. God loves all of His creation and desires that they love Him in return. That is how they will find his truth, peace, and love.

There were many pagan nations, and out of them Abraham came. Divine Revelation began, and found its fulfillment in the Incarnation of Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Buddha did not rise from the dead.

The starters of all other religions did not rise from the dead. (Mohammad, among others).

Jesus Christ rose from the dead! He is truly God Incarnate, 100% man and 100% God!

When Christians pick up their cross and strive to follow Jesus with the help of the grace he purchased for us, then others will begin to recognize Him, and want His peace and joy in the midst of the confusion and chaos all around us.

 

[LoveMercyGrace]

Buddhism is not new age. Though the New Age movement may have co-opted elements of Buddhism, as well as Christianity, Judaism and most every other religion, it is essentially an occult movement that developed from the work of Aleister Crowley in the early 1900s. Though he died in the late 1940s, many other influential people carried on his work, among them Timothy Leary, who believed that he was “Crowley reborn” and that his mission in life was to complete the work Crowley had started, and the Beatles, close friends of Leary’s who featured Crowley, claiming him as one of their heroes, on the cover of their most famous album; John Lennon would also later say that the whole concept behind the Beatles was “Do What Thou Wilt” (the credo of Crowley’s new religion, Thelema). Along with numerous other prominent figures of the mid-20th century, also influenced by Crowley, these were the people who laid the foundation for the New Age movement. So in fact, New Age ideas are based in Crowley’s particular brand of Satanism; really a sort of Luciferian Gnosticism (the “spirit” that Crowley supposedly channeled in his “Book of the Law” [the foundational work/“sacred scripture” of the Thelemic religion] identified itself with the Serpent in the Garden).

Buddhism is chic right now, but that doesn’t make it New Age.

interesting! would be great to quote sources, not just you but many, who have a wealth of education!

 

[chaunceygardner]

And why?

It’s been around longer than Christianity.

No, not New Age; rather, people today have picked up on some of the ideas and practices found in Buddhism, just like people have done in other times and with other religions and belief systems (as others here have pointed out). For those people it is more like the latest fad, similar to the latest diet fad. And like those diet fads, for most of those who sample it there will not be much of a lasting effect.

Also, Buddhist is not “religious atheism” but considers there to be a hierarchy of divinities. It shares some of the same antecedents as Hinduism, or could be said to have born in a Hindu culture, but they are quite separate. Also Hinduism is really not an “ism” at all, but has only been labeled as such. Hindus have no doctrines or creeds. There is also no one source or originator of Hinduism, unlike Buddhism, Islam, or Christianity.

Here is a related question: Is “New Age” new any more? It seems like it has been around for 40 years or more. And is “New Age” really a unified belief system, or just a label we have stuck on various concepts and practices, most of which seem to have been copied from earlier cultures and beliefs, especially from the “exotic east”?

 

[jonathan_hili]

It’s more the other way around: New Agers borrow heavily from Buddhism (or at least, one kind of Buddhism).

Ommmm…

 

[FabiusMaximus]

And why?

It’s been around longer than Christianity.

Only in the sense that New Age movements are heavily influenced by Buddhism, and that Buddhism has only really begun impacting the Western world in the past couple decades.

 

[Forkfoot]

Buddhism is most certainly not new age; anyone who thinks otherwise should read a book once in a while. Yes, obviously when you see someone with a Buddha statue or posting quotes from the Dalai Lama on facebook they’re probably not coming from a devout buddhist but rather from a spiritual dilettante, but that’s true of the average person who has a crucifix on their wall too. Go and spend some time with an actual buddhist who really tries to embody the Buddha’s teachings; I guarantee you’ll be unable to maintain your belief that they subscribe to some kind of pop culture spirituality.

 

[FabiusMaximus]

Buddhism is most certainly not new age; anyone who thinks otherwise should read a book once in a while. Yes, obviously when you see someone with a Buddha statue or posting quotes from the Dalai Lama on facebook they’re probably not coming from a devout buddhist but rather from a spiritual dilettante, but that’s true of the average person who has a crucifix on their wall too. Go and spend some time with an actual buddhist who really tries to embody the Buddha’s teachings; I guarantee you’ll be unable to maintain your belief that they subscribe to some kind of pop culture spirituality.

Eh, I’d be more convinced of the religious faith of a person with a crucifix on their wall than a Buddha statue in their rooms. The crucifix is too much associated with an official religious organization - the Roman Catholic Church - to be seen as simply a symbol of spiritual enlightenment. Most people associate the Buddha simply with wisdom, or “the middle way” or something along that nature, but not anything concrete. At least in the Western world, anyway.

 

[Forkfoot]

Eh, I’d be more convinced of the religious faith of a person with a crucifix on their wall than a Buddha statue in their rooms. The crucifix is too much associated with an official religious organization - the Roman Catholic Church - to be seen as simply a symbol of spiritual enlightenment.

Just cuz they don’t see it as a symbol of enlightenment doesn’t mean they’re not a spiritual dilettante. The majority of people who identify as Roman Catholic are anything but devout; surely you know this. If people looked to the average Catholic to show them what it means to embody that faith, it would make a very poor sales package.

Most people who consider themselves religious and/or spiritual are in fact spiritual dilettantes.

 

[FabiusMaximus]

Just cuz they don’t see it as a symbol of enlightenment doesn’t mean they’re not a spiritual dilettante. The majority of people who identify as Roman Catholic are anything but devout; surely you know this. If people looked to the average Catholic to show them what it means to embody that faith, it would make a very poor sales package.

Most people who consider themselves religious and/or spiritual are in fact spiritual dilettantes.

I would agree with you. I just meant that in the sense that I don’t see many dilettante Catholics wear crucifixes often.

 

[aspirant]

Also, Buddhist is not “religious atheism” but considers there to be a hierarchy of divinities.

To be even more accurate, not all Buddhists share the same ideas about the existence and/or nature of God/gods. It’s a pretty varied philosophy/religion.

Also Hinduism is really not an “ism” at all, but has only been labeled as such.

Pretty recently, too!

Here is a related question: Is “New Age” new any more? It seems like it has been around for 40 years or more.

Relative to many religious and philosophical movements, that’s still pretty new.

And is “New Age” really a unified belief system, or just a label we have stuck on various concepts and practices

I tend to think so.

The crucifix is too much associated with an official religious organization - the Roman Catholic Church - to be seen as simply a symbol of spiritual enlightenment.

But it is appropriated for use in non-Christian contexts. Ram Dass’ Be Here Now contains a few images of the crucifixion of Christ, such as this one and this. There’s also a pagan/syncretist bookstore in my town that occasionally places a crucifix in the window display.

Most people associate the Buddha simply with wisdom, or “the middle way” or something along that nature, but not anything concrete. At least in the Western world, anyway.

Yes.

 

[Publisher]

I am not sure I follow

(MOST) Buddhism is religious Atheism

its not new age but some of the practices and or ideologies are present in new age-ism

Buddhism is NOT “religous atheism”…the Divine is a given and need not be defined nor quantified…how one lives in response to the Divine which is al around us, in us, part of us is what matters…freeing ourselves from the “attachement” of the things of this world.

“God” need not be discussed in Buddhism…God is apparant becasue we are alive. “God” is beyond concepts of human understanding…so why seek to understand “God” when "God’ is present in those around us…why not spend one’s time making ourselves better…relating to others better…becoming better and more in tune with the Eternal than trying to define the Eternal.

The Tao Te Ching, while not specifically “Buddhist” but Taoist states “To name the Eternal is not the Eternal”

Any “deity” is merely a human constuct…since the Eternal is beyond the finite to grasp…so what’s the point of trying…why not simply seek to live within the Eternal Now?

 

[Dorothy]

Buddhism is NOT “religous atheism”…the Divine is a given and need not be defined nor quantified…how one lives in response to the Divine which is al around us, in us, part of us is what matters…freeing ourselves from the “attachement” of the things of this world.

“God” need not be discussed in Buddhism…God is apparant becasue we are alive. “God” is beyond concepts of human understanding…so why seek to understand “God” when "God’ is present in those around us…why not spend one’s time making ourselves better…relating to others better…becoming better and more in tune with the Eternal than trying to define the Eternal.

The Tao Te Ching, while not specifically “Buddhist” but Taoist states “To name the Eternal is not the Eternal”

Any “deity” is merely a human constuct…since the Eternal is beyond the finite to grasp…so what’s the point of trying…why not simply seek to live within the Eternal Now?

“New Age” is an umbrella term for practices that are occult (astrological charts, oiuja boards, channeling, certain types of meditation, etc.)

Those who follow Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ recognize Him as 100% human and 100% divine. He is the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. The Holy One who came to save us! The goal of those who follow Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life is to be one with Him and glorify Him in all things.

Yes, the Infinite is beyond the finite to totally grasp. The wonder is that He came to be one of us! Divine Revelation showed that to us. Jesus is Risen and with us always!