Karma poll

[FatAndFaithless]

So you're saying that all Buddhists believe in god?  Or just the 'right' ones?

If you only would know what is the difference between spirituality and religion you would know that
today Buddhism has very little to do with what Buddha was teaching.

The real yoga in Buddhism has been almost lost with very few exceptions like zen Buddhism.
Just go in most of Asia country where there are Buddhists.
All they do is to go in the temple, light an incense stick pray to Buddha for material wealth or physical
health and that's it.
Nothing really to do with Buddha yoga that is why atheism in Buddhism is just a farce.  

Shows me right for expecting a concise, clear answer from Rik.  

Many Buddhists are atheists.  That's just a fact.

[Little Rik]

If you only would know what is the difference between spirituality and religion you would know that
today Buddhism has very little to do with what Buddha was teaching.

The real yoga in Buddhism has been almost lost with very few exceptions like zen Buddhism.
Just go in most of Asia country where there are Buddhists.
All they do is to go in the temple, light an incense stick pray to Buddha for material wealth or physical
health and that's it.
Nothing really to do with Buddha yoga that is why atheism in Buddhism is just a farce.  

Shows me right for expecting a concise, clear answer from Rik.  

Many Buddhists are atheists.  That's just a fact.

Wrong again Fat.    

A real Buddhist is someone who follow Buddha teachings all the rest are not Buddhists.
They call themselves Buddhists thinking that they follow Buddha teachings but they don't
that is why they can not be called real Buddhists.
We say that they are Buddhists on the ground that they go to the temple and bow their heads in
front of a Buddha statue that's it and all but in reality they are not Buddhists.
And as far as they are not real Buddhists all they say including atheism is all a load o'crap.  

[FatAndFaithless]

Got it.

No true Buddhist is an atheist according to Rik.

[Whateverist]

Shows me right for expecting a concise, clear answer from Rik.  

Many Buddhists are atheists.  That's just a fact.

Wrong again Fat.    

A real Buddhist is someone who follow Buddha teachings all the rest are not Buddhists.

Ahh, the essence of Buddhism is rule following. Now I get it.

[FatAndFaithless]

I'd be interested to see where the Buddha said "There is a god."

[Little Rik]

I'd be interested to see where the Buddha said "There is a god."

Buddha was very smart and intelligent.
He knew that the best way to show the God within to the people of that age was for the people to discover this God for themselves.
By teaching yoga to these people they would get there anyway.  

[FatAndFaithless]

I'd be interested to see where the Buddha said "There is a god."

Buddha was very smart and intelligent.
He knew that the best way to show the God within to the people of that age was for the people to discover this God for themselves.
By teaching yoga to these people they would get there anyway.  

So nowhere in Buddha's teachings does he say "There is a god"?

And how would you know that the Buddha believed in god if it appears nowhere in his teachings?  Do you have some other source that others aren't aware of?

[Little Rik]

Buddha was very smart and intelligent.
He knew that the best way to show the God within to the people of that age was for the people to discover this God for themselves.
By teaching yoga to these people they would get there anyway.  

So nowhere in Buddha's teachings does he say "There is a god"?

And how would you know that the Buddha believed in god if it appears nowhere in his teachings?  Do you have some other source that others aren't aware of?

You don't seem to be very attentive to what goes on Fat.      
Why Buddha would speak about God to people that would reject his message straight away?
Most probably he was living in a very materialistic society where people would not understand his message about God so why speak about something that would have been rejected?
Beside being smart and intelligent he was also a tactician.
Tacticians know the way to enter closed mental doors and that is exactly what Buddha was doing.

[FatAndFaithless]

*Pats Rik on the head*

That's nice dear, that's nice.

[Divinity]

I believe in karma, but I don't believe it's some mystical bullshit force that balances everything out or anything. I believe if you do nice things for people, it'll come back to you. And if you do bad things to people, it'll come back to you. At least if you live long enough. I don't think it's something like "Bob killed someone, so Bob is punished by Karma by getting into a horrible accident." I think it's more like.. "Bob's an asshole. Eventually people learn that Bob is an asshole, and nobody wants to deal with Bob's shit anymore. Fuck Bob. Fuck Bob with a rusty rake."