RE: I'm an atheist but I quite like Buddism...
December 27, 2014 at 12:10 am
(This post was last modified: December 27, 2014 at 12:22 am by tantric.)
Okay, y'all, here goes...
Please understand that Buddhism is living tradition 2500 years old that has spread over vast territory. The Buddha himself created a very rational philosophy inside a minimalistic religion, but when he set out to teach, he found that people had expectations about religions. At one point a follower said, "The people wish to have festivals and ceremonies" and he answered, "Let them have festivals and ceremonies." And yes, people misuse Buddhism. This is a major world religion, meaning it is tied up in the process of multi-ethnic state formation. You can't go through that without causing some damage. There are Buddhist terrorists. Contrary to American romantic notions, old Tibet was pretty awful, a feudal theocracy with some grave social problems (like all feudal states). Some Buddhists worship gods, usually because they were a preexisting part of their culture and when Buddhism came, the gods converted and now try to follow the Eightfold Path themselves, though technically only humans (meaning no snake people, apparently) can achieve Enlightenment, because we balance suffering with rationality.
Are y'all familiar with how Siddhartha came to study religion? After leading a totally protected life, he sneaked out of his palace and saw people in pain, sick people and death. Then he say a monk mediating and decided to find out how said monk found peace in a world filled with suffering. Basically, he decided to find out what religion was good for and what bits were important to finding that peace and what bits were nonsense. Then over time, people tacked lots of the nonsense back on, as people do.
Karma: Westerners generally misunderstand karma. It does not mean that doing something bad makes bad things happen to you. Rather, it's the process by which people who do good things become happy and lead fulfilling lives. When you help someone, you feel good. Karma. When you lead a mindful, ethical life with a good amount of introspection, you become a better person, etc. It's also your spiritual DNA, but that qualifies as supernatural.
I realized I was Buddhist while taking a class on the subject as part of a Japanese major. It was rather like how some people describe realizing that they're gay - you've always thought in a certain way, and understood certain things, but until that moment, you didn't know there was a word for it, much less that there was more to know. It was during a lecture on dependent co-origination, how everything has multiple causes and sources vs the Abrahamic idea of First Cause.
So, yeah. The good news is that a new flower is being added to the Buddhist garden - the Western Vehicle (vehicle=collection of teaching), and it's most certainly going to be atheistic, a combination of Zen and Theravada and pretty much secular.
How Buddhism is different:
1)We make no claim to having the Truth, in fact, we don't believe in it. We are not exclusivists, and Buddhism has a history of preserving local religions rather than destroying them.
2)We are absolutely adaptable. Buddhism is the best way to end suffering. If a better way comes along, then that is the new Buddhism.
3)We're required to be rational and to question the teaching of our religion.
4)Ahimsa - harmlessness. "Ahimsa paramo dharma", meaning, basically, whatever gets you to lead a peaceful life is enough. If that's atheist or Islam or vegetarianism or socialism, if it works for you, I don't question it.
5)We believe the purpose of religion is to end (mental) suffering and find peace. That's all the religion bit is about.
Please understand that Buddhism is living tradition 2500 years old that has spread over vast territory. The Buddha himself created a very rational philosophy inside a minimalistic religion, but when he set out to teach, he found that people had expectations about religions. At one point a follower said, "The people wish to have festivals and ceremonies" and he answered, "Let them have festivals and ceremonies." And yes, people misuse Buddhism. This is a major world religion, meaning it is tied up in the process of multi-ethnic state formation. You can't go through that without causing some damage. There are Buddhist terrorists. Contrary to American romantic notions, old Tibet was pretty awful, a feudal theocracy with some grave social problems (like all feudal states). Some Buddhists worship gods, usually because they were a preexisting part of their culture and when Buddhism came, the gods converted and now try to follow the Eightfold Path themselves, though technically only humans (meaning no snake people, apparently) can achieve Enlightenment, because we balance suffering with rationality.
Are y'all familiar with how Siddhartha came to study religion? After leading a totally protected life, he sneaked out of his palace and saw people in pain, sick people and death. Then he say a monk mediating and decided to find out how said monk found peace in a world filled with suffering. Basically, he decided to find out what religion was good for and what bits were important to finding that peace and what bits were nonsense. Then over time, people tacked lots of the nonsense back on, as people do.
Karma: Westerners generally misunderstand karma. It does not mean that doing something bad makes bad things happen to you. Rather, it's the process by which people who do good things become happy and lead fulfilling lives. When you help someone, you feel good. Karma. When you lead a mindful, ethical life with a good amount of introspection, you become a better person, etc. It's also your spiritual DNA, but that qualifies as supernatural.
I realized I was Buddhist while taking a class on the subject as part of a Japanese major. It was rather like how some people describe realizing that they're gay - you've always thought in a certain way, and understood certain things, but until that moment, you didn't know there was a word for it, much less that there was more to know. It was during a lecture on dependent co-origination, how everything has multiple causes and sources vs the Abrahamic idea of First Cause.
So, yeah. The good news is that a new flower is being added to the Buddhist garden - the Western Vehicle (vehicle=collection of teaching), and it's most certainly going to be atheistic, a combination of Zen and Theravada and pretty much secular.
How Buddhism is different:
1)We make no claim to having the Truth, in fact, we don't believe in it. We are not exclusivists, and Buddhism has a history of preserving local religions rather than destroying them.
2)We are absolutely adaptable. Buddhism is the best way to end suffering. If a better way comes along, then that is the new Buddhism.
3)We're required to be rational and to question the teaching of our religion.
4)Ahimsa - harmlessness. "Ahimsa paramo dharma", meaning, basically, whatever gets you to lead a peaceful life is enough. If that's atheist or Islam or vegetarianism or socialism, if it works for you, I don't question it.
5)We believe the purpose of religion is to end (mental) suffering and find peace. That's all the religion bit is about.
