Have you ever explored Buddhism?

[Rev. Rye]

Honestly, I think Buddhism is easily the most plausible and pleasant of the major world religions, at least in its more watered-down "Western" kinds.

I would suggest that those seeking more information read the works of Stephen Batchelor, who wrote several books about reconciling Buddhist principles with a non-theistic worldview.

[Mr Greene]

Exploring other belief systems is part & parcel of what being an atheist is.
Having said that Buddhism didn't hold my attention for long, it carries too much baggage from Hinduism which has become my point of focus.
Buddhism itself I mostly know from it's Japanese incarnations via Musashi and Munenori.
Hinduism and the Mahabharat / Bhagavad Gita have place on my bookshelf alongside Homer, Olympian Mythology and the Prose Edda.
Mostly just entertainment, but occasionally useful if some theist starts asserting that his jumped up bible-study course makes him a theology expert.

[*Deidre*]

Exploring other belief systems is part & parcel of what being an atheist is.
Having said that Buddhism didn't hold my attention for long, it carries too much baggage from Hinduism which has become my point of focus.
Buddhism itself I mostly know from it's Japanese incarnations via Musashi and Munenori.
Hinduism and the Mahabharat / Bhagavad Gita have place on my bookshelf alongside Homer, Olympian Mythology and the Prose Edda.
Mostly just entertainment, but occasionally useful if some theist starts asserting that his jumped up bible-study course makes him a theology expert.

I can see what you mean, but it is possible to cherry pick the parts one finds beneficial, without the theistic feel that other parts may have.

Interesting to note that quite a few here have been curious about Buddhism. Thanks for sharing with me.

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Honestly, I think Buddhism is easily the most plausible and pleasant of the major world religions, at least in its more watered-down "Western" kinds.

I would suggest that those seeking more information read the works of Stephen Batchelor, who wrote several books about reconciling Buddhist principles with a non-theistic worldview.

I spoke with someone from another site who told me about Alan Watts, and I've watched a few vids of his on YouTube. I highly recommend as his view is refreshing and helped me better understand the underlying ideas behind Buddhism.

[ShaMan]

I spoke with someone from another site who told me about Alan Watts, and I've watched a few vids of his on YouTube. I highly recommend as his view is refreshing and helped me better understand the underlying ideas behind Buddhism.

I love Alan Watts

[Angrboda]

Peter Harvey's Introduction to Buddhism is reputed to be very good.

[Dawsonite]

There's Buddhism the religion, then there's Buddhism the philosophy and life-style. The philosophy is about how we think, awareness and self-awareness, how we behave, how we honor life -- not just human life, not just intelligent life, not just convenient life, but life itself. I think it's interesting and worthwhile.

The religion takes the philosophy and tacks on a whole bunch of beliefs and bullshit. I don't think Gautama Buddha would have cared much for it. I once heard it described as "Hinduism for export."

You might want to try a book by Stephen Batchelor, a noted practitioner of atheistic Buddhism. I read Buddhism Without Beliefs, but he has also written Confession of a Buddhist Atheist, The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture, and several others.

[ComradeMeow]

I have explored Buddhism and Hinduism in depth and there is not much in it honestly. It is still filled with woo and the philosophy is outdated. Ethics wise it is outdated to some extent and not new and the rest is uninspiring and not new.
We are just told from a western perspective it is extremely amazing but it is not. It is entirely reliant upon things like samsara which make it a pointless endeavor.

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I forgot to add though that Buddhist meditation (Jannaa and Bhavana) are very interesting though. Even Sam Harris speaks highly of them.
I myself though am very interested in the Buddhist notion of prayer which for an atheist sounds weird I admit. Buddhism is the only religion which has an entirely secular concept of prayer which is independent of gods and super naturalism.

So yes, I am an atheist that prays everyday but only to myself.

[tjakey]

Are you channeling Confucius? Seriously, I've been going through something lately, and what you post here has been so timely for me.

People like Confucius, the Buddha and many others, are connected to their inner being, they experience what is beyond the mind body organism. We are all one, and when each one of us also comes from their inner being or higher consciousness, then we also talk like the Buddha, Confucius, or whoever. This is something that those who call themselves atheist cannot understand, they are too much in the mind, and that's where they stay.

"beyond the mind body organism..." you have no idea if what is experienced is beyond the mind body organism since you are interpreting a subjective experience of that organism. It is the same limitation faced by all mystical or religious claims of encountering "another". Dismissing atheists because we will likely point that out is a bit disingenuous on your part, since you also claim some knowledge of truth. The truth is you are having a subjective emotional / thought provoking experience and interpreting it in a way that makes you feel good about your place in the cosmos.

The experience need not be interpreted in a mystical way at all. It is just as true to say that it is an emotionally pleasant and quiet contemplation of things that are mysteries to us. Mysteries that have nothing to do with being mystical. Since the focus of the experience isn't self-centered in the normal Western social sense of it being "all about me" it comes as a stark contrast to what many, perhaps most, experience as a "normal" state of mind. For that reason alone seeking such an insight can be enlightening, informative, and even life altering. I certainly wouldn't disparage anyone who has learned to invoke it or who has incorporated it as deep into their worldview as possible. But it isn't something that is beyond the understanding of someone who realizes that the universe does not include "gods".

One of my favorite descriptions of Buddhists is "atheists who have a sense of theater". To talk up Buddhism and then dismiss the atheist as a person incapable of some deeper appreciation of the mysteries that surround our being, would seem to miss some of the basic teachings of Buddhist traditions, particularly the ones that dismiss entirely any claim of a god-creator who is wields ultimate power and is eternal.

[The Valkyrie]

I've explored Uluru. Does that count?

[Zack]

I've explored Uluru. Does that count?

6 Faith 2 Food for Beccs.