Buddhism is a religion or philosophy?

[P-Cat]

Buddhism has no God. Secondly Buddha rebelled against mainstream Hinduism.

Any Buddhists out there, what do you consider yourselves? Agnostics, atheists, or believers?

[archetype]

Universe is designed, design implicates purpose. Even science gives credence to this, design also indicate purpose and meaning. Science has determined the laws of nature are like the laws of human nature, a function of atoms and chance.

Buddhists are a bunch of idiots... none of them can support their ideas with factual evidence. its mythological beliefs which buddhism is fixed on...is this is all they have got?


If any Buddhists wants to debate me...you better have more arguments and the philosophical and scientific understanding to counter and not just regurgitation and therefore bringing to argument "not a good enough excuses".

[Teh Alchemist]

I don't know how to achieve nirvana.

[Scheherazade]

"There are various interpretations of Buddha's scriptural teachings by his followers. When a scriptural teaching cannot stand logical analysis, its meaning is interpreted within the context of three criteria: intention, purpose, and contradiction. For instance, if a sutra deals with ultimate reality but under analysis the apparent meaning is found to be faulty, it is interpreted according to the intention and purpose for which it was taught. Similarly, when those aspects of selflessness that are obscure are found to be faulty through examination by inferential logic, there is no need to accept them. These days, the sun and the moon, along with their size, their distance from the earth, and their movements, have become more obvious to us. So if a scriptural text describes such obvious things in ways that contradict our direct valid perception, we no longer accept them as true. In general, Buddhism and science take a similar approach to such things."

-- The stages of meditation by H.H. Dalai Lama.


"Bhikshus and scholars should examine my words
In the way that a goldsmith tests gold by burning,
cutting, and rubbing.
Only then should my words be accepted,
Not out of respect for me.

-- Gautam Buddha

[Herat]

It depends on how you define it (and how you define philosophy/religion): there is Buddhism as Arthur Schopenhauer interpreted it, for example, and then there is Buddhism as practiced by some of the populations of East Asia; the former is Philosophy but the later is traditional religion. A very minimal general definition of religion (I subscribe to this view) is that it is a dogmatic worldview (often includes practices) of a community, a human group. Philosophy, on the other hand, is inherently ratiocinative - there is no dogma in a Philosophy, and it is as much an activity as it is a body of knowledge (whereas religion is a body of knowledge and its interpretation at best). To put it another way, Philosophy is basically modern Science without the Scientific method and all the experiments, in fact Science was once known as "Natural Philosophy".

Sometimes the divide between the two can be blurred; for example, Marxism, especially as Marx and many of its prominent prophets framed it, is a Philosophy in a sense but the moment you get Marxist groups that ostracize/murder dissenters etc (very common) then you definitely have what would aptly be described as a cult.

[Teh Alchemist]

"There are various interpretations of Buddha's scriptural teachings by his followers. When a scriptural teaching cannot stand logical analysis, its meaning is interpreted within the context of three criteria: intention, purpose, and contradiction. For instance, if a sutra deals with ultimate reality but under analysis the apparent meaning is found to be faulty, it is interpreted according to the intention and purpose for which it was taught. Similarly, when those aspects of selflessness that are obscure are found to be faulty through examination by inferential logic, there is no need to accept them. These days, the sun and the moon, along with their size, their distance from the earth, and their movements, have become more obvious to us. So if a scriptural text describes such obvious things in ways that contradict our direct valid perception, we no longer accept them as true. In general, Buddhism and science take a similar approach to such things."

-- The stages of meditation by H.H. Dalai Lama.

Have you read Heinrich Harrer's Seven Years in Tibet?