Quote:
Originally Posted by daveyboy
Buddhism by definition is a non-theistic religion/philopshy/way of life.
From the Buddhist prespective, talking about whether or not there is a god/s does nothing to eliminate Dukka and atain Nibana.
If theism is the belief that there are god/s who exist and play an active role in the universe then Buddhism is most definitely non-theistic.
There are 'supernatural' elements in Buddhism (especially Tibetan Buddhism) but those would be better classed as Shamanism/Anamism and they relate more from the Bon religion of the past.
|
Daveyboy...as with all other theist practises you should know better than to lump all Buddhists in the same pile. You seem to count your particular Buddhist version as the true Buddhism yet discount one of the oldest versions known...Yes its the Tibetan version...you know the one with Dalai Lama? I would hazard a guess that the DL may be the most famous of all worldwide Buddhists.
Christians hate lumping Catholics or Mormons into their fold...but guess what...they are part of the Christian fold like it or not.
Tibbetan Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism is a religion in exile, forced from its homeland when Tibet was conquered by the Chinese. At one time it was thought that 1 in 6 Tibetan men were Buddhist monks. The best known face of Tibetan Buddhism is the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in India since he fled Chinese occupation of his country in 1959.
Tibetan Buddhism combines the essential teachings of Mahayana Buddhism with Tantric and Shamanic, and material from an ancient
Tibetan religion called Bon.
But like I said earlier...IF I chose to follow a religion I would probably choose Buddhism.