Buddhism: The Definition Of A Religion

Improved Essays
The definition for a religion is: “A belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God, or God’s ideas about the relationship between science and religion. It is a particular system of faith and worship and a pursuit or interest followed with great devotion.” Buddhism is a philosophy not a religion. Buddhism has no 'superhuman controlling power', or 'God' then it does not follow the definition for a religion, and obviously is not a religion. Buddha never said he was a God that should be worshipped, nor did he tell someone the way they should live. Buddha was a philosophical teacher that taught certain guidelines that could help a person achieve a peaceful life. Anyone can follow a philosophy with the whole of

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Rel101 Unit 2 Religions

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages

    REL101 Wiki Religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism What is Buddhism? - Is a religion based on insight and inner peace [https://thebuddhistcentre.com/Buddhism] - ‘Buddhism’ comes from the word ‘budhi’ which means ‘to awaken’. [http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm] - The religion was originated from Siddhartha Gotama, who is known as Buddha [http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/5minbud.htm] - Buddhism does not concern itself with any God or deity, therefore to most it is not considered a religion rather a way of life or philosophy.…

    • 601 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    A comparative analysis of the two religions Christianity and Buddhism shows many similarities and differences. Both religions believe in their own form of creator, they both have sacred text and symbols either the Christian bible or the 4 books of Buddha. The Christian faith believe in the cross, Buddhist have the Dharma. They both celebrate the life of their creator with different forms of…

    • 65 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Buddhism Dbq

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Although lower classed people supported and defended Buddhism in China, others with higher social status and elites took a xenophobic position on Buddhism and attempted to eradicate it by pointing out various flaws. As Buddhism spread though China people began to react differently to the new forms of teaching. People who were in lower positions of social hierarchy however, openly accepted Buddhism as a teaching and as a religion. Zhi Dun, states “He will behold the Buddha and be enlightened in his spirit, and then he will enter Nirvana.”…

    • 1142 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    A simple look at Buddhism and its 2,500 year long history. Through careful research, Samuel Bercholz and Sherab Chödzin discuss multiple aspects of Buddha and Buddhism. This book covers Buddha's life and historical background. In addition, the book discusses Theravada, Mahayana, Zen, and Tibetan Buddhism explaining the similarities, differences, and origins of each. The text provides meditation instructions, an explanation of reincarnation, images of Buddhist art and architecture, as well as definitions for the plethora of terms related to Buddhism.…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Religion is a way to respond to the sometimes unanswerable questions in life. Religion is used to look for the ultimate meaning, and the purpose to these questions, when answered they can give a peace of mind to people. In our society today there are five main religions practiced in the world, these are; Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity and Buddhism. The eight characteristics of a religion include cultic practices or rituals, beliefs, sacred stories, social structure, sacred texts, sacred symbols, religious ethics and religious experiences. Out of the 5 major religions I have chosen Buddhism.…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Buddha's Eightfold Path

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Buddhism is a way of life of peace, loving, kindness, and wisdom. Buddha Shakyamuni, the founder, lived and taught in India. Ever since two and a half thousand years ago, millions of people followed his pure spiritual path. Buddha taught people how to find enlightenment for themselves. An educated being sees the nature of reality completely and totally clearly, just as it is, and lives fully and naturally obeying that vision.…

    • 957 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Buddhism was a religion that spread during the sixth century. Buddhism's fundamental belief was about life without suffering. This religious principle appealed to many including those in lower socioeconomic classes; however, Buddhism was not popular with some Chinese dynasty emperors. There were common reasons for Buddhism's popularity as well as its unwelcomed presence among some Chinese emperors. Buddhism was admired by many for copious reasons.…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Finally, Buddhism is a completely axial religion because internal sacrifices, rewards, ultimate reality, and breaking the cycle of suffering are core beliefs. First, Inner peace and sacrifice is important. In Buddha, by Karen Armstrong, it is explained that citizens became dissatisfied with old Vedic beliefs. Since the Vedas were never written down, they had to be passed down orally. Soon, only the priests knew the Vedas.…

    • 386 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    And one of the central ideas in Buddhism is that everything beautiful, and also everything not beautiful, is fleeting. Like historian Ivan Morris wrote that in the literature of the time, there was a quote "feeling that the familiar order of things will soon come to an end." Which by the way is always an appropriate feeling. So the center of aristocratic court life was the capital, Heian Jyo, which during the Heian golden age may have had a populations as high as 100,000 people, making it much larger than most European cities at the time. It may have been a glorious capital…

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Other religions have always been looked down on by my family, friends, and community, which has lead me to be highly uneducated about religions other than Christianity. Prior to attending this event, I had not had any type of personal experience with the Buddhist religion. My grandparents live down the road from a Buddhist temple recently built and are in amazement of their bizarre practices. Because of our ignorance of the Buddhist religion, my family has never spoken of it or other religions in a positive connotation whatsoever. Reflecting on my experience with the Nechung Oracle and my newfound educational standpoint of Buddhism has left me with a much more sympathetic and receptive position to the religion that I hope to instill within…

    • 423 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Buddhism In Thailand Essay

    • 1455 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Buddhism is recognized as the nation religion of Thailand, with over 90% of the population identifying themselves as a Buddhist. Although the government never officially declared Buddhism to be the national religion, the king is required to be Buddhist. Buddhism in Thailand is modeled after the Theravada school of Buddhism and incorporates ideals from Mahayana Buddhism, Hinduism, and the old folk religion of the people. Buddhism originated in India and since then has spread all over the world, inspiring societies and cultures everywhere. Buddhism however is not a religion, The Oxford Dictionary of English defines religion as “The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.”…

    • 1455 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The definition of religion has been debated by philosophers, sociologists, and historians for centuries. The term religion is often difficult to define due to its multiplicity of meanings, acceptations, and adaptations. Nonetheless, in the 21st century, the term has taken on the role of many different meanings. The series of definitions range from the common understanding of Christianity and G-d to citing Oprah as a religion through her combination of spiritual counsel with practical encouragement and inner awakening with capitalist pragmatism. Certainly, there are limitations on what can be defined as a religion, however, these limitations do not exclude yoga.…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Effects Of Buddhism

    • 1423 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Buddhism was founded over 2,500 years ago by Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha Gautama quickly became known as Buddha meaning, “The Enlightened One”. Buddhism was not originally a religion, but rather a way of life. After the founding of the Buddhism, the way of life spread quickly across the world. To truly understand Buddhism one must know about the life of Buddha, the history of Buddhism, and how and where Buddhism spread.…

    • 1423 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Humanistic Buddhism

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Buddha was a living human being just like all human beings who had parents, a family, and lived a life. It was through his human existence that he showed his supreme wisdom…

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. Faith In general, people think development wholesome action by suttas chanting, praying, ceremonial worshiping, offering water, fruits and flowers to Buddha, or engaging in volunteer works. Of course, all of these wholesome work of earning merit is the initial step of gearing one’s mind to spiritual path and somewhat transform mind, but it’s not a sufficient way. For instance, the chanting of Suttas, praying and worshiping help one to develop faith in a religion.…

    • 949 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays