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Misconceptions about Buddhism

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  • Misconceptions about Buddhism

    As is common with, I think, pretty much all religions, people who don't know much about a religion's beliefs often think they know more than they actually do.

    Here are some misconceptions about Buddhism that are pretty common:

    What Stereotypes Surround Buddhism?
    Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.


  • #2
    Re: Misconceptions about Buddhism

    There ise a very wide spread misconception that Buddhism is a religion Yet to most sects it is a philosophy.
    The Dragon sees infinity and those it touches are forced to feel the reality of it.
    I am his student and his partner. He is my guide and an ominous friend.

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    • #3
      Re: Misconceptions about Buddhism

      Originally posted by DragonsFriend View Post
      There ise a very wide spread misconception that Buddhism is a religion Yet to most sects it is a philosophy.
      Bolded mine.

      I think the bolded aspect of Buddhism being various sects and practices vice one religion called Buddhism is one of the major misconceptions. People go on and on at times about Buddha this and Buddha that, but fail to realize that there are multiple practices that call itself "Buddhism". Though I agree most I've spoken to, even Buddhist in Japan when I was stationed there, said its a life philosophy and way to live more than a religion.
      I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

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      • #4
        Re: Misconceptions about Buddhism

        Meh...

        Whether it is a religion or not, for this sect or that sect, will depend on how you define the term.

        Use a content-based definition ("a religion requires a god, gods, goddess, goddesses, spirits, etc.") then it frequently isn't.

        Use a functional definition ("does it fullfull a spiritual need in the one who practices it?") and it more often is.

        Myself, I don't think about it because it is irrelevent to me. So maybe it's neither at some times.

        Which might mean that at other times it is both.
        Last edited by B. de Corbin; 12 Jun 2016, 16:06.
        Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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        • #5
          Re: Misconceptions about Buddhism

          It really surprised me when I saw a program(Maybe history channel) that had Buddhist's fighting between sects. I had always "Pictured" them as the peaceful ones.

          See here.
          MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED

          all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
          NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
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          • #6
            Re: Misconceptions about Buddhism

            Originally posted by anunitu View Post
            It really surprised me when I saw a program(Maybe history channel) that had Buddhist's fighting between sects. I had always "Pictured" them as the peaceful ones.

            See here.
            In theory, Buddhists are supposed to respect other Buddhists, even when they disagree.

            But humans are humans, and a belief system does not necessarily make them perfect. Cie la vi!
            Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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            • #7
              Re: Misconceptions about Buddhism

              Originally posted by B. de Corbin View Post
              In theory, Buddhists are supposed to respect other Buddhists, even when they disagree.

              But humans are humans, and a belief system does not necessarily make them perfect. Cie la vi!
              C'est la vie*

              Sorry. I feel like an asshole when correcting other people's writing. Nothing against you, it is just for your own knowledge.
              Last edited by Sean R. R.; 15 Jun 2016, 16:35.

              Check out my blog! The Daily Satanist

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              • #8
                Re: Misconceptions about Buddhism

                Even though I am myself French(well half) that was really very French of you(a reason why some find the French irritating) but hay,the french can not help it,being French means you must be truthful,unless you have had to much wine...Then just find a bed to sleep it off.

                - - - Updated - - -

                and also,what is up with this laugh.


                Remember I am part French..
                MAGIC is MAGIC,black OR white or even blood RED

                all i ever wanted was a normal life and love.
                NO TERF EVER WE belong Too.
                don't stop the tears.let them flood your soul.




                sigpic

                my new page here,let me know what you think.


                nothing but the shadow of what was

                witchvox
                http://www.witchvox.com/vu/vxposts.html

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                • #9
                  Re: Misconceptions about Buddhism

                  I knew it was in my veins! It's in my DNA even! OH NO.

                  We don't laugh like this. I promise.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Misconceptions about Buddhism

                    This is one that I'm familiar with, after going to a Bon dance.

                    Another common misconception is the notion that Buddhists don’t believe in heaven or that nirvana is the Buddhist version of heaven.

                    Contrary to popular belief the Buddhist idea of reincarnation, or rebirth to be more accurate, isn’t quite as simple as “you die and then are reborn as someone else.”

                    In reality, Buddhism has a very complex afterlife system that does include a set of non-permanent heavenly realms. While the Buddhist concept of heaven may be different than what westerners are used to in that it is not eternal, pretty much everything else about how these realms are described in Buddhist scripture are what one would typically describe heaven. The heavenly realms and higher are even mentioned in the Buddha’s first and most famous sermon.
                    “You have never answered but you did not need to. If I stand at the ocean I can hear you with your thousand voices. Sometimes you shout, hilarious laughter that taunts all questions. Other nights you are silent as death, a mirror in which the stars show themselves. Then I think you want to tell me something, but you never do. Of course I know I have written letters to no-one. But what if I find a trident tomorrow?" ~~Letters to Poseidon, Cees Nooteboom

                    “We still carry this primal relationship to the Earth within our consciousness, even if we have long forgotten it. It is a primal recognition of the wonder, beauty, and divine nature of the Earth. It is a felt reverence for all that exists. Once we bring this foundational quality into our consciousness, we will be able to respond to our present man-made crisis from a place of balance, in which our actions will be grounded in an attitude of respect for all of life. This is the nature of real sustainability.”
                    ~~Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

                    "We are the offspring of history, and must establish our own paths in this most diverse and interesting of conceivable universes--one indifferent to our suffering, and therefore offering us maximal freedom to thrive, or to fail, in our own chosen way."
                    ~~Stephen Jay Gould, Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History

                    "Humans are not rational creatures. Now, logic and rationality are very helpful tools, but there’s also a place for embracing our subjectivity and thinking symbolically. Sometimes what our so-called higher thinking can’t or won’t see, our older, more primitive intuition will." John Beckett

                    Pagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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                    • #11
                      Re: Misconceptions about Buddhism

                      Earlier I said that I am not concerned with whether Buddhism is a philosophy or a religion (I suffer from far to much pragmatism to worry about what a thing is or is not - if it works), and then used four point Buddhist logic (as opposed to polar Western logic) to suggest that it may be both, or neither.

                      That kind of thinking may be confusing, but here is an outstanding essay on the subject:

                      A Philosophical Assessment of Secular Buddhism

                      I don't exactly agree with everything in the article, but most of it makes ginormous sense to me.

                      From the article:

                      ...Everything about my own life would appear to align with a secular form of Buddhism–I could be the poster child of the movement. Although I’ve been existentially engaged with Buddhism for half a century, I’ve never at any point been able to:

                      Join a particular sect or lineage
                      Take vows
                      Wear medieval robes
                      Adopt an Asian name
                      Accept someone as my personal guru
                      Take an interest in future lives or parinirvāna
                      Or, due to a knee injury, even manage to sit in an appropriate Asian meditation posture

                      Talk about a “Buddhist failure!” The problem has been that whenever I’m tempted to do anything that looks traditionally Buddhist, I begin to feel like an imposter, someone posing as what he can’t possibly be. Yet even though all the surface signs of being a Buddhist are missing, I can’t help but conceive of myself as a Buddhist, a real Buddhist, albeit a contemporary American one...
                      Last edited by B. de Corbin; 16 Jun 2016, 07:13.
                      Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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