Can anyone explain what Buddhist believe or what their religion is about?
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Buddhism is a way of life that was passed down in a teacher-student relationship, unlike most religion in the west which is God -  man.  Since religion is define as worship to a God, Buddhism can not really be label as a religion since its not about worship detities; its a teaching about life, universe and the path to enlightenment.\n\nBuddhism in a nutshell is the search of understand yourself and its surrounding; Buddhist believe that man was pure in heart but for various reason we were polluted and tainted by desires and sin.\n\nSo the goal of Buddhism is to purify your soul/mind and through various methods to revert back to our original state of being.\n\nBuddhist follow the teaching of Buddha, a man that exist in India around 500 B.C.  He was born a prince but he gave everything away to pursuit the path of enlightenment. He ultimately achieved its goal and spend all his time teaching / sharing his knowledge to his students and people.\n\nBuddhism use different method to achieve its goal,hence you see different practice method of Buddhism: Zen, pure-land, Tibetan and many others.\n\nThere is no disrespect to try to understand something and ask question, I'm sure your friend would be happy to answer any question you may have.\n\nThis is just a very brief outline of Buddhism. If you are interested, there is an non-profit organization that promotes Buddhism in the U.S.  They have books and videos for free distribution.  \n\nYou can write or call them and they can send you books free of charge too.  Their website is http://www.amtb-usa.org
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Since you are interested in learning, you are obviously not doing something wrong.  There is a great book called "Buddhism: plain and simple" by Steve Hagen, it costs about 7 bucks on amazon and is a good introduction to Buddhism.\n\nAfter reading this short and easy book, you will realize that buddhism is not really a religion to follow, but simply a way of looking at the world that makes a lot of sense and can easily be applied to your everyday life, if you choose.  Buddhists don't worship the buddha and he is not a God, just a person who lived once and no longer does.  \n\nUnlike most religions, There is no reason for anyone to ever know that you regard buddhist teachings as useful, and you can practice other religions while studying buddhism and engaging and buddhist practices.  Buddhists don't usually come out and say "I'm a Buddhist" except if they are trying to make their parents mad or something, which of course is not exactly part of the teachings.\n\nAlso, buddhism does involve the concept of karma, but it's not like do good things so good things will happen to you, it's more like, try to want good things a little less and fear bad things a little less because being trapped in desire and fear can prevent you from seeing certain truths.
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I am a Soka Gakkai International Lotus Sutra buddhist. We believe that everyone can achieve enlightenment and make no distinction between men and women, rich or poor, young or old, class, race or whatever. \n\nThe founder of my path was Nichiren, a 13th-century Japanese fisherman-monk who thought Buddhism should be democratic and not just belong to the rich, the aristocratic or the priests. Everyone can achieve enlightenment, here in this world, and the best thing is you don't have to live multiple lives to erase bad karma and become happy, you can do so now if you take responsibility for your actions! In order to achieve this we chant "nam-myo-ho-renge-kyo", meaning the spiritual and the material work together for the development of the human soul, symbolized by the lotusflower that starts in the dark and mud and then grows towards the light to open as a beautiful flower. Lotus Sutra Buddhism is said to summarize the whole of Buddhist teachings in one path, and Nichiren summarized Lotus Sutra buddhism in the single mantra mentioned above. SGI is a lay movement that believes World Peace can be achieved through culture and education of the Buddhist values of the Soka Gakkai. (Soka Gakkai means: creating value). The lay movement has no temples but we regularly meet at people's homes, share the amazing experiences we have, eat, drink, dance, sing and celebrate! We chant everyday for as long as we like, and we believe that earthly desires fuel our journey towards enlightenment. (for instance, I might want to have a car. So I get a job and work for one, and on the way I realize I work with others and I learn from them, and after that I may realize that four people can fit into a car and we can travel together! And it can be used for something good like taking a sick old lady to the hospital). And after the car I may want something else, and achieve that, too. And so I develop on to become a kinder, greater-hearted human being.)\n\nIn order to keep the intentions of our movement pure and because of some unhappy experiences in the past, SGI-members do not trade amongst each other. Money is something that should be carefully separated from religious practice.  \n\nI don't feel my life is restricted because of my beliefs. Rather, my vision widens because I learn to understand that my life is connected to that of everyone on this planet and to all life, and in this I have a place and a responsibility to develop with courage, wisdom and compassion, to become a fully human being.   \n\nI believe because I know that everyone on this planet is related. Since material circumstances do not show what I believe, I believe that Love is what binds us all as the human race and other inhabitants of this earth (animals as well). Faith is the all-encompassing instrument, field and tool to demonstrate this.\n\nOur philosophy is not opposed to homosexuality. We look at the soul's journey, and whatever state or situation people are in says something about where they are in their development. Since everyone has the enlightenment potential, we respect the soul's individual path. The ultimate goal for everyone is to become happy. We chant to remember and realize this, while working. So: chanting and undertaking action!\n\nNichiren buddhism contains a very important tale: a nine-year old girl approached the Buddha with a small gift for which he granted her immediate enlightenment. She told all the old wise Indian male scholars and disciples who were sitting around him: "Watch me achieve immediate enlightenment" and changed appearance before their eyes. The Buddha did this to teach them humility, for as you know, women were not considered very worthy by men in India in those times (and still are not, in many places).\n\nSince I've grown up in profoundly multi-religious and multi-cultural societies, I see no deep differences among the religions in this world. Just differences according to place, time and culture. \n
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than you are not budhist.  you may believe in some of the philosophies of other religions, but you answered your own question.  try a site called beliefnet.com
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Buddhism is the name of the religion based on the teaching of the historical Buddha,  Gautama Siddhartha. It encompasses a great deal of teachings, but they can be summed up quite succinctly in two main themes. \n\n*Mindfulness \n ~ and ~\n*Compassion\n\nThese are the key to any Buddhist practice. \n\nHere is a little more detail, but for a good understanding, please see the links below.\n\nBuddha researched and came upon the Four Noble Truths:\n\n1) All worldly life is unsatisfactory, disjointed, containing suffering.\n2) There is a cause of suffering, which is attachment or desire (tanha) rooted in ignorance\n3) There is an end of suffering, which is Nirvana.\n4) There is a path that leads out of suffering, known as the Noble Eightfold Path.\n\nThe Noble Eightfold Path as explain in the Four Noble Truths is:\n1 - Right Understanding - (samyag-dRSTi, sammaa-diTTi)\n2 - Right Thought - (samyak-saMkalpa, sammaa-saGkalpa)\n3 - Right Speech - (samyag-vaac, sammaa-vaacaa)\n4 - Right Conduct - (samyak-kalmaanta, sammaa-kammanta)\n5 - Right Livelihood - (samyag-aajiiva, sammaa-aajiiva)\n6 - Right Effort - (samyag-vyaayaama, sammaa-vaayaama)\n7 - Right Mindfulness - (samyak-smrTi, sammaa-sati)\n8 - Right Concentration - (samyak-samaadhi, sammaa-samaadhi)\n\nThe moral tenants of Buddhism are summed up in Sila, also known as the Five Precepts. \n1. To refrain from harming living creatures (ahimsa).\n2. To refrain from taking that which is not freely given (stealing).\n3. To refrain from sexual misconduct. (causing Physical, emotional or mental harm to yourself or others.)\n4. To refrain from incorrect speech (lying, harsh language, slander, idle chit-chat).\n5. To refrain from intoxicants which lead to loss of mindfulness.\n\nThe basic practices differ from schools to school, but Mediation and the study of sutra are pretty much universal. \n\nPersonally I find Buddhism to be the most peaceful, selfless and 'real' religion I have ever read about or studied. \n\nI hope this helps.
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I'm a SHE. Can't you tell from my photo or my profile?\n\nBecause, my family is Buddhist. Buddhism is an atheistic philosophy. Therefore, I do not have any beliefs in God.\n\nThere are about 30 million atheists in America, 41 million in Europe ... why shine the spotlight on me?
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First of all, Buddhists do not believe in God, so you are misinformed; it is Hinduism that refers to the Creator as Brahma. Secondly, if you have to ask this question, you probably don't need to convert, cause you aren't even sure yourself.
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Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true nature of life. Buddhist practices such as meditation are means of changing oneself in order to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness, and wisdom. The experience developed within the Buddhist tradition over thousands of years has created an incomparable resource for all those who wish to follow a path - a path which ultimately culminates in Enlightenment or Buddhahood.Buddhism does not include the idea of worshipping a creator God, some people do not see it as a religion in the normal, Western sense. The basic tenets of Buddhist teaching are straightforward and practical: nothing is fixed or permanent; actions have consequences; change is possible.\nthe 'devotion' used in Buddhism is not one based on emotion, but one based on reason.\nA Buddha is not omnipotent or all-powerful; otherwise the Buddha would have ended all suffering in the universe....\nHe did not claim that he was a god, the child of a god or even the messenger from a god.\nWhen we bow, we express our gratitude to the Buddha for what his teachings have given us. This is the nature of Buddhist worship.\nWhen someone worships a god, they praise him or her, making offerings and ask for favours, believing that the god will hear their praise, receive their offerings and answer their prayers. Real Buddhists do not indulge in this kind of worship.\n\nhence, the benefits of heart sutra is to understand our realities, not to 'pray' or 'worship' the words in the sutra.
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Hinduism and Buddhism, I believe.
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The Buddhist faith has many sects, as Christianity does, i.e., Catholics, Baptists (some sub-groups in that one), Latter Day Saints, etc.  Just as there are many "types" of bibles, such is true for Buddhism as well.  I belong to and practice Zen Buddhism, and Zen practitioners do not read some texts that say, Tibetan Buddhists do.\n\nJust my two cents...
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In fundamental Buddhism, the emphasis is on seeing Truth, on knowing it, and on understanding it. The emphasis is NOT on BLIND faith. The teaching of Buddhism is on "come and see" but never on come and believe. Buddhism is rational and requires personal effort, stating that by only one’s own efforts can Perfect Wisdom be realized. Each individual is responsible for his or her own emancipation from anguish and suffering.
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The essence of Buddhism is not that difficult to state. To understand, now that's another story.\n\nIn short, the essence is Mindfulness and Compassion. \n\nBuddhists believes that all beings are united and are a part of each other, thus the ego is in fact detrimental to our own happiness since if we embrace the ego, we will unintentional hurt others and if we are a part of one another, then we will in fact be hurting ourselves.\n\nBuddhists also believe that compassion is the key to happiness and that the Buddha Mind, that which we must nurture if we wish to become enlightened, is our natural state.\n\nFore more detail, please read on:\n\nThe Basic  teachings are:\n\nThe Four Nobel Truths:\n1) All worldly life is suffering. Causing us to lead an unsatisfactory, disjointed life.\n2) Suffering is caused by the ego. Things such as attachment and desire are rooted in the ego through ignorance.\n3) There is a way to end suffering. \n4) The way to end suffering is found in the Noble Eightfold Path\n\nThe Noble Eightfold Path: (Divided into three categories)\n>Wisdom\n1) Right Understanding - Looking at the world without attachment and desire, without ego.\n2) Right Thought - Keeping the mind on what is at hand and being resolved on renunciation, freedom from ill will, and on harmlessness.\n\n>Ethical Conduct\n3) Right Speech - Abstaining from lying, divisive, abusive and idle chatter.\n4) Right Action - Abstaining from taking life, stealing and improper sexual activities\n5) Right Livelihood - Doing what is right with ones life.\n\n>Concentration or Mental Development\n6) Right Effort - A persistent desire and an matching endeavor to participate in proper activates the are good and just. \n7) Right Mindfulness - Remaining focused on ones actions, speech, thoughts and lively hood. \n8) Right Concentration - by abandoning all selfishness and adopting a heart of compassion, keeping ones mind on what needs to be do including the helping of others.\n\nOn a more spiritual level, Buddhist generally believe in reincarnation, a cycle of birth, death and rebirth. This is called samsara. When we reach enlightenment, this cycle is broken and we are able to move into the next step of existence, Nirvana. \n\nThere are many schools and sects of Buddhism and some very in practice greatly. However, the underlying principals are virtually identical regardless of the school or tradition of Buddhism. \n\nFor more detailed information, please check out the references I have posted bellow.
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You've got theology, and then you've got religion.  Are you searching for a religion or a theology?  Do you want a set of guidelines to follow, or do you feel a need to worship?\n\nIf the former, check into Buddhism's nine-fold path.  Far superior to the ten commandments, they are all anyone needs to live a good life.\n\nIf the latter, sit down and decide what you believe in.  There are websites that will rate your answers to questions and tell you where you fit in.\n\nOr how about simply believing what you believe, and doing what you feel is right, and not mucking that up with organized religion?  There's no reason you can't worship your conception of god all by yourself.  If you're looking to connect with others who feel as you do....that may not be possible.  Just be yourself!
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You are both right.  It all depends on whether or not the practitioner is a believer or an atheist.\n\n If the practitioner believes in the Buddhist deities, then Buddhism is his/her religion. But if the practitioner is an atheist, then Buddhism is his/her philosophy.\n\n Its the same with Judaism. It all depends on whether or not the person is a believer or an atheist there too. If the person believes in God, then Judaism is his/her religion. But, if the person is an atheist, then Judaism is his/her culture.
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Atheism and Buddhism? \n\nThe teachings of the Buddha, and thus Buddhism in general, does not stress the existence of a god, nor does it prohibit the possibility of a god. Buddha teaches that there are certain truths and by accepting these truths and learning how to live with these truths, we can end suffering. The truth is independent of a god and therefore god is not a part of the core Buddhist beliefs. If a person chooses to believe in a god is entirely up to the individual. Many Buddhist do believe in a god or in gods or in a higher power that could be considered a god even is not specifically names such. Many of the so called Asian Christians still practice Ch'an (Zen) meditation. They simply incorporated Christianity into their existing faith. In Japan, many Buddhists also follow aspects of Shinto. This is Not against the teachings of the Buddha. Buddha never said my way is the only way ,do as I say or else. In fact, Buddha said that everyone's journey would be unique and that they should question all teachings, including his, and that the individual should take that witch works for him. \n\nAtheist do not believe in a god or any higher power. According to willblueeyes26, Atheists don’t care about anything.  This is not true. They do not believe in an immortal soul. In their mind, they can not fathom that there is more to humanity then the flesh and the bones since there is no concrete proof that a soul exists. To an atheist, worrying about the nonexistent is a waste of time. It is not a matter of not caring about the soul, it's a matter of caring about life. Generally speaking, they feel that if we live for only 60 to 100 years, then we should make the most of it, because once it's over, it's over. This is not the same as not caring. \n\nWillblueeyes26 also seams to believe that Buddhists believe that people are reborn over and over until they reach godhood.  This is also inaccurate. Most Buddhist do believe in reincarnation, this is true. But when a person achieves enlightenment, then he or she is freed from the bindings of the cycle of rebirth. That is to say that reincarnation stops and Nirvana is entered. Nirvana is another topic all together. Some believe it is a place like heaven, others believe it is a state of existence. What is known and what is important, is that if you focus on Nirvana, it will never be reached. Those who enter Nirvana, are NOT gods, just those who have awakened from the cycle of samsara. (Live, death and rebirth.) Buddha is not a god, is not considered a god and even insisted that he was not a god. \n\nMarti249 wrote, "To each their own - whatever the individual feels most comfortable with. Just don't slam others who choose a different path." This is a very Buddhist approach. The differences between different sects of Buddhism are vast, and if a person is uninitiated into the teachings of Buddha, could even seam almost polar opposites from one another. Tibetan Buddhism and Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism are about as alike as Roman Catholicism and the Southern Baptist faith.  And yet, neither group believes the other party to be wrong. The Lama's of the Tibetan beliefs speak fondly of Ch'an Monks and visa versa. Many Buddhist have held religious leaders of other faiths in high regards for the things that these people have done. Buddhist believe that it is not god you follow or what faith you hold dear, but what thoughts you think and what actions you perform. \n\nBlessedman believes that Buddhist worship statues.  This is not the case. Although again, some sects do pay homage to figurines, generally speaking, statues are more for decoration, inspiration and motivation. An old Buddhist tail tells the story of a Buddhist teacher and his disciple who, while walking along in the snow and freezing rain, came to a temple and entered. They built a fire with the logs that had been stacked for making fires, but then the wood ran out and the snow was still falling,
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great summary dba gregg\n\np.s. The Dhammapada is NOT "their holy book" but is one "scripture" that was passed down along with many others\n\nQuickly, \n\n> Do they live a simplistic life?\nSome do, and some don't.  People are individuals and categorizing them seems silly.  A Buddhist ascetic (monk?) on the other hand, you might think of as living a simpleR life (not simplistic).\n\n> The purpose of Buddhism?\nof buddhism? to propagate the teachings of the Buddha... the goal of [the teachings AKA dharma] which is to live life that's good for yourself and others (and ultimately achieve Nirvana).\n\n> Related to nature in any way?\nsure, "dharma" could be thought of as the teaching, or law of nature, or etc...  \n\nif you're talking about do they like to go camping or prance around naked in the woods, ummm... doubtful (though could be exceptions).\n\nsome buddhists like to be in nature, as do non-buddhists.  i bet some don't either.
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well I was a catholic ,then a Christain ,then an atheist and now I do agree with a lot of buddhist beliefs.Buddhism alwyas will put experience over scripture.Buddha was an enlightened person.nothing more.\n Buddhism accepts that science and spirtuality can coexist.......are in fact facets of the same "godhead"