X-Message-Number: 22516
From: "mike99" <>
Subject: RE: Buddhism without all supernatural mumbo-jumbo
Date: Sat, 13 Sep 2003 12:18:53 -0600

Since Buddhism is being discussed now on Cryonet, I felt it appropriate to
re-post the following, which I originally sent to 2 Buddhist listservs. I am
a Soto Zen Buddhism who has taken vows. My Dharma name is "Gozen" which is
the name I used when posting this essay.

Michael LaTorra




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Must Buddhists be believers?

Most religions declare a set of tenets that their members must believe in
order to be saved, redeemed, liberated or enlightened. These tenets include
such ideas as the existence of God, the redeeming work of a Savior, and the
existence of an immortal soul or Self. If a person denies any or all of
these tenets, he or she is not considered to be a true or orthodox member of
that particular religion. Is Buddhism a religion of this type? Did Buddha
require such beliefs of his followers?

The short answer is  No.  Among all the religions that have existed in human
history, Buddhism is the only major religion that does not require such
beliefs of its followers. In place of such beliefs, Buddha told his
followers to consider his teaching and then practice it. If the teaching
made sense and the practice delivered the benefits the Buddha claimed an end
to suffering and the realization of bliss then the teachings and practices
would be validated.

Some people including some Buddhists have adopted a whole host of beliefs.
They believe in gods, demons, immortal souls, etc. This is especially true
in the more populist forms of Buddhism that have arisen in countries where
Buddhism has existed for many centuries. Such beliefs tend to appear among
human beings in every culture and every religion for reasons that may have
more to due with evolutionary psychology than with anything that could be
called objective reality. (Please read Pascal Boyer s excellent book
 Religion Explained  to understand why this happens.)

People are certainly free, in their own minds, to believe whatever they
choose and to call themselves whatever they like. They may even call
themselves Buddhists. However, the freedom to believe, or not to believe,
which these people enjoy must also be extended to other people who call
themselves Buddhists and do not believe in gods, ghosts, or eternal
Self/Soul entities. These latter, non-believing Buddhists can be properly
called atheists and even non-religious. Yet they are legitimate Buddhists
because they accept the teaching and carry out the practices given by
Buddha.

In my opinion, the fact that people with such divergent views as these
believers and non-believers can all be called Buddhists is a wonderful
thing. The compassionate Buddha wanted to teach the path to end suffering to
all sentient beings. He did not want to exclude anyone. And by opening his
teaching to all sorts of people of varying beliefs, he made it possible for
many more beings to accept his teaching than would otherwise be the case.
For the fact is that in our modern world, in North America and to an even
greater extent in Europe, a significant percentage of the population
considers traditional theistic religions to be little more than
superstition. These people, most of whom are well-educated and
scientifically literate, cannot be like the Red Queen in  Alice in
Wonderland  who prided herself on believing  up to six impossible things
before breakfast.  People to whom gods and ghosts and souls are so much
nonsense can still study and practice Buddhism with a clear conscience.

As Buddhists, we may debate the existence of souls and ghosts and gods. We
may cite various sources to support our positions. But it would be a shame
if we began anathematizing one another as not keeping the true faith (even
if that s what we sincerely believe!). Better to let each practice his or
her own version of Buddhism. I would rather see a thousand heretical sects
than to see a single solemn Inquisition.

This is what I believe it is MY personal Buddhism.


Gassho.
Gozen

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