Is Buddhism a religion? (Jesus, salvation, reincarnation, Christianity, God)

[Don Penguinoini]

im here thinking the word buddhism camr from Buddha...

Cor blimey!

[ben d]

[quote=Don Penguinoini;1104063]im here thinking the word buddhism camr from Buddha...

Cor blimey![/quote]

..from 'budh' (which I suspect you know?)
In Sanskrit we find the word "Budhi", meaning discernment of the good from evil, or discrimination between right and wrong. It refers also to divine conscience, to pure love and to straight knowledge. In the West we use the word "intuition" as a synonym for the word "Budhi". We also have the word Buddha, the Enlightened One, the One who entered into the light of Budhi Intuition. The word "Buddha comes from the root Budh" which means to see, to perceive, to know, to wake, to recover consciousness. Thus each Buddha is an enlightened being awakened to the realities of great life, one who has much knowledge and love to give to the cause of the liberation of humanity. A Buddha is the embodiment of pure wisdom.

http://intuition2vishnu.homestead.com/Theenlightenedman.html

[Jistyr]

Originally Posted by doppelgänger

When there's an -ism or an -ity attached

It's not solely to mean a religion. It is to mean a certain type of belief. This may be a philosophy, this may be a religion, but it's not always a religion.

Examples: Transcendentalism, Romanticism, Feminism, Racism, Communism, etc.

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by ben d

So true Wampus,...many are called but few are chosen!

I would say that everyone is called but few choose to answer.

The idea that salvation, whether it be enlightenment or whatnot, is only open to a few chosen ones is something that I categorically reject. That is how I understand the vow of the bodhisattva - the knowledge that one cannot truly be enlightened while others are still suffering.

[ben d]

Originally Posted by lilithu

I would say that everyone is called but few choose to answer.

The idea that salvation, whether it be enlightenment or whatnot, is only open to a few chosen ones is something that I categorically reject. That is how I understand the vow of the bodhisattva - the knowledge that one cannot truly be enlightened while others are still suffering.

Since there are people suffering, does that mean there is no truly enlightened entity yet in existence?

[lilithu]

Originally Posted by ben d

Since there are people suffering, does that mean there is no truly enlightened entity yet in existence?

Entity?

I believe that the collection of aggregates known as the Buddha did attain enlightenment, as well as others.

I also believe that we are tied together in an interdependent web of existence - a great jewel net if you will - and nothing can happen to me that doesn't also affect you and vice versa. The idea of individual enlightenment makes no sense to me.

[MidnightBlue]

Originally Posted by lilithu

I also believe that we are tied together in an interdependent web of existence - a great jewel net if you will - and nothing can happen to me that doesn't also affect you and vice versa. The idea of individual enlightenment makes no sense to me.

Frubals for that.

In my limited understanding of Buddhism, the individual is something of a useful fiction, anyway. That is, persons do exist, but the confluence of aggregates that we call a person is both transitory and continuous with other confluences of aggregates.

[ben d]

lilithu said..

"Entity?"

Entity = That which is perceived or known or inferred to have its own distinct existence (living or nonliving)

"I believe that the collection of aggregates known as the Buddha did attain enlightenment, as well as others."

So then how do you explain the contradiction that exists when you say "one cannot truly be enlightened while others are still suffering " since I am sure you agree that people were suffering at the time when Siddartha Guatama and others attained enlightenment?

"I also believe that we are tied together in an interdependent web of existence - a great jewel net if you will - and nothing can happen to me that doesn't also affect you and vice versa."

Yes lilithu, but only for the unenlightened i.e. those who see this world as the whole reality, after enlightenment the tathagata is not bound by samsara,..the cycles of reincarnation and karma are no more for such an entity.

"The idea of individual enlightenment makes no sense to me."

Nor me, but there still remains the mystery of Tathagata.