Discover Tibet and Buddhism


Is Buddhism a Religion?

Buddhism is a teaching which has spreadperspective that religion entails belief in a
worldwide absorbing the culture of eachGod, Buddhism is excluded from having the
country it arrived in, which has resulted intitle of religion. Many outsiders to the
many expressions of Buddhism. Each strand, noBuddhist tradition may claim that the Buddha
matter how varied in nature and practice,held some divinity and is elevated to a Godly
holds a common emphasis on the impermanenceposition, but the Buddha himself refused to
of human life. The worldwide spread ofbe regarded as divine. For the Buddha,
Buddhism means that it is now practiced byhumanity is here to improve ourselves and
over three hundred million people worldwide,achieve liberation rather than worrying about
and thus, is generally considered to be aultimate questions. Buddhists would argue
world religion. However, its authenticity asthat knowledge of a God or the afterlife does
a religion has often come under scrutiny bynot matter as neither help in the quest for
intellectuals in the Western world. Tonirvana. If Buddhism is not counted as a
explore whether Buddhism can in fact bereligion then what is it? Buddhism can be
counted as a religion we must acknowledgethought of as a way of life, a philosophy, a
that the main problems arise when looking forpsychology, a way of thinking through which
a definition of what a religion is. Either,we can take responsibility for our present
definitions have proved too narrow excludinglife  and  lives.
many belief systems which people believe are
religious, or they become too broad whichLike all major religions Buddhism contains a
means that any structure can be counted. Whenmorality, rituals and behaviours, certain
applying varying definitions of religion toethical values and an origin of existence,
Buddhism we come up with some veryyet because Buddhists do not believe in an
contradictory answers; some which say thatall knowing creator God some claim that
Buddhism is simply a philosophy or teaching,Buddhism fails to be a religion. The large
whilst others will prove that it is in fact,variety of definitions of religion shows that
a  religion  in  practice.we can never give a solid, one answer
description of what it is that religion is
To determine whether Buddhism is a religionand  does.
or not, we must also note that we, as
Westerners will have different views andWe must remember that previously Buddhism has
concepts of religion to those practicing inmany names such as the Buddha's teaching or
the East. We must ask the question, is itmessage, or the Buddha's way or the path of
even possible for Westerners to understandattainment. Although the religious status of
the religious life of Asia? What we view asBuddhism has come under constant attack, we
Asian religion and religious activity is forcould argue that the questioning is in fact,
most of the people practicing it a naturalnot necessary. If we were able to ask the
part of daily life; our ideas and conceptsBuddha if Buddhism was in fact a religion or
vary so greatly that perhaps someonenot he would probably answer with the
observing Buddhism from a Western perspectiveresponse that it does not matter. To the
may never truly grasp the religiosity of theBuddhist, their beliefs are essentially a
group.philosophy by which individuals can attain
release from the world of karma and rebirth.
For one attempting to provide a definition ofKnowing whether or not Buddhism is a religion
religion these practices would need to beor not cannot lead to salvation, only through
described in a manner which did not excludepractice and understanding can one be led to
one religion from the definition. There needsa  happiness  which  is  not  transient.
to be one thing that is attributed to all
religions, a common factor. For many, theCopyright  Â© All  rights  reserved.
common factor is God. However, if we conclude
that God is the focus of all religion thenHelen Wyre an expert in Buddhist studies
much of the material found in Asia must bewrites regularly for the daily updated
excluded because there is no God here, andBuddhism News website.
occasionally not even Gods. From the



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