There are loads of people always ask to what is Buddhism and why Buddhism is not a religion and there are many scholars who have tried to interpret Buddhism in many different way, such, trying to put Buddhism into the prevailing molds of cultural, philosophical, and religious thought. But, in fact, Buddhism is an ethical system, it is as a way of life which leads practitioner to a very specific goal and that process contained some aspects of both religion and philosophy.
In this matter, i have tried to search for the very rational answers to those questions. In order to give a short and easy comprehensible to the readers, i have put them into order for the convenience of the readers. And they are mentioned as follows;
- In Buddhism, there is no “Almighty God”. there is no one to hand over rewards or punishments on anyone, even on a supposedly Judgment Day.
- In the context of beings a faith to God or Goddess and worshiping owing allegiance to supernatural being, Buddhism is strictly/completely not a religion.
- There is no saviour concept in Buddhism. The Buddha is not a saviour who saves others by his personal salvation. Even though, Buddhists seek refuge in the Buddha as their incomparable guide who indicates the path to purity, but they make no servile surrender to the Buddha. A buddhist does not think that he can gain freedom merely by seeking refuge in the Buddha or by mere piety in the Him. Actually, it’s not within the power of the Buddha to wash away all the impurities of others.
- the Buddha is not an incarnation of a god/God as claimed by some Hindu followers. The relationship between the Buddha and his disciple is that of a teacher and students.
- The liberation of self is the responsibility of one’s own.
- Taking refuge in the Triple Gems i.e. the Buddha, the Dhamma, the Sangha, dose not mean self-surrender or total reliance on an external force for the salvation.
- The Dhamma (The teachings in Buddhism) exists regardless of whether there is a Buddha. The Buddha, he discovered them and shared the his discoveries of the universal truths with all sentient beings.
- The Buddha is neither the creator of such teachings nor the prophet of an almighty God to transmit such teaching to others.
- There is no holy concept in Buddhism. Killing is breaking a key moral precept in Buddhism.
- Suffering is another cornerstone(most significant aspect ) in Buddhism. It is the first of the Four Noble truths.
- The concept of Hell in Buddhism is very different from that of other religions. it’s not a place for eternal damnation as viewed by “almighty creator” religions. In Buddhism it is just one of the six realms in Samsara(i.e. the worst of three undesirable realms). also, there are virtually unlimited number of hells in the Buddhist cosmology.
I hope that, these answers can be of benefits to many of you who come across. With Metta
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