human belives in god because they wants to buy a space in heaven when they are dead,for me,i'd just say that they have been suffered a lot when they are alive,so...at least there are smtg that they could say to comfort their mind: "at least i could go to heaven because i believe in god"

there's a book said that if god is the creator of everything,the biggest joke he ever made is that he created human to praise him and prove his existence to fill his lonenly and emptiness
he merely created everything and leave things as the way it is
religion ? yes u can have one but u don't need one,religion does creates sense of belonging to human,however,i'd say that these people were just trying to run away from reality: "if i believe in xxx,then i could get xxx"
it is crap anyways :S

so. from what youre saying, buddhists are people that mind their own "spirituality" without giving a damn about things that go on around them eh "oh there are things beyond us, gods and heavens but that doesnt matter cos whats important is that i see the light" it escapes me how the teaching can be "plugged-in to" other teachings or rather, compromise with other teachings. it's almost as if it tries to take the "good" and discard the "bad" from different teachings based on common morals as opposed to standing firm to one way. maybe that's one of the reasons so many chinese worship different gods and deities.

a crude and simple way of describing it but basically yeah; but buddhism is a very personal "religion" (more like a way of life) you live life in a certain simple (but hard to achieve) way and you get the reward then and there, no need to wait for some so-called promised afterlife.

the buddha did not ascend or achieve enlightenment when he left the world. he achieved enlightenment while living.

and i wouldnt say "not give a damn about the surrounding world"; and i wouldnt say "buddhism can be plugged in to other teaching" but rather buddhism can cohabitate with most other religion in a peaceful way.

and last i check, accepting the good while discarding the bad, is a good thing buddhist accept that there are many ways to salvation/inner peace/bliss; just that they think their way is the shortest path (not necessarily the easiest path) and so they dont object if others wish to go at their own pace/take the scenic route.

polytheism is not a result of buddhism. polytheism exist pre-buddhism. and afaik, you dont have to pray in buddha (or the buddhist saints - hard to spell name that i cant be bothered to google). buddha is not god. buddha dont need your prayers.

not to turn this into religious war, but you may search youtube for "buddhism vs christianity" for some thoughtful discussion (among some rubbish)

disclaimer: i'm not a devout buddhist; actually i'm not much of a buddhist at all. i'm agnostic. all are based on my observation and analysis. if some one retort with some war like buddhist commandments; lets just say that wont be the 1st time im wrong about something

This post has been edited by lin00b: Dec 16 2009, 10:44 PM

fair enough. im in the opinion that every religion is a personal thing as in the end it's up to you and God. and well, taking the "good" and discarding the "bad" isnt the way to go with this issue. i believe one has to make a stand and take a path in 1 way. compromising in all the diiferent "ways" just makes the road more blurry

this is where my doubts set in. if buddhists do not pray to any Gods, then y are there so many idols of various Gods erected? if buddha was just a person, then there is no need for so many statues of him everywhere, and people treating him like a god.

This post has been edited by b3ta: Dec 17 2009, 11:56 PM

life is not always (actually more like never) black and white; my way or the highway; etc.

idol worship is again a chinese/taoist practice. and same argument as the paper offering is made. buddha dont really care

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This post has been edited by marsalee: Nov 13 2010, 08:20 PM

correct; buddhism is one of the few (if not the only) religion where the final outcome is you becoming the highest position in that religion.

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This post has been edited by marsalee: Nov 13 2010, 08:20 PM

buddhism is a teaching/guideline/way of life

having said that, buddhism claims many super natural things like reincarnation, the eternal soul, cosmic karma that cant/hard to be verified and this depends on faith. therefore it is also a religion.

but then again, if you disregard those religious stuff, it is still a very good guideline on how to live your life fully and in harmony. just dont expect a reward at the end. the reward is the journey.

haha i like it how u guys just pick n choose what to learn n what to not learn, what to believe n what to not believe in

I think that religion is just a hold that some people have over others who believe in it. Everything that religion represents is a worldly creation. MAN makes religion, not God. I think that if you believe in God, you dont necessarily have to have a religion. I for one think that rituals and ceremonies and stuff are completely irrelevant. Prayer? Do we really need to go every Sunday to church to pray because, well, the CHURCH tells us to?

Religion makes God inaccesible.

i just thought religion like buddhism, christianity or even islam are all intened to implent good deed in humans. If we dont believe in god or any religion, we would probably think our life is just a walk-by and cause all havoc just for the fun of it. In the other hand, those who believe in God rasionally would be following what they are told to do and all of them are good deeds in our life.

[/I]Religion starts off as being something that aims to implement good deeds in human beings. It starts off by being a pillar of hope for people who were in distress. But now, don't you think religion and the people who claim to be its authorities, is just kind of controlling? Human beings know their morality, the absolute morality that governs us naturally, for example no killing or stealing. I dont think religion brings anything new to the floor. Other types of morality, for example, sexual morality, homosexuality and prostitution: don't you think that people have a right to be free from religion, and yet be close to God?

]

1. you are too far my friend. Is Israel still "human" to you? to me they are more like evil than animal.
2. what delay? I believe in god, and have degree in electronic n master in tech. microelectronic FYI. my job is making microchip "alive". do you have understanding in technology better than me. i hope.

I find your opinion or statement interesting that israeli's are more evil than animals. So if you believe in god, then, what do you think is god's opinion on "Israelis"? Yeah, his perception, view, feelings about them "Jews"? I'm curious to know.

congratulations, you are now officially part of the problem, but seeing the opposite side as something not human. that is hte first step to killing others as well, they are not really human and it is not wrong to kill them.

i'm sure many on the other side would feel the same about you.

and thus peace will never come.

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This post has been edited by marsalee: Nov 13 2010, 08:20 PM

human, evil and animal are different. according to Darwin we all are animal. maybe we hate israel but no one of us said killing people will solve the problem. but israel do. they think their people are the most holy moly human in the world. other than Jews are shit. to them crist, islam buddha, hindu, atheist are bullshit.

so how kafir, infidel (islam) is different than goyim, gentiles (judaism). both religion believe that goyim/kafir deserved to be punished by god and will burn in deepest depth of infernal hell for being a non-believer.

btw, do you meet a jew in the first place? do you realize that there's a small jewish community in penang?

This post has been edited by quintessential: Dec 27 2009, 04:04 PM

one more thing we miss here. Israel kill Palestinian not because of religious but land. everyone need power.

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Added on December 27, 2009, 4:53 pmIsrael is race btw. Jews is religion. There are a few Israel people in Palestine are muslim (islam). take that in the first place. we dont need to be kafir/judas/budha/hindu to be in hell. muslim also go together with kafir if they dont follow the (Al-Quran)

This post has been edited by kubing: Dec 27 2009, 04:57 PM