Are atheists realy buddhists?

Dirtymurder

My thinking behind this question is energy is never destroyed only transformed.

Id like to hear other peoples insight on this.

Turtwig

Well bluewolf is a buddhist so that single anecdote right there would constitute proof in some circles but I think the whole conservation of Energy has already been broken.

swampgas

Dirtymurder wrote: »

Are atheists really buddhists?

No - two different words, two different concepts. Seriously.

CerebralCortex

No definitely not. I can't stand Buddhism. But what the hell does energy have to do with it?

Davidius

CerebralCortex wrote: »

No definitely not. I can't stand Buddhism. But what the hell does energy have to do with it?

Energy is a nice word to use because almost everybody seems to understand it as magic or something mystical that a new-ager would probably call 'the lifestream'.

Dirtymurder

Dirtymurder wrote: »

My thinking behind this question is energy is never destroyed only transformed.

Id like to hear other peoples insight on this.

I would have thought the right question would be:

Are Buddhists really atheists?

beardedmaster

I, personally, find this question to be the pertinent of all -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNIxHwfDGNY&feature=fvwrel

Turtwig

Deleted User wrote: »

I would have thought the right question would be:

Are Buddhists really atheists?

Yes, they are if they don't believe in a deity. Simples.

Jimoslimos

Jernal wrote: »

Yes, they are if they don't believe in a deity. Simples.

I'd disagree, atheists don't believe in any sort of supernatural effect on their lives, not just deities. It's debatable whether a belief in reincarnation or paying homage to an emerald buddha statue in a temple is compatible with atheism.

Turtwig

Jimoslimos wrote: »

I'd disagree, atheists don't believe in any sort of supernatural effect on their lives, not just deities. It's debatable whether a belief in reincarnation or paying homage to an emerald buddha statue in a temple is compatible with atheism.

Incorrect. Atheists can believe in spirits and the supernatural and the afterlife and anything else they want as long as they don't believe in a deity or deities.

Jimoslimos

Jimoslimos wrote: »

...paying homage to an emerald buddha statue in a temple....

I don't think Buddhists actually do that, though.

Jimoslimos

Jernal wrote: »

Incorrect. Atheists can believe in spirits and the supernatural and the afterlife and anything else they want as long as they don't believe in a deity or deities.

I'd argue that the spiritual aspects of Buddhism are no different to those of Christianity, Islam, etc - just that those religions have those aspects neatly packaged into a central deity.

My personal view would be that atheists don't believe in any sort of religion or supernatural entities - it's pure semantics to argue that "a-theism" is strictly a non-belief in a theistic figure.

Deleted User wrote: »

I don't think Buddhists actually do that, though.

Been to Thailand, have you?

Jimoslimos

Jimoslimos wrote: »

Been to Thailand, have you?

Why do you ask?

Tea_Bag

have you seen the spirituality forum? just wow. I'm not that anyway.

Jimoslimos

Jimoslimos wrote: »

My personal view would be that atheists don't believe in any sort of religion or supernatural entities - it's pure semantics to argue that "a-theism" is strictly a non-belief in a theistic figure.

But this definition simply does not work as there are other religions that specifically deny a belief in any sort of deity, such as Raelianism. Are these people atheists? What would you define their stance on the existence of deities as?
And there are plenty of atheists who do believe in supernatural entities but are not gods and do not have anything resembling a religion. Are these people suddenly not atheists?

Atheism is and can only be a statement about deities. Saying that it means other things with no connection to it renders the word meaningless.

However you could say that people who are atheist are more likely to also reject other supernatural claims.

Dades

Buddhism is a philosophy that goes far beyond just recycling your constituent parts, so no, atheists are not Buddhists by default.

Jimoslimos wrote: »

My personal view would be that atheists don't believe in any sort of religion or supernatural entities - it's pure semantics to argue that "a-theism" is strictly a non-belief in a theistic figure.

Unfortunately your personal view doesn't change the *actual* definition of atheism, which relates specifically to deities.

Atheists can, and do believe in ghosts while not believing in a god, for example.

Mr. Loverman

I've travelled to many Buddhist countries. Most Buddhists pray to a god. There are statues of gods. It has the weird hierarchy system most religions have. In a nutshell it is bollox.

Zombrex

Dirtymurder wrote: »

My thinking behind this question is energy is never destroyed only transformed.

Id like to hear other peoples insight on this.

Buddhists are atheists but not all atheists are buddhists.

safarigirl

The Ten Commandments of Buddhism

Do not destroy life.
Do not take what is not given you.
Do not commit adultery.
Tell no lies and deceive no one.
Do not become intoxicated.
Eat temperately and not at all in the afternoons.
Do not watch dancing, nor listen to singing or plays.
Wear no garlands, perfumes or any adornments.
Sleep not in luxurious beds.
Accept no gold or silver.

Atheism does not = buddhism

zico10

bexstar wrote: »

The Ten Commandments of Buddhism

Do not destroy life.
Do not take what is not given you.
Do not commit adultery.
Tell no lies and deceive no one.
Do not become intoxicated.
Eat temperately and not at all in the afternoons.
Do not watch dancing, nor listen to singing or plays.
Wear no garlands, perfumes or any adornments.
Sleep not in luxurious beds.
Accept no gold or silver.

Atheism does not = buddhism

6 to 10 are only for monks and the rest are more like suggestions than commandments.

I should also add atheism is definitely not Buddhism.

safarigirl

monks? really are there different types of buddhists? I saw a poster the other week and it made the 10 buddhist comandents on except they were different from the ones i found written on the internet. They were alot more possitive unlike the ones i wrote in my last post. i was quite gutted to find them i have to say as i wont have associated them with Buddhism

bexstar

bexstar wrote: »

The Ten Commandments of Buddhism

Do not destroy life.
Do not take what is not given you.
Do not commit adultery.
Tell no lies and deceive no one.
Do not become intoxicated.
Eat temperately and not at all in the afternoons.
Do not watch dancing, nor listen to singing or plays.
Wear no garlands, perfumes or any adornments.
Sleep not in luxurious beds.
Accept no gold or silver.

Atheism does not = buddhism

eh?


1. I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking life.
2. I undertake the training rule to abstain from taking what is not given.
3. I undertake the training rule to abstain from sexual misconduct.
4. I undertake the training rule to abstain from false speech.
5. I undertake the training rule to abstain from fermented drink that causes heedlessness.

and yes, the laity only have those 5 precepts, there are 5 more that are for monks only. Actually I think monks can take a lot more than those extra 5, but the 5 are the universal ones


as for the OP - eh, no

zico10

bexstar wrote: »

monks?

Sure, Buddhist monks.

bexstar wrote: »

really are there different types of buddhists?

There are different types of Buddhists, the same way there are different types of Christians. I'm far from an authority on Buddhism and don't know enough to comment further.

bexstar wrote: »

I saw a poster the other week and it made the 10 buddhist comandents on except they were different from the ones i found written on the internet. They were alot more possitive unlike the ones i wrote in my last post. i was quite gutted to find them i have to say as i wont have associated them with Buddhism

I don't think they've been written down as the word of 'God' in a similar fashion to the the Ten Commandments of The Bible. They are precepts and not commandments, and nobody condemns you to eternal damnation for breaking one. One is not even told they are wrong if they break a precept, just to be mindful of breaking one and asking yourself were the actions you took which led to you breaking the precept avoidable.
I'm sure many on here know much more and you'd definitely get much more informed opinion in the Buddhist forum.

Indeed, commandments is very much the wrong word to use
if you undertake to follow buddhism they're the associated precepts, but as mentioned, you're not exactly going to hell if you break them
more a guide to help you along the path, really, to cause less suffering for you and others

Daftendirekt

Some atheists are Buddhist. Some Buddhists are atheist. They aren't really intertwined, though they aren't necessarily incompatible either.

Dirtymurder wrote: »

My thinking behind this question is energy is never destroyed only transformed.

I don't see what you're getting at here.

Cavehill Red

Dirtymurder wrote: »

My thinking behind this question is energy is never destroyed only transformed.

Id like to hear other peoples insight on this.

No, atheists are not Buddhists, but a small number of Buddhists are atheists, including me.
The reason for this is that Buddhism, uniquely among world religions, doesn't really have a position on deities and hence leaves it up to individuals to decide if they wish to believe in them or not.
As a result, there are Buddhists who believe in a whole range of things, including agnostic Buddhists, atheists Buddhists and rational Buddhists.

Socialist_Pig

Dirtymurder wrote: »

My thinking behind this question is energy is never destroyed only transformed.

Id like to hear other peoples insight on this.

would you not ask in the buddhist forum?