Top Ten Misconceptions About Buddhism

[Ngawang Drolma]

33. If you're enlightened ... you ... talk really ... slow ... about ... things ... you want to ... discuss ... in this ... kinda ... faux peaceful ... calm ... voice ...

[Luke]

I hear this one all the time:

"Buddhism is a religion".

Ha! An interesting post! My knee-jerk reaction is to get defensive and say, "RAAAAH! Of course it's a religion!" but like a koan, this post points to many interesting things, I think.

I suppose the answer mainly depends on what your definition of "religion" is. If you look at things from an external perspective like an anthropologist, you can ask if Buddhism possesses some of the general features of what most people consider to be a "religion": Does Buddhism have its own holy scriptures? Yep. Does Buddhism worship some type of god or gods? Er...only sort of. Does Buddhism have prophets and other holy men? Yep. Does Buddhism have its own places of worship and holy sites? Yep. Does Buddhism have its own rituals, prayers, and chants? Yep, yep, yep. Does Buddhism have its own marriage ceremonies? Interestingly enough, not really. Does Buddhism have its own priests or monks? Hell yeah!

So, Buddhism seems to fullfill most of the social functions of a typical religion, but the subtle details of Buddhism's beliefs make it very different from other religions of the world.

I once read some lamas and perhaps even Zen priests say that there is no need to call Buddhism "Buddhism" or a "religion" or any label whatsoever. Function matters over form, I think. All labels are empty of any intrinsic existence and only have the meaning we assign to them. The wisdom of Buddhism transcends all labels.

Wisdom is wisdom, and it just so happens that the deepest wisdom which allows us liberation from samsara and the ability to liberate others is this thing we call "Buddhism."

[Ngawang Drolma]

I hear this one all the time:

"Buddhism is a religion".

Oh PT, you know I think Buddhism is a religion! However, this is worthy of its own thread.
I'll start this subject in the Personal Experience forum

Best,
Laura

[David N. Snyder]

11. "All Buddhists are hippies."
Hardly, many Theravadins are quite conservative, as are some Zennies and Vajrayana Buddhists. Some follow what might be called rigid precepts and do not even drink alcohol.

On second thought, here's KeithBC's picture:

[Ngawang Drolma]

I love that pic!

[David N. Snyder]

I love that pic!

Me too! It's so peaceful and colorful. If the opposite of hippy is pro-war, well then I guess I am a hippy too!

[Ngawang Drolma]

I love that pic!

Me too! It's so peaceful and colorful. If the opposite of hippy is pro-war, well then I guess I am a hippy too!

Yes, and I like the happy smile on Keith's face

[Luke]

I love that pic!

[/quote]
For some reason, I'd like to see Keith holding some bunnies.... Maybe bright colors subliminally suggest "Easter" to me. Okay, now back to the matter at hand...

40. "Emptiness in Buddhism refers to something depressing and spacially empty like the vacuum of outer space."

On the contrary, emptiness in Buddhism only means the absence of independent existence. It doesn't mean the absence of everything. Emptiness in Buddhism brings us closer together because it reminds us of our interdependence.

[BFS]

40.

nothing.jpg (15.2 KiB) Viewed 552 times

[Ogyen]

What a fun thread!

How about this one (I've heard this one quite a bit):

41. Buddhists look forward to suffering, they welcome it and look for it. (like we're a bunch of masochists )
42. Real Buddhists never swear or get angry (this ties into the talking really... slow... in... a ... peaceful... voice)
43. All Buddhists endure gruesome meditation sessions because it trains the mind (what are we, the Jedi?)

[Laurazen]

[Tatsuo]

44. Zen is the only japanese buddhist school and if not only, then at least the largest.
45. Buddhists don't pray.

[Huifeng]

For some reason, I'd like to see Keith holding some bunnies.... Maybe bright colors ...

And the color of those bunnies should match perfectly with that groovy psychedelic tie-dyed shirt he's wearing. Yes, rainbow bunnies, psychedelic rainbow colored bunnies.

[Luke]

46. Buddhism is a very vague philosophy, like ancient Taoism, which can be anything you want it to be.

I was posting on some non-religious forum and I briefly mentioned the Four Noble Truths. One of the members there was very suspicious of this and wrote, "Well, that doesn't sound like what I've read about Buddhism..."

I guess this is in some ways part of the misconception that Buddhism is some kind of hippie philosophy in which there's no clear tradition about how to interpret it.

"Hey man... I see it this way."
"That's cool, man... I see it this way."
"Whoa, no problem... Far out!"

There are certainly different Buddhist schools with very different doctrines, but (as far as I can tell) they all agree on some core doctrines, such as the Four Noble Truths.

Some people are kind of shocked when they encounter a Buddhist who has very fixed and definite opinions about things and who doesn't have that "hey man, whatever" sort of attitude.

[ball-of-string]

Some people are kind of shocked when they encounter a Buddhist who has very fixed and definite opinions about things and who doesn't have that "hey man, whatever" sort of attitude.

Oy vey, do I have stories about that!

[spiritnoname]

47. Tricycle is a source of valid Buddhist information and not a collection of ads and articles largely written by and for uneducated yuppies.

I'm sorry, I just had to say that, I looked at a copy at barnes and noble and it just wasn't satisfactory, it's like they don't have a editor who checks the articles for validity, and the ads,.. 1/3 money grubbing lamas doing bogus retreats, 1/3 crystals and singing bowls, 1/3 NKT.

Man I'm always pointing out the negatives, but there you go, it's just what usually stands out to me.

[Luke]

*psst!* Check out the online magazine Shenpen Osel. It rocks!
http://www.shenpen-osel.org/

[conebeckham]

48. Saying you're a Buddhist doesn't make you one, even if you think you are!

[Tatsuo]

49. Saying you're not a Buddhist, because you "don't like labels" and "take emptiness seriously" doesn't make you a better "Buddhist"

[ground]

50. The misconception that buddhism is a proprietary of schools, sects or traditions.


Kind regards