Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

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Nicholas2727
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Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Nicholas2727 »

When I first stated practicing Buddhism a few years ago I ran into many misconceptions or "watered down" elements of Buddhism. After I started studying with other teachers I realized how many misunderstandings there are with some modern forms of Buddhism. I felt a topic going over some misconceptions of Buddhism could be useful not only for myself but for anyone else studying Buddhism who finds this. So what are some misconceptions you feel are present in Buddhism today? These misconceptions can be for Buddhism as a whole, or for your specific lineage.
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Johnny Dangerous
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

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Nicholas2727 wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 2:55 pm When I first stated practicing Buddhism a few years ago I ran into many misconceptions or "watered down" elements of Buddhism. After I started studying with other teachers I realized how many misunderstandings there are with some modern forms of Buddhism. I felt a topic going over some misconceptions of Buddhism could be useful not only for myself but for anyone else studying Buddhism who finds this. So what are some misconceptions you feel are present in Buddhism today? These misconceptions can be for Buddhism as a whole, or for your specific lineage.
Honestly it could fill pages. One interesting phenomena I've noticed both online and off is that a considerable amount of people simply won't read or study enough to gain even a passing understanding of the various views within Buddhism. Combined with a situation where one has no direct teacher, it can lead to a very distorted idea of what Buddhism teaches. This came as a surprise to me once I noticed how consistent it was, because I am not a particularly intellectual or scholarly person. I think people today are just reading less generally, and are more isolated...even before Covid.

I would say it's a big issue though, probably 50% if not more of practitioners I've known and had discussions with like to argue and argue about stuff they simply refuse to read about or study, that makes for misconceptions across the board. It's frustrating when someone won't read or address any source material, and just insists on their own thoughts. To me it reflects the overall narcissism in our media-driven culture, the idea that one can learn about a thing just sort of by osmosis, with no real effort to understand it.

As one example: I've had discussions (both in person and online) with people who insist that there are no devotional practices or mentions of karma or rebirth in the Pali Canon. This is demonstrably false and is actually a ridiculous thing to say if you've ever even read the Dhammapada, honestly.

However, there is a whole school of thought in "secular Buddhism" that implies that all that stuff is irrelevant, and I think sometimes insinuates that it's "not really in there" or "the Buddha didn't really say that". This combined with people's hesitance to actually study, read, or take teachings makes for a self-taught version of Buddhism that often does not resemble the real thing in any meaningful way.
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

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-Khunu Lama
Genjo Conan
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Genjo Conan »

I could make a whole post about what non-Buddhists misunderstand about Zen. I could make another whole post about what non-Zen Buddhists misunderstand about Zen. I could make a third about what purported Zen practitioners misunderstand about Zen. And I'm sure someone could make a fourth about what I misunderstand about Zen.
SilenceMonkey
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by SilenceMonkey »

Genjo Conan wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 8:17 pm I could make a whole post about what non-Buddhists misunderstand about Zen. I could make another whole post about what non-Zen Buddhists misunderstand about Zen. I could make a third about what purported Zen practitioners misunderstand about Zen. And I'm sure someone could make a fourth about what I misunderstand about Zen.
That would be awesome. :namaste:
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Kim O'Hara »

Genjo Conan wrote: Sat Jun 19, 2021 8:17 pm I could make a whole post about what non-Buddhists misunderstand about Zen. I could make another whole post about what non-Zen Buddhists misunderstand about Zen. I could make a third about what purported Zen practitioners misunderstand about Zen. And I'm sure someone could make a fourth about what I misunderstand about Zen.
:smile:
I'm sure you could but there are really five, not four. The fourth would be about what the 'someone else' thinks you misunderstand about Zen, while the fifth would about what you really misunderstand about Zen.
:thinking:
I'm not sure who would write the fifth, though.

:tongue:
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Last edited by Kim O'Hara on Sun Jun 20, 2021 5:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Kim O'Hara
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Kim O'Hara »

More seriously, in reply to the OP, one that keeps popping up is the idea that each person reincarnates as (somehow) the 'same' person in another body. I'm sure it has been around for ever, since Alexandra David-Neel reported a hundred years ago that it was the common understanding of poorly educated Tibetans, even while she knew better herself and knew that most Tibetan monks also knew better.

:namaste:
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Inedible »

That thing about the Atman moving between lives like a person changing clothes every day is a Hindu thing, not Buddhist. A lot of Hindu things are mistaken for Buddhism. I think this is because Yoga came to the West so much earlier. Like Paramhansa Yogananda and his famous autobiography. I'm not really sure what the impact of Theosophy was, with some of its founders being declared as Arahants. Also, it takes a lot of work to start at the beginning to examine how what you already believe compares with learning something new. You get those things everyone knows getting in the way like meditation is emptying your mind. A frog can sit quietly for hours and stare.
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

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Inedible wrote: Sun Jun 20, 2021 5:32 am That thing about the Atman moving between lives like a person changing clothes every day is a Hindu thing, not Buddhist. A lot of Hindu things are mistaken for Buddhism. I think this is because Yoga came to the West so much earlier. Like Paramhansa Yogananda and his famous autobiography. I'm not really sure what the impact of Theosophy was, with some of its founders being declared as Arahants. Also, it takes a lot of work to start at the beginning to examine how what you already believe compares with learning something new. You get those things everyone knows getting in the way like meditation is emptying your mind. A frog can sit quietly for hours and stare.
This is a good one. I remember a friend of mine not being able to get past the idea of "just sitting there in a trance" as meditation. He couldn't conceive of just watching your own mind, the concept made no sense to him.
Meditate upon Bodhicitta when afflicted by disease

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when sad

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when suffering occurs

Meditate upon Bodhicitta when you are scared

-Khunu Lama
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Javierfv1212
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Javierfv1212 »

Some of the most common one's I've seen online, off the top my head, are:

* Buddhism teaches we are all one
* The Buddha said not to respect any teachers or scripture at all and just go with whatever your own reasoning says (Kalama sutta!)
* Buddhism is not a religion but a "philosophy of life" (so religious buddhists are doing it wrong)
* Not-self and rebirth are incompatible in some way, or a general confusion about this issue
It is quite impossible to find the Buddha anywhere other than in one's own mind.
A person who is ignorant of this may seek externally,
but how is it possible to find oneself through seeking anywhere other than in oneself?
Someone who seeks their own nature externally is like a fool who, giving a performance in the middle of a crowd, forgets who he is and then seeks everywhere else to find himself.
— Padmasambhava

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Giovanni
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Giovanni »

Javierfv1212 wrote: Sun Jun 20, 2021 12:41 pm Some of the most common one's I've seen online, off the top my head, are:

* Buddhism teaches we are all one
* The Buddha said not to respect any teachers or scripture at all and just go with whatever your own reasoning says (Kalama sutta!)
* Buddhism is not a religion but a "philosophy of life" (so religious buddhists are doing it wrong)
* Not-self and rebirth are incompatible in some way, or a general confusion about this issue
All those. Plus Buddhism is all about cultivating emotions which are expressed as “love and peace.” And of course it can be. And maybe will be eventually, but several of the most powerful and compassionate teachers I have met are wrathful in style.
I know from a thread that many here met Chime Rigdzin 8-) Rinpoche!
Another common belief is that Buddhism requires a vegetarian diet...some teachers do. Most don’t.
Malcolm
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Malcolm »

Another common misperception is that Buddhism is "nontheistic" as opposed to atheistic.
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

My spouse, who is not Buddhist, holds that anger, fear, anxiety and other negative dates of mind are all just part of the rich spectrum of human emotional experiences, and that the problem with Buddhism is that it tries to deny people that full, rich, human experience.
I’m not sure this is a misunderstanding of Buddhism as much as a totally different view of what’s being discussed.
However, when my spouse is upset, reminding her that she should at least enjoy the fact of being able to partake in that bountiful spectrum of human emotions…
doesn’t seem to make much of an impression.
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
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Javierfv1212
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Javierfv1212 »

A related misconception or misunderstanding is that Buddhism is nihilism or nihilistic and hates life. This one actually goes all the way back to ancient India, as it was a common trope non-Buddhists attacked Buddhists with, and then it was taken up by Christian critics of Buddhism. One still hears this all the time. Another version of this is that Buddhists worship nothingness or "the void", whatever that means.

There's also the widespread "the Buddha didn't really teach rebirth and karma" (Batchelor etc.)

Oh and lets not forget "Buddha taught the Pali Canon" and "Theravada is the original Buddhism, Mahayana is like a protestantism that reformed Theravada to be more worldly and lay oriented".

There's also the hilarious "Zen is not Buddhism"
It is quite impossible to find the Buddha anywhere other than in one's own mind.
A person who is ignorant of this may seek externally,
but how is it possible to find oneself through seeking anywhere other than in oneself?
Someone who seeks their own nature externally is like a fool who, giving a performance in the middle of a crowd, forgets who he is and then seeks everywhere else to find himself.
— Padmasambhava

Visit my site: https://sites.google.com/view/abhayajana/
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PadmaVonSamba
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by PadmaVonSamba »

“Emptiness” is misunderstood as meaning some kind of hollow, vacuous reality.
EMPTIFUL.
An inward outlook produces outward insight.
Giovanni
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Giovanni »

Then there is “my practice is the only Buddhism for this age and everyone else is practising an out of date and redundant Buddhism which has been left behind”...
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Minobu
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Minobu »

Giovanni wrote: Sun Jun 20, 2021 4:00 pm Which brings us to another misconception about Buddhism..one that is common in India and among western followers of Indian gurus. That Gautama Siddhartha was actually an Avatar of Vishnu.
that was invented around the 1200's by a hindu guy who wanted to adopt Lord Sakyamuni into Hindu thought by saying He was an emanation of Lord Vishnu..most Hindus today believe this...A hindu guy who lived on my floor gave me a statue of Lord Sakyamuni Buddha he had especially blessed as Lord Vishnu from his Hindu Pandit..He was so proud and gave this to me in the best of intentions....i always felt weird about the statue and never used it on any altar, or even like an end table or something.
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Matt J
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Matt J »

Some of the biggest ones in my mind:

1. Emptiness is nothingness

2. Emptiness is Platonic or Advaitic being
a. No self actually means atman

3. Thoughts and/or appearances are the problem, rather than clinging
a. The purpose of meditation is to still the mind
b. The purpose of meditation is to develop some specific experience, i.e. bliss, oneness with the universe, visions, etc.

5. Buddhism is anti-life/pessimistic
"The world is made of stories, not atoms."
--- Muriel Rukeyser
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Minobu
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Minobu »

Giovanni wrote: Sun Jun 20, 2021 3:53 pm
Budai wrote: Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:34 pm
Malcolm wrote: Sun Jun 20, 2021 2:04 pm Another common misperception is that Buddhism is "nontheistic" as opposed to atheistic.
Probably because most people misunderstand that the purpose of who the Buddha truly is, because atheistic philosophy is meant to bring one to understand theistic concepts as true on a ladder or staircase towards Realization of the Truth.
Absolutely not the case. I think you have very little idea of the Buddhas true nature if you think he is introducing a form of theism by stealth. Whether in the Pali canon or in the words attributed to him in the Mahayana works his starting position is an absence of a theistic being as found in Hindu scriptures. In fact he says that belief in such a being is a serious block to Realization of the Truth!
isn't there a difference between gods and God the Creator..

i always thought the god realm was an actual realm and the demi god realm as well..

As a Buddhist i do not pray to gods for stuff...but i do believe they help the make up and tweek samsara to be beautiful and livable...

one could say generate a quality of the gods in one's life...not unlike generating aspects of Buddha Avalokiteshvara..to produce compassion and diligence and fortitude..

it's like lord Ganesha main purpose is to alleviate obstacles to dharma practice and learning...
vlyons
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by vlyons »

Dependent origination states that all phenomena arise dependent on previous causes and conditions. So belief in a creator god begs the question of who, or what, caused a creator god to come into existence?
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Minobu
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Re: Let's talk about common misconceptions of Buddhism

Post by Minobu »

vlyons wrote: Sun Jun 20, 2021 4:48 pm Dependent origination states that all phenomena arise dependent on previous causes and conditions. So belief in a creator god begs the question of who, or what, caused a creator god to come into existence?
but the gods and God the creator are two different things...

Lord Sakyamuni talks of the gods ..doesn't He?
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