Buddhism is an Education, Not a Religion

8/8/2019 Buddhism is an Education, Not a Religion

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BUDDHISM IS AN

EDUCATION,NOT A RELIGION

According to the WebstersDiction-ary, the definition of religion is as follows , Anorganized system of beliefs, rites,and celebrations centered on asupernatural be-ing power; belief

pursued with devotion. Buddhismis not a religion because: First,the Buddha is not a supernaturalbeing power. The Buddha issimply a person who has reached

Complete Understanding of thereality of life and the universe.Life refers to ourselves, anduniverse refers to our livingenvironment. The Buddha taughtthat all beings possess the same

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ability within to reach Complete

Understanding of themselves andtheir environment, and freethemselves from all sufferings toattain utmost happiness. Allbeings can become Buddhas, andall beings and the Buddha areequal by nature. The Buddha isnot a God, but a teacher, whoteaches us the way to restoreWisdom and Understanding byconquering the greed, hatred, andignor-ance which blind us at thepresent moment. The wordBuddha is a Sanskrit word, when

translated it means, Wisdom,Awareness/Understanding. Wecall the founder of BuddhismShakyamuni Bud-dha because Hehas attained CompleteUnderstanding and Wisdom of life

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and the universe. Buddhism is His

education to us, it is His teachingwhich shines the way toBuddhahood.

Second, Buddhism is not areligion because belief in theBuddhas teachings is not blindbelief, blind faith, and far fromsuperstition. Shakyamuni Buddhataught us not to blindly believewhat he tells us, he wants us to trythe teachings and prove them forourselves. The Buddha wants usto know , not merely believe. TheBuddhas teachings flow from his

own experience of the way tounderstand the true face of lifeand the universe, and show us apath of our own to taste the truthfor ourselves. This is much like agood friend telling us of his trip to

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Europe, the sights he has seen,

and the way to go there and seefor ourselves. The Buddha uses aperfectly scientific way of showingus reality in its true form.

Third, Buddhism is not areligion because all the rites andcelebrations are not centered ona supernatural being, but ratherthe people attending theassemblies. The ceremonies andcelebrations in Buddhism all servean educational purpose, areminder of the Buddhasteachings and encouragement to

all students who practice it. Forexample, the Thousand BuddhasRepentance Ceremony practicedduring Chinese New Year is to helpthe parti-cipants cultivate ahumble heart and respect for

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others. The point of all cere-

monies is to help others awakenfrom delusion and return toWisdom and Understanding.

Finally, Buddhism is not areligion because the devotionused in Buddhism is not one basedon emotion, but one based onreason. Students of the Buddhaare devoted to their practice of maintaining Purity of Mindbecause this practice brings truehappiness. We are devoted tohelp others and the Society attainComplete Under-standing and

Wisdom. Only through Com-pleteUnderstanding and Wisdom canwe realize our true selves andliving envi-ronment. The Buddhaseducation is truly not a religion butan education, teaching us the way

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to break through ignorance and

arrive at a perfect understandingof our-selves and everythingaround us.

Our goal is TrueHappiness.

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Buddhism is an Education, Not a Religion