Ten Misconceptions about Buddhism

[camerata]

1. All Buddhists meditate.

2. The primary form of Buddhist meditation is mindfulness.

3. All Buddhists are vegetarians.

4. All Buddhists are pacifists.

5. Buddhism is a philosophy and not a religion.

6. The Buddha was a human being, not a god, and the religion he founded has no place for the worship of gods.

7. Zen rejects conventional Buddhism. Zen masters burn statues of the Buddha, scorn the sutras, and regularly frequent bars and brothels.

8. The Four Noble Truths are noble.

9. Zen is dedicated to the experience of “sudden enlightenment,” which frees its followers from the extended regimens of training in ethics, meditation, and wisdom found in conventional forms of Buddhism.

10. All spiritual traditions, Buddhism included, are different paths to the same mountaintop.

Source: Tricycle and The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism

[canuckamuck]

Thank you that was interesting.

[Bosse137]

Are they misconceptions really?1

[Riley'sLife]

It is a misconception that The Buddha was a human being, not a god, and the religion he founded has no place for the worship of gods.

.

..don’t think so….!!!

[fabianfred]

Well...the Buddha certainly was human....and he said that worship of gods or men will not bring you to the goal since only you can help yourself by practice.

There is no worship in Theravada Buddhism. We pay our respects to the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha...as we should also to parents, teachers... and acknowledge their greatness and how lucky we are to have their guidance. Chanting is also singing the praises of the Triple Gem...not worship.

[canuckamuck]

wor·ship [wur-ship] Show IPA noun, verb, wor·shiped, wor·ship·ing or ( especially British ) wor·shipped, wor·ship·ping.

noun

1.

reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.

2.

formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage: They attended worship this morning.

3.

adoring reverence or regard: excessive worship of business success.

4.

the object of adoring reverence or regard.

5.

( initial capital letter ) British . a title of honor used in addressing or mentioning certain magistrates and others of high rank or station (usually preceded by Your, His, or Her ).

verb (used with object)

6.

to render religious reverence and homage to.

7.

to feel an adoring reverence or regard for (any person or thing).

verb (used without object)

8.

to render religious reverence and homage, as to a deity.

9.

to attend services of divine worship.

10.

to feel an adoring reverence or regard.

[willyumiii]

Stating that these are all misconceptions with no explanation of why they are misconceptions is making 10 worthless statements and a worthless post.

Why waste our time with this ?

[camerata]

For the explanations, click on the source link. The full article is on the Tricycle website.

[AyG]

Original article very much written from a Mahayana standpoint and as such an inaccurate reflection of the Lord Buddha's teachings.

[camerata]

This is the trouble when trying to write about "Buddhism" in general. Some points don't apply to one or the other of the main schools.

[Water Buffalo]

May i be equanimous.