Can I follow both Christianity and Buddhism?

[faraday]

"Have you ever studied Philosophy - do you know what it actually is?"

Apparently you don't because it actually means love of wisdom or modernly translated as thinking.

It appears that you may not.

Philosophy is considerably more than just that; although I'll permit you some credit for your approximation.

I like his definition, what is yours?

While I would agree that Philosophy is about thinking, that oversimplifies it. There are many different kinds of 'thinking'; Critical, Independant, Reflective & etc.

I guess an easy reply would be that it's about asking questions, to which there is no definate conclusion or answer. But trying to bring clarity to them.

A reasonable definition is something like:

"Do Horses like Cows?"

If I have knowledge ie wisdom about football, & also think about it, that does not make it Philosophy.

[canuckamuck]

Yeah, Zeichen wins.

Edited May 18, 2015 by canuckamuck

[nidieunimaitre]

To end the discussion about philosophy, here is the ultimate truth:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_WRFJwGsbY

[nidieunimaitre]

From the same philosophers as above:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptu17q8N-Mo

[gk10002000]

Do you mean follow the practices of both or believe in the fundamentals of both? Neither really allows one to believe in the other. Buddhism expects one to belong to the sangha or Buddhist community. Christianity of course mandates traditional one god, jesus Christ son etc. Following the good points of Buddhism would pose not conflict. The 8 fold path has some very nice things that most peaceful religions advocate. Mediation and self awareness is generally fine all around. The Christian Ten Commandments are generally decent things. The one about believing in one god might pose a problem

[zeichen]

GK, you really haven't been following the conversation have you?

[rockyysdt]

"The Buddha gave the knowledge with which one could deepen their awareness.

Awareness of body, of thought, of feelings, and of the outside world."

The flaw in that argument is simple. How do we know that he actually achieved enlightenment or reached Nirvana? Because we have faith.

"We usually choose one and allow it to rule our lives."

"

With one we are given the tools to experience for ourselves what actually is, whilst the other is based on pure belief."

sorry but every religion gives tools or practices to bring peace to one's self.

"Learning to become aware and ever deepening levels and honing ones concentration is a big difference to others who said, "believe in me and upon your death I will give you immortality in my kingdom"."

Really, so those that follow the principles of Buddhism and dedicate their live's to the Buddha's teachings aren't doing it to achieve enlightenment and reach Nirvana?

Buddhism is no different. Japanese Monks used Buddhist ideology to incite the Japanese to world domination in WW2. There are a couple of very good books about the monks involvement in spreading Buddhism to condone their involvement in WW2.

"Have you ever studied Philosophy - do you know what it actually is?"

Apparently you don't because it actually means love of wisdom or modernly translated as thinking.

Not all Philosophies are religions but all religions are based on philosophies.

Marxism is a Philosophy, but Buddhism is definitely a religion.

When people practice the teachings and idealogies set forth from the Philosophy as a way to understand the universe and find their way in the world, then it becomes a religion.

Scientology is now a religion but it started out as a manuscript of Hubbard's Philosophies.

Hello Z.

I don't profess to be a philosopher, nor do I wish to be or appear adversarial.

For me, it's difficult to do justice to what the Buddha taught, in a single 2 dimensional post, let alone explain it at all.

Take my post as a high level rough over view of the differences of Buddhism (as the Buddha taught) & Christianity and whether one can follow both.

Many appalling things have been done in the name of Buddhism, but I don't think this reflects on the teaching itself, but rather a deluded view of it.

The Buddha taught that to awaken, one must free oneself from attachment to greed, aversion & delusion, a pretty tall task.

Atrocities performed in the name of Buddhism are obviously influenced by such attachments.

I'm not sure what your interpretation and subsequent conclusion was as a result of of one of my lines (highlighted).

From my very little understanding and experience of practice (8 fold path), those who strive to attain or reach Nibanna will never get there.

To begin with, if one strives for Nibanna they obviously have a notion as to what it is.

Far better to focus on the practice.

It's about living in the present.

It's about growing ones awareness.

Just as we watch what we eat, and exercise our bodies.

Practicing concentration & awareness in the present moment, allows us to engage in a myriad of things including philosophy.

Lacking awareness, at the coarser levels opens us to the vagaries of personal conditioning and automatic responses.

When encountering new experiences, rather than evaluating each on their merit, we go through life assigning preconceived impressions/views/beliefs, based on a past experience.

This is the way the mind operates in most.

The regular practice of deep concentration and awareness bring about the poise and calm of the present moment, free from the clutter and background noise of mind, from which to act.

It's all about escaping our preconceived ideas and actually living in the present moment.

Advanced practitioners are said to be able to experience awareness of their thought process as they occur and have the ability to override conditioned reaction.

How far will practice take you?

Perhaps you can call this religion.

Try it for yourself and see.

Practice is embraced by mainstream Psychologists.

One needn't attain Awakening (if it exists) to benefit.

In fact, one should not preoccupy oneself on this notion.

All this is something quite different to the notion of immortality in a future kingdom after death through faith.

As does physical exercise, It involves effort, something 21st century man is averse to.

Where have I gone wrong in your estimation?

Edited May 19, 2015 by rockyysdt

[balo]

Just in case there is a God somewhere I suggest OP to follow all the religions in the world.

Just in case, you never know...

[HooHaa]

my dear old mother was ostensibly "christian", but hadnt set fooot in a place of worship for 30 years before her death.

her rationale is it didnt matter as long as she was a good person.

why rely on religious labels such as christian or buddhist to define yourself or your morality, actions speak way louder than dogma.

[rockyysdt]

my dear old mother was ostensibly "christian", but hadnt set fooot in a place of worship for 30 years before her death.

her rationale is it didnt matter as long as she was a good person.

why rely on religious labels such as christian or buddhist to define yourself or your morality, actions speak way louder than dogma.

This is precisely the point.

The problem is, most of us are conditioned which taints our actions to varying degrees.

What method do you use to firstly identify correct actions, and how do you ensure you follow these?