Prosperity Buddha

[Generic Brand Waifu]

Inscriven

That Cat Who Eats Ramen

because somewhere in the old testament it says not to eat the food of the pagans because they offer that same food from that same cut up to their idols. They pay way too much attention to the old testament for my liking. Very legalistic and hateful. But wouldn't Buddhists argue that the Buddha statues aren't idols? That's what I heard in Eastern Civ anyway.

Images, statues, and such are tools to be mindful of practice, yes. As to whether they are perceived as actual present beings in the universe or a metaphorical manifestation of buddha-nature, the answer depends on who you ask.

Budai isn't a Buddha though, at least not yet. He's a Bodhisattva, an enlightened being that hasn't gone full on buddha yet, but has turned away from leaving the cycle of suffering to stay behind and help everyone else get to that point of freedom too. Kinda like part role model, part catholic patron saint. In Budai's specific case, he's the future Buddha, the one to succeed the Shakyamuni (The skinny buddha most people in the west see as Buddha) when the light of Buddhist teachings becomes snuffed out. But in that particular incarnation, he's just a guy travelling around with a big sack full of donuts for kids and just a general likeable guy. Like most depictions of the Buddha, his example is to find the peace and joy of the present moment.

The offerings could be a act of expressing commitment to the dharma (teaching). But that could have a lot of cultural interpretations too. The chinese have a lot of mixing going on with Daoist and Confucian influences where offering gifts to ancestors/the immortals/etc are fairly common.

The problem with explaining Buddhism to Christians is that they are trying to put everything in western understanding terms. Like even the very word "religion" is not something you could pin down because Buddhism is and isn't a religion Karma isn't a retributive justice system, and bowing is not a sign of subservience. I've found that Catholics get Buddhist practice much more than Protestants do because Catholics understand the value of practice, ritual, meditation, veneration and not worship, things like that.

I practice Zen, but did get a little bit Chinese Chan education in a monastery so if you have any questions i'd be happy to try and answer them.

But your BF's family better be prepared to never eat any sort of Asian food again if they're that pig headed. There's not many Chinese buddhists but millions and millions of Chinese who very much venerate the immortals and their ancestors. That's not even counting the Hindus and Sikhs who also have public expressions of their faith.

Thankyou! That was very enlightening and helpful!

[Xiam]

Blood Valkyrie

No offense, but you might want to check your boyfriend out for any possible mental problems. Sometimes mental problems run in the family, and your boyfriend's parents are clearly retarded.

emotion_facepalm Religious people are not mentally ill. Most people like this are just ill-informed.

It's what happens when the only book you read is severely lacking in information on other belief systems, and... you know... science...

[Arcoon Effox]

That Cat Who Eats Ramen

...somewhere in the old testament it says not to eat the food of the pagans because they offer that same food from that same cut up to their idols.

The early Israelites made everything that wasn't part of their own culture taboo in a xenophobic effort to preserve their cultural identity.

~~~

Xiam

Blood Valkyrie

No offense, but you might want to check your boyfriend out for any possible mental problems. Sometimes mental problems run in the family, and your boyfriend's parents are clearly retarded.

emotion_facepalm Religious people are not mentally ill. Most people like this are just ill-informed.

I think she was Valkyrie was referring to them following conspiracy propaganda.

[Blood Valkyrie]

Xiam

Blood Valkyrie

No offense, but you might want to check your boyfriend out for any possible mental problems. Sometimes mental problems run in the family, and your boyfriend's parents are clearly retarded.

emotion_facepalm Religious people are not mentally ill. Most people like this are just ill-informed.

It's what happens when the only book you read is severely lacking in information on other belief systems, and... you know... science...

I didn't say that all religious people are mentally ill, just these particular people, who are acting like they have severe problems.

[Xiam]

Blood Valkyrie

Xiam

Blood Valkyrie

No offense, but you might want to check your boyfriend out for any possible mental problems. Sometimes mental problems run in the family, and your boyfriend's parents are clearly retarded.

emotion_facepalm Religious people are not mentally ill. Most people like this are just ill-informed.

It's what happens when the only book you read is severely lacking in information on other belief systems, and... you know... science...

I didn't say that all religious people are mentally ill, just these particular people, who are acting like they have severe problems.

And those problems stem from ignorance, and discomfort with being informed of said ignorance.

[Blood Valkyrie]

Xiam

Blood Valkyrie

Xiam

Blood Valkyrie

No offense, but you might want to check your boyfriend out for any possible mental problems. Sometimes mental problems run in the family, and your boyfriend's parents are clearly retarded.

emotion_facepalm Religious people are not mentally ill. Most people like this are just ill-informed.

It's what happens when the only book you read is severely lacking in information on other belief systems, and... you know... science...

I didn't say that all religious people are mentally ill, just these particular people, who are acting like they have severe problems.

And those problems stem from ignorance, and discomfort with being informed of said ignorance.

I'd like to call a denial of undeniable evidence a sign of mental illness.

[Xiam]

Blood Valkyrie

Xiam

Blood Valkyrie

Xiam

Blood Valkyrie

No offense, but you might want to check your boyfriend out for any possible mental problems. Sometimes mental problems run in the family, and your boyfriend's parents are clearly retarded.

emotion_facepalm Religious people are not mentally ill. Most people like this are just ill-informed.

It's what happens when the only book you read is severely lacking in information on other belief systems, and... you know... science...

I didn't say that all religious people are mentally ill, just these particular people, who are acting like they have severe problems.

And those problems stem from ignorance, and discomfort with being informed of said ignorance.

I'd like to call a denial of undeniable evidence a sign of mental illness.

And I'd like to point out that that's offensive to people with mental illness.

[Blood Valkyrie]

Xiam

Blood Valkyrie

Xiam

Blood Valkyrie

Xiam

Blood Valkyrie

No offense, but you might want to check your boyfriend out for any possible mental problems. Sometimes mental problems run in the family, and your boyfriend's parents are clearly retarded.

emotion_facepalm Religious people are not mentally ill. Most people like this are just ill-informed.

It's what happens when the only book you read is severely lacking in information on other belief systems, and... you know... science...

I didn't say that all religious people are mentally ill, just these particular people, who are acting like they have severe problems.

And those problems stem from ignorance, and discomfort with being informed of said ignorance.

I'd like to call a denial of undeniable evidence a sign of mental illness.

And I'd like to point out that that's offensive to people with mental illness.

Depends on the mental illness.
Perhaps they are not technically retarded, but they seem to have some sort of issue.