| Is Buddha viewed by some Americans as a legend, or a fairytale? |
| Yes |
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[ 14 ] |
| No |
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[ 0 ] |
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| Total Votes : 14 |
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 Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 10:55 am
I am shocked at the lack of knowledge most people have when it comes to Buddhism. Whenever I say that I'm Buddhist, or whenever I quote Buddha I always get a response like, "Oh, don't you worship that elephant guy with 8 arms?" or "Don't you worship that fat guy?" one girls response to that last one was "No, no, hes only fat when he sits down!" I've heard people call Buddha a god, the son of god, and all sorts of other things they pul out of their a**. My favorite is "Aren't Taoists those people who yell at trees?" gonk Scociety's lack of knowledge on this is appaling, so many people with so many misconceptions. Ever feel like Buddhism is disrespected and not taken seriously?
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 2:00 pm
Yes, by some ignorant people.
But that's going to be the case with every religion.
For example, I can't possibly take Scientology seriously.
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 2:43 pm
Its just from a lack of understanding. Since most people in America are Christian, it would be hard for them to identify with other religions that aren't as prominent. The same would happen to Christianity in more Buddhist countries, its just that not everyone does their homework and you can't expect them to. However there is a difference between not understanding and persecuting. Once when I was young, my parents took me to church and the pastor openly bashed Hinduism in his sermon. I was troubled by this that the pastor openly bashed another religion. Whats more is that years later when I learned about Hinduism, I found that he was .5% correct about what Hinduism is about if even that.
So don't expect everyone to understand Buddhism but understand the difference between those that just don't know and the ones that refuse to know. Thats my 2 cents.
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Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 7:25 pm
I did not know anything about it about 3 months ago sweatdrop
..but I am learning about it to increase my awarness. Ive learned quite a bit but not everyone is interested in doing that I supose.
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Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 11:09 am
Hey, it's not common knowledge for the West. No need to freak out.
I'm sure in some places Jesus is known as "that bleeding dude".
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Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005 2:38 pm
A lot of people do not realize that Jesus was a real person either. Nor Mohammed. I remember trying to tell someone that Jesus was an actual human at one time, and they did not beleive me!
I think that once something is considered holy it gets placed in the "unknown divine spirit" category, which is really a place for gods and not walking breathing actual human beings.
People are quirky.
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Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 4:52 pm
Well im budhist and no body takes me seriously. My mom makes me go to a catholic school but i dont want to! Everyone thinks im just making it up to get attention. And they make fun of buddha (being fat ect). They dont understand one bit of our religion, they should keep their mouths shut if they dont have a ******** clue of what they are saying.
For once i would just like to be taken seriously! scream gonk Maybe to please your mom you could be more of a catholic-buddhist..
Because buddhism can blend with other beliefs... so you don't have to lose faith in your god but still practice the buddhist faith.
Just my thoughts.
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Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 7:00 am
Harry Parachute Hey, it's not common knowledge for the West. No need to freak out. I'm sure in some places Jesus is known as "that bleeding dude". Exactly. Ask them if they worship that bush ... the burning one. Or maybe why they have an instrument of torture and execution as their holy symbol.
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Akanishi Makoto Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 8:46 am
Buddha wasn't fat, though.
I've been told that the fat man is either a respresentation of the Buddha as being content, or the chinese "jolly fat man"
Buddha was Indian, and though he had a slight belly, he wasn't what I think anyone in the right state of mind would consider fat.
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Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 9:27 am
Nah... the fat man actually stemmed from a popular Chinese belief of a certain plump monk who appeared in ancient China.
Legend has it that he was the embodiment of Maitreya and though he seemed to be insane, his selection of words when he happen to speak show a very nimble and lucid mind that has broken through the suffering of the world behind the facade of madness. He wore nothing but a torn robe all year round and was just as comfortable in the comforts of spring as in the bitter cold of winter. One day, he left the monastry he was staying, leaving a poem implying he was Maitreya incarnate.
Hence the later versions of Maitreya in the Chinese culture being a plump individual bearing great treasure (he was said to have carried a huge bag and it was said that he picked up everything on the ground and finds everything he needs in his bag) not unlike St. Nick wink
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Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2005 9:23 am
I agree with what all of yo are saying. I have a fellow Buddhist friend who goes to Catholic school and hates it. I go to public school, and I havent really told anyone I'm Biddhist because theyre all Anglican/atheist and ridicule people who practise religion.
*sigh* Oh well, at leat I haave Gaia. *hugs everybody*
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 3:23 am
At my school my friends (and alot of people who aren't my friends) know I'm Buddhist and they're totally cool about it. Granted I do have a few "friends" who don't seem to like the fact I'm not Christian. I even had one little elementary school girl tell me I was going to hell, she had never met someone who wasn't Christian.
One of my other friends told me that she went to church one day and these girls were making fun of Buddhism, saying things like "How could they worship some big fat guy?" and a few other things.
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2005 9:27 am
Heh. It's sometimes rather amusing (but also a bit depressing) to see how ignorant people are.
He wasn't fat, nor do we worship him (or atleast, I don't think we do directly)
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Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2005 3:33 pm
Zoutout Buddha wasn't fat, though. I've been told that the fat man is either a respresentation of the Buddha as being content, or the chinese "jolly fat man" Buddha was Indian, and though he had a slight belly, he wasn't what I think anyone in the right state of mind would consider fat. Yeah.. And in the days when Buddha was alive, I bet he was more often thought to be healthy, wealtthy and prosperous, rather than fat, Since you need to eat to gain weight.
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Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 11:55 pm
Ha, I don't really think that the Buddha is fat, if you read about his life story, there was a point in time when he starved himself in an attempt to gain enlightenment ... he later realised that this practice is wrong when he heard the words "When a string is too loose, it can't make a sound;When a string is too tight, it breaks." (or something like that ... sweatdrop ) He stopped his practice and started eating again ...
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