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 Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2006 6:45 pm
The core of Buddhism is to find the light WITHIN you. To look inward, NOT outward. While Buddha is an enlightened one, anyone can become enlightened. So the reason people may seem to be worshipping the Buddha is bc they want to follow his lead.
Another thing that may seem confusing is that people will put pictures of dieties and the Buddha on their shrines. They do this, again, to learn from their example. They're not worshipping them or iodlizing them. These pictures are used as a visual guideline as to how to go about things and live the enlightened path.
Hope that helps 4laugh
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Posted: Sat Sep 09, 2006 10:50 pm
Well, to be honest ... I do see al ot of Buddhists actually worshipping the Buddha. sweatdrop
Well, especially in places where people are born in Buddhist families but wasn't in touch with the Dharma, slowly turning Buddhist rituals into forms of worship ...
Unless they were being educated on the true nature of such practices, most of them just 'went through the motion', turn meaningful rituals into mudane acts ... ( Seriously, some Buddhists don't even know what they are chanting and have actually told me they were praying to the Buddha ... )
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Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:28 pm
Buddha is not a god, not even when you count him as the treincarnation of Vishnu, because he is still a mortal then. But I think it's a widely used misconception amongst all people that he is. (I see my parents, who are Hindu, worshipping the Buddha they bought sweatdrop ).
And I can't blame the people for thinking so, after all, who makes massive statues of the teacher, and not the god?
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Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:03 pm
I think i came too late to join this conversation but I am a Tibetan Buddhist and in my experience and buddhist studies, I have come to the realization that What Buddha is and What he did doesn't matter. Thats a bold statement coming from a buddhist but ill explain why.
Most people (even people who were born in buddhist families), when they hear the word Buddha they automatically think of him as some kind of God or someone they worship instead of thinking about what he taught. What really is important is that you keep in mind what he taught and what he stands(i used present form because Buddhas still exist all over the world) for. Not what he did and is.
You don't even have to read scriptures and follow the eight noble path. If you are a kind and compassionate person then you are a buddhist. You are how a human being should be.
I hope what i have written makes sense. If you don't agree with me, pm me and i will respond to you. I am not close minded.
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Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2007 10:22 am
I wouldn't say I worship them, but I do look up to them, and admire them greatly for their achievements.
-Yevgenia
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Posted: Fri Jan 12, 2007 1:45 pm
Yeah, I read an encyclopedia..which was written a long time ago saying that usually Mahayana Buddhists worship Shakyamuni as god and pray to him as one would to the Christian god.....this is the reason why I stay away from books on Buddhism written by non-buddhists..I know this may seem a little bias but I learned from experience long ago.
Thanks to masters and teachers we have to teach us and show us the way.
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Posted: Wed Mar 14, 2007 10:04 am
Buddha had no intention of being a god, but im sure some may think of him that way with the status he has gained over the years with his teachings.
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Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 5:06 pm
Kill_Garou (regular in the M&R forum) informed me that Mahayana Buddhists do in fact worship Buddha. Can some of the Mahayana Buddhists here clarify how correct that is? There seem to be conflicting views on the issue. gonk
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Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 7:09 am
Harvested Sorrow Kill_Garou (regular in the M&R forum) informed me that Mahayana Buddhists do in fact worship Buddha. Can some of the Mahayana Buddhists here clarify how correct that is? There seem to be conflicting views on the issue. gonk Everything I have ever learned about Mahayana Buddhism suggests that worship is not part of Buddhism. Largely because worship would contradict the very concept of the Bodhisattva, Buddha-nature, and Emptiness. These three very important Mahayana concepts do not work alongside worship. Perhaps Kill Garou is referring to something that appears to be worship, but is not actually worship. I don't know the extent of Kill Garou's understanding of Buddhism, so I can't really comment on what e may have seen or read. All I know is that worship doesn't work in Buddhism.
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Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:00 am
I pointed out in a topic that Buddhism does not involve Buddha in the sense of a god that is worshipped (someone askeed 'Why worship a fat guy?' stare ) and his response was to contradict me and state that Mahayana does...and that he's a Mahayana Buddhist from what I gathered.
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Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 2:12 pm
I wonder which sect of Mahayana Buddhism he practices, then. And where he has been learning that Buddha is to be worshiped.
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Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 3:09 pm
I'll see if I can dig up that topic.
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 3:04 pm
I was standing outside my school hanging out with a few friends, and waiting for my ride to come, and talking to a kid that I don't know too well, but kindof. I can't rememeber why, but I had my pocket buddha reader out. This kid told me he wanted to see it, so I showed him the cover, and he said "Why does someone want to worship a 600lb god?" The close friend of mine laughed and went off on him, and I just kinda mumbled that Buddha wasn't really fat, and he wasn't a god..
Point is, everyone seems to think Buddha IS worshiped as a god, probably thanks to a lack of multi-religious teaching in school, and general missunderstanding. I think probably some sect worships Buddha as a god, but I'm not entirely sure. I know I don't, and I guess that's what matters to me.
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Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 4:36 pm
Peace Love And Skate I was standing outside my school hanging out with a few friends, and waiting for my ride to come, and talking to a kid that I don't know too well, but kindof. I can't rememeber why, but I had my pocket buddha reader out. This kid told me he wanted to see it, so I showed him the cover, and he said "Why does someone want to worship a 600lb god?" The close friend of mine laughed and went off on him, and I just kinda mumbled that Buddha wasn't really fat, and he wasn't a god.. Point is, everyone seems to think Buddha IS worshiped as a god, probably thanks to a lack of multi-religious teaching in school, and general missunderstanding. I think probably some sect worships Buddha as a god, but I'm not entirely sure. I know I don't, and I guess that's what matters to me. I think it's due to the most popular religions ('the big three') being based around worship. People assume that all other religions are like theirs and based on worship of a god of some sort.
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