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Even though the founder of Buddhism – the Gautama – came into this world over two millennia ago, his influence through his followers is growing. In recent times, especially after world war two, people became disillusioned with western philosophy and its practices. Many looked toward meditation and Buddhism for ultimate bliss.
These days, the debate about whether Buddhism is a full-fledged religion or a philosophy is still gaining momentum. There are two camps and each has its own set of arguments to support its stance.
In this article, we are going to take a look at the whole debate and hopefully come to some resolution.
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Buddhism – A Religion Or A Philosophy
Some estimates put the number of Buddhist religion followers to be around 500 million, either Zen Buddhism or Mahayana Buddhism. The bulk of these followers lives in Asia with China, Thailand, Japan, and Myanmar being their main areas of stay. In North America, the approximate number of Buddhists is somewhere around 4.5 to 5 million.
Before delving into the belief system of around eight percent of the world’s population, it would be appropriate to take a look at the system at large.
Founding & Propagation of Buddhism
The so-called prophet of Buddhism “Gautama” passed away around 438 BC. He was a prince who forsook a life of luxury and indulgence to find “true happiness”. After his demise, his ardent followers assembled his teachings into one whole and that was how Buddhism was found.
Almost five centuries later, in the 3rd century BC, Asoka, the Mauryan emperor of India, announced Buddhism to be the state religion of his lands. To a great scale, he encouraged the building of monasteries and the setting of Buddhist missions.
In the leading centuries, Buddhism spread out from mainland India. Their followers started interpreting the teachings and philosophy according to their understanding.
Buddhist Beliefs
Buddhism teaches a diverse belief system with multiple branches. At secondary or tertiary levels, these branches diverge and move away from each other. Still, at the core, the basic beliefs are the same among the followers of the teachings of Buddha.
Following are some important postulates:
- The believers of Buddhism do not believe in a supreme being or a deity. Their end goal is to achieve “nirvana” – enlightenment.
- The founder of the religion – Buddha – is considered a noble being but not a god.
- The focus of every person is to achieve enlightenment through morality, meditation, and wisdom.
- Buddhism’s core values revolve around self-denial and self-improvement through non-self-indulgence.
- All of the Buddhist teachings are extracted from “The Four Noble Truths”. They are essential to understanding religion.
- The strict followers of Buddha’s way are termed as monks or “bhikkhus“. They follow celibacy and other moral codes in line with Buddhism.
Now, let’s dive deeper into the contrasting takes, both religion or philosophy.
Buddhism As A Religion
With a large population as its adherent, it does not seem too wrong for calling Buddhism a religion. Following are some essential arguments in the favor of Buddhism that defines religion:
- Centralized System
- Metaphysical Debate
- Rebirth & Afterlife
- Society & Integration
- Religion Is A Simple Definition
Centralized System
In simple terms, a religion is defined as a clear belief system with a centralized code revolving around worshiping a supreme being, usually called the almighty god. In this way, religion is about a set system of beliefs with marks of life and the afterlife. In this respect, Buddhism could be a religion with millions of believers and a set code of conduct.
Metaphysical Debate
Almost every religion has discussed aspects of metaphysics and the afterlife. It is often believed that this worldly life is a prelude to an everlasting life, which is true life. When compared to this, Buddhist teachings, in Theravada Buddhism did study metaphysics and the intricate balance of unknown elements.
Keep in mind that Buddha had stressed that although these things are important, they are not as important as the practice of the belief and the strive for enlightenment itself.
Rebirth & Afterlife
All the Abrahamic religions believe in the supreme being, judgment, and rebirth. The afterlife has paradise and hell for believers and non-believers.
In contrast to this, Buddhism does believe in rebirth but it all deals with the life form on this earth. From the sermons of the Buddha, it can be deduced that he mentioned over thirty-one realms of existence, both on this plane and some others.
In some instances, it can be contended that Buddhism is all about Buddha’s teachings related to birth and rebirth.
Society & Integration
Major religions of the world do not confide in their teachings for the betterment of an individual. Instead, they think of a person as a laboratory of these ideas and a tool to implement the word in society.
Buddhism draws parallels from other religions in this regard. There are various occasions where Gautama Buddha addressed his pupils about the division and unfairness in society. This is where the law of “Karma” was originated.
Religion Is A Simple Definition
Apart from delving deep into the choices of people and their ways of living, it is convenient for the sake of Statistics to consider Buddhism as a religion. Of course, there are always instances where people do not understand what they believe in and if it should be declared a religion.
Even though it is still not a solid basis for a unified system to be declared as a religion, it is a basis after all.
Buddhism As A Philosophy
In modern times, people are more inclined toward believing in Buddhism as a philosophy. In this section, arguments for Buddhism as a philosophy will be covered.
Here is a rundown of some important points that make Buddhism a philosophy:
- A Way of Life
- Personal Choice over Dogma
- Life Over Afterlife
- Study Vs. Practice
A Way of Life
Buddhism has a clear stance on rebirth and the afterlife, confirmed by Buddha himself. In his sermons, he has pointed to the ways to seek truth and strive for a more fruitful life. His teachings referred to as “Dharma” are about seeking the ultimate truth about life.
This thing, though in line with other religions, make Buddhism more like a philosophy than a religion.
Personal Choice Over Dogma
One of the most striking things that discriminate Buddhism from other religions is the stress of Buddha on moral principles and personal practice. He told his disciples to spend time in meditation and seek for themselves, instead of following a creed or a leader blindly.
Even the “Five Precepts”, propounded by Siddhartha Gautama, are declared by him as more of a set of guidelines than divine laws. He urged his followers to seek happiness and enlightenment in both this life and the next.
Life Over Afterlife
Even though Buddha said no to self-indulgence and spiritual practices self-denial, abstaining his followers from running after worldly luxuries. He still taught his followers to choose this life over the next one, a clear direction for rational investigation.
Buddhists claim there are indications for things in other verses and planes. But Buddha prescribed his followers to be more practical in looking for happiness now. It is not essential to know metaphysical aspects of reality but to practice the right way for seeking “true happiness”.
Study Vs Practice
On this level, even the study and practice of Buddhism are different at multiple levels:
- When studied as a peace acquiring belief, it provides simple answers to questions like the cosmos, supreme beings, gods, life, and the afterlife. It looks much like a philosophy with diverse followers emanating from all walks of life.
- While practicing Buddhism, Buddhists tend to follow a set pattern. They to go temples; monks wear identical clothing and practice self-discipline; there are set code of conduct for the followers. In this light, it still looks like a philosophy that is practiced with religious zeal and fervor. The prime example is Tibetan Buddhism.
Conclusion
Whether Buddhism is a religion or a philosophy is an ongoing debate. When looked at from a theoretical perspective, it bears a lot of resemblance with other religions of the world, such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. It has a set belief system that adherents must follow. Additionally, it discusses the concepts of life, death, cosmos, and the afterlife. On the other side, it consists of a diverse populace of followers, coming from the slopes of Tibet to metropolises of North America. It stresses more personal practice than dogmatic beliefs. The end game for a practitioner is to attain eternal happiness.
With the debate still going on, it is hard to conclude this topic here by declaring Buddhism either a religion or a philosophy.
Sources:
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buddhism
- https://www.huffpost.com/entry/is-buddhism-a-philosophy-_b_10176992
- https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/is-buddhism-a-religion/
- https://www.history.com/topics/religion/buddhism