S asked:
What can I say to those who believe it’s not a religion and say that therefore it cannot be compared to other religions/lesser than other religions?
Failed Experiment
What can I say to those who believe it’s not a religion and say that therefore it cannot be compared to other religions/lesser than other religions?
Failed Experiment
Filed under:
Religion

Collecting Comix
Tell them it is both.
Collecting Comix
Explain that Buddhism has both secular and theistic sects. Orthodox Buddhism is a complete religion, while many other forms are simply philosophical systems.
Low Cost Bargain
Tell them that it is viewed both ways.
If you come accross a person who claims it is not a religion, let them think whatever they will. You know how you see it and no religious nut job should matter.
ProConsultancy.com
All religions are philosophies.
ProConsultancy.com
Just tell them what it means to you.
You know what you believe it to be – what they feel about it is really kind of unimportant.
Collecting Comix
tell them they are trying too hard
Low Cost Bargain
For the religious, it is a religion. For the philosophical, it is a philosophy.
Low Cost Bargain
It is important to remember that these are only words, and as such they will mean different things to different people. According to, “religion” could mean anything from a “state of life bound by monastic vows” to simply being “careful” (religiens, opposite of negligens). Cicero is even said to have derived it from relegare “go through again, read again.” It is clear that there is nothing about the word itself that precludes Buddhism from being a religion, and in fact much that indicates that it very much is one.
“Philosophy”, of course, means the love of knowledge, and it is easy to see how this relates to Buddhism. It is important to note, however, that Buddhists are not content with mere book knowledge, stressing empirical realization rather unlike the “sophistry” of the Greeks.
ProConsultancy.com
If a man goes into the woods and there are no women around and he says something, is he still wrong?