What is Buddhism and Taoism?

Buddha, this is a transliteration of ancient Indian Sanskrit.

Buddha, which means to be aware of oneself, others and everything, is also called wise or thorough knowledge.

Buddha, simply translated as Buddha, was born in our world, 2589 years ago (623 BC), as the prince of Sakyamuni in Karowe Island, India. Sakyamuni is a surname, meaning benevolent. Muny is a general term for saints in ancient India, which means silence. This is the founder of Buddhism.

Is the Buddha the Creator?

No, I believe in Buddhism, and there is no concept of creator. Buddha is the awakened one on the earth. Although he can realize all the principles in the world, he can't change the existing state in the world. Although Buddha can transform all sentient beings, whether all sentient beings can achieve it depends on whether all sentient beings can work hard by themselves. Buddha is the best doctor, who can diagnose the suffering of all beings and take appropriate medicine. If he refuses to take medicine, there is nothing the Buddha can do. Buddha is the best guide, he can guide all beings out of the suffering of the world. If you follow the Buddha's guidance, you will certainly get a degree. If you don't follow the instructions, you will be helpless. Therefore, the Buddha does not pretend to be the creator. Being able to practice the Buddha's words and teachings is equivalent to seeing Buddha and respecting Buddha. Therefore, the Buddha is neither the creator nor the master of God. He can only teach all living beings how to get pleasure from suffering. Although the Buddha himself has been happy from suffering, he can't be happy from suffering instead of all living beings. Buddha is a great educator and mentor.

What does Buddhism mean by atheism?

This is a proper term in religion. There are two kinds of atheism in the world, one is materialistic atheism; One is what Buddhism calls atheism.

Materialist atheism denies the independent existence of all gods and does not believe in a world with ghosts and gods. Buddhist atheism means that all laws are born by reason, and everything in the universe is created by all beings. It admits that there are spirits and ghosts, but it does not think that there is an all-knowing and all-powerful God who dominates the creation of the universe. As monotheism says, it is the first, the last and the only one.

According to religion, gods can be divided into polytheism, Er Shen, monotheism, pantheism and atheism. Polytheism is a common folk belief with no organization and system. It is a religious form of primitive people and also a regional religious form. For example, folk gods in China are divided into local gods and national gods. Land gods can be divided into ancestral gods and natural gods, and their names and images can vary from place to place and from time to time. The god of the country is the ancestor of the whole country, the whole nation or mountains, rivers, the sun and the moon.

As for Er Shen's belief, good and evil are divided into two forces. At first, two hostile countries regarded their protectors as good gods, while the other was evil gods. Later, after the reunification of all ethnic groups, Er Shen belief was formed, that is, the evil god is the devil and the good god is the god; However, there is only Zoroastrianism in Persia, which worships both the devil and God. Although Christianity also believes in the eternal existence of the devil and God, it only worships God, not the devil. It has the content of two religions and only takes the form of monotheism.

The so-called monotheism means that everything is created, controlled and destroyed by one God, and God has great power and authority to dominate everything, just as China calls him the creator and Christianity calls him the Lord. Although Christianity also believes in the existence of angel gods, it is the retinue of the only God, the creation of the only God, and it cannot be the heir of God, nor can it be another great god with equal status with God.

As for pantheism, it is the god of ideas that philosophers believe in. It is the noumenon of the universe, the law of nature, and the image without personality, but it is the place where everything is born and returned. God can't love others with his will, and people have the responsibility and obligation to obey and love God.

As for atheism, this article just said that there are two kinds. First, materialism has no God, and holds that all phenomena in the universe and life are produced by the operation of matter, except for the activities of matter, there is no spiritual body that exists without matter. There is no past before death and no future after death; If there is, it is the source and continuation of physical inheritance. For individuals, people die like lights, even if they admit that their spiritual strength in the world, whether academic, political or artistic, can affect future generations; But that's matter, not spirit. People can miss the ancients, but the ancients don't know that we miss him, because they don't exist; Remembering the ancients is not to comfort the soul, but to inspire the wise Si Qi.

Buddhist atheism is mainly based on the phenomenon that all laws are born of karma, which shows that all beings have karma. Every living creature has created its own karma and received individual rewards, while many living beings have created countless karma in previous lives; Similar karma, feeling similar karma, born in the same environment, is what the Buddha said that all beings have no end and the world has no end, which is what all beings deserve.

Our world belongs to the solar system, which was created by the earth, human beings and other beings born in this world. The previous sense of communion was not created by God as monotheists said. The understanding of God and the need of God are actually out of people's needs. The omniscient God is not real, but it can't be said that he is equal to no God. According to believers, he exists. Judging from the god who is believed, he may be a powerful ghost, a god of great happiness, or a god of another world. There is more than one of them. Therefore, the followers of monotheism are themselves divided, and their image, understanding and feelings about monotheism vary from person to person, from place to place and from time to time. So monotheism is actually an upgrade of polytheism.

The godlessness of Buddhism does not deny the beliefs and functions of polytheism, Er Shen and even monotheism, but only regards them as the category of sentient beings, so Huayan Sutra, Tibetan Sutra and even Agama all talk about ghosts and gods. Buddhism is not an "atheist", but it does not believe that there is a unique god of creation who dominates the universe.

-The Feast Master

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Life and faith

Every religion exhorts people to have faith, but what do they believe in? As the ancients said, there is a saying. A good bird knows how to choose a wood to live in, and a loyal minister knows how to be an official, not to mention faith, but also to choose a good partner. Then, what conditions should be met for the object of belief? This problem cannot be ignored.

(1) having faith.

When we choose the object of faith, we should examine whether it really exists. For example, we choose to believe in Buddhism, and the founder of Buddhism, Sakyamuni Buddha, does exist. Buddha was born in a country, raised by his parents, brothers and relatives, and even recorded becoming a monk, practicing and becoming a monk. The deeds of the Buddha are clearly recorded in history. Sakyamuni Buddha is not an imaginary figure, but a god created out of thin air; Nor is it a fairy who has come without a trace. In other words, the objects we Buddhists believe in can stand historical research. So, what should we believe? We should trust the real thing.

(2) Believe in noble morality

When we make friends, we should make friends with people with high moral character and holy personality, because they can guide us to be good and upward. The ancients said, "People who have no friends are not as good as themselves. He also said: "Water flows downwards and people climb upwards. "If the object of our faith wants us to kill and harm people, it will be harmful to trust him instead of helping. We must know, is the virtue of the object I believe in clean? Is he compassionate enough? Is his personality perfect? If he does, then such an object is worthy of our belief and conversion. Sakyamuni Buddha is an awakened person with perfect behavior. He has three virtues: wisdom, morality and kindness. His morality is perfect and pure. Following this natural mentor can make our morality higher and our personality more perfect.

(3) Strong belief ability.

Climbing a mountain requires a crutch, and we also need a powerful crutch to be our crutch in life. From an early age, we accepted the knowledgeable support of our teachers, which made us gradually avoid being children; The object of our belief must also be able to measure and consciously perceive people's knowledge of great goodness, so as to guide us on the right path. The Buddhist scripture says: "I am like a good guide, guiding others to do good;" I am like a good doctor, responding to diseases and drugs. "I believe that a good guide can take the bright road and reach the destination; I believe that a good doctor can get Akada medicine to treat intractable diseases. Why are benevolent saints, heroes and ordinary people willing to accept his leadership? Mainly because of his ability. Lions can be the king of beasts, and Dapeng can be the strongest of birds because of their special abilities. So do people. If the object of faith has great power, as if life is backed up, we can be happy because of him.

(4) clean faith.

Those who abstain from pure conduct, all their actions are in line with the precepts. We obey him, our words and deeds naturally conform to the right path, and we will not cheat. If the object we believe in is not clean, it is like a car that violates traffic rules. Accidents can happen at any time, so it's too dangerous for us to follow him. The Buddha, the object of our belief, is the most rigorous and pure awakened one. He was not only strict with himself, but also formulated many commandments to capture his disciples' body and mind. According to the scripture, a disciple of the Buddha asked the owner of the orchard for a bowl of fruit, and the owner asked him to pick it himself. The venerable master said, "The Buddha said that trees are taller than people and unattainable. The owner asked him to shake the fruit by hand. He said, "The Buddhist precepts say that you should not shake the tree to pick the fruit. In order to show sincerity, the owner had to climb down the branch himself and let him pick it. Knowing this, he still insisted: "The Buddhist precepts say that you should not help yourself with fruit. The owner of the garden had to hold the fruit in his hand and give it to him, saying, "I support you!" "This story is about breaking the commandment of' take and give'. In order to stick to this commandment, the disciples of the Buddha would rather not have fruit. In modern times, it is illegal to take anything without others' consent, even a stitch or thread. If everyone can abide by it, there will be no robbery and theft in society. If we can follow the teachings of the Buddha, the commandments we practice will be pure and flawless!

(5) Believe in Buddhism.

The object of our belief should have a perfect Buddhism. Buddhism is impartial, so it is called Buddhism. The truth of Buddhism is universally applicable, applicable to any time, space, people and things, not applicable to this person and that person. Or it is appropriate to use it at this time, but it is not appropriate to use it for another thing. Buddhism is complete because it transcends time and space and is not subject to any restrictions. There are many kinds of knowledge in society, so we should choose the most correct and harmonious as our guide. In the Spring and Autumn Period, Mrs. Qian Lou's famous saying, "It is better to be right, not wrong, not oblique, but more than enough", has been praised and used by the world for thousands of years. Believing in the perfect Buddhism can not only get many correct instructions, but also build a perfect life.

(6) Full of faith and wisdom

There are two sentences in the book "The Way to Becoming a Buddha": "Buddhism is the body, and purity and wisdom are the life. Usually when we see the Buddha statue enshrined on the desk, we will mistake it for the Buddha's body, or think that when the Buddha was alive, the solemn body was the Buddha's real body. In fact, the Buddha is based on Buddhism. The life span of the Buddha is not 80 years of human life, and the Buddha lives by endless wisdom. Secular knowledge is leaking, and human life is limited. Buddhism is the body, Buddhism is everywhere and endless; Wisdom is life, and wisdom is pure, eternal and infinite. The object of our belief, his intelligence is perfect, we can learn from him, and we can get a life full of intelligence in the future, thus making contributions to the public.

As the saying goes, "making friends carelessly" and "meeting people badly", one person staggered friends and ruined his life's future; How can you be careless in the choice of objects? What's more, if you are the object of faith, you should choose carefully!

A life of true faith and a belief of true faith

Although some people in the society say that they have certain beliefs, they are all superstitious, and some even believe in evil. So what is true faith? How can we get the life of faith and faith?

(A) from disguised beliefs to real beliefs

Ordinary people are often superstitious about evil because they have no real faith. So people's wisdom can't be opened, so they do a lot of stupid things in a muddle. For example, watching geomantic omen, telling time, telling fortune, divining divination, burning tin foil and gold and silver paper are all superstitious behaviors, which are not allowed by Buddhism.

There is a Wanshou Park cemetery in Foguang Mountain. Because of the death of relatives and friends, people often want to bury him in the cemetery. If I meet them, I often say to them, "It's best not to bring Mr. Geography to see Feng Shui. Some people don't understand why, because if you invite Mr. Geography to see Feng Shui, you must first ask the person who manages the cemetery to give him a red envelope. If you don't give it, after seeing the cemetery, even if you are satisfied with the funeral, you will find an excuse to say, "This place is in a bad direction. If your parents are buried here, they will offend their descendants. " "I heard that, you must feel all right. In order to bury your parents, you violated your child's daughter. You must not take this land. Another example is building a house. Even if you have a good landscape, if Mr. Geography says, "The direction of the house is not good, because parents can't go in this direction." "Imagine, you can take this big taboo? Superstition is to seize the weakness of human nature in a horrible way, so that you dare not disobey his beliefs. If a person does not have the wisdom to believe, he can't get rid of superstition. The Buddha repeatedly taught us in his legacy: "Don't take advantage of each other's good and bad luck, look up at the stars. Therefore, all my life, I have followed the wise saying that "every day is a good day and everywhere is a good place". As long as we are just, we can go anywhere; As long as it is convenient for everyone, every hour is auspicious. True Buddhists are never superstitious, and superstitious people are by no means true Buddhists.

There is also an evil belief, such as the consistent way. What exactly is a consistent way? I'm afraid few people can really understand; But why do so many people believe it? Perhaps it is its mysterious color and the oath that binds you firmly. Dare not violate, have to believe all the time. However, faith should not be so rash, because it is not true faith just because of human feelings or selfishness. Therefore, we should abandon the superstitious beliefs of disguised cults and choose the real Buddhist beliefs.

(B) from believing in fate to believing in autonomy

Generally speaking, people are willing to believe in fate, and everything belongs to the arrangement of heaven. The food is given to us by heaven; The benefits fell from the sky. Of course, there is nothing evil in this idea. It's just that we unconditionally hand over sovereignty to the gods and let them be the masters to rule us. This kind of person who doesn't know that he has sovereignty over himself is really the most stupid and pitiful person in the world. Why should a person's happiness, happy life, cheerful spirit and bright future be dominated and given by the gods? Buddhism says that "everyone has Buddha nature", which is to improve the sovereignty of each of us. Let us be alert to the fact that we can control everything about ourselves, and darkness can turn into light; Tragedy can turn into happiness; Rugged, can pave an open road to life. Believing in Buddhism, to put it more thoroughly, is to believe in yourself. Isn't it more meaningful to create everything with your own hands than to rely on the domination of the gods?

(3) From human belief to faithful belief.

People have many beliefs, often because this temple also goes to socialize and that temple also goes around. In the end, I was surrounded by many human feelings, so I couldn't choose the true faith. In fact, faith should not depend on people according to law. Buddha said that there are "four stops", that is, first, "not relying on people according to law": people who believe in Buddhism seek "faithfulness and interpretation" according to the teaching method of Buddha, and do not give up their faith because of the quality of people (people who say it); Or just be a believer in a temple or a monk, regardless of the whole Buddhism.

Second, "I don't know by wisdom": wisdom is wisdom, light is bright, and I can see its true colors; Knowledge is difference and distinction. Those who study Buddhism can only get the true meaning of Buddhism if they don't pursue Buddhism with different knowledge. People who study Buddhism should use their intelligence to prove the truth in order to be free.

Third, "follow the righteousness but not the words": people who believe in Buddhism should understand the Buddhism from the righteousness, and don't scrutinize and care about the language.

Fourth, "if you follow the righteousness, you can't follow the righteousness": Buddhism that can't follow the righteousness is just a convenient way to persuade new believers or those with shallow knowledge; If you believe in the truth, you should believe in the way of riding the dust.

"Four Persistences" is a truth that every Buddhist should know, and we should put it into practice.

(4) From temple belief to monk belief.

We believe in Buddhism, not just a temple, but the whole Buddhist monk group; Don't be a disciple of only one person, be a disciple of the whole monk group. As a Buddhist, you should protect any temple; Every monk group should do its best to love it as much as it loves its own home. There are many temples and believers all over the province. We often see some believers at home walking around temples, comparing the enthusiasm of monks for him, and some even make waves between temples, which is not the proper behavior of a real Buddhist. It is the duty of Buddha disciples to believe in the Buddhist monk protection group.

(5) From disorderly belief to pure belief.

Now the belief is too complicated, no matter what the object of worship is, he will burn incense here and worship God there. In fact, the benefits of faith cannot be obtained by disorderly beliefs. So, let's not be confused. We also believe in this and that. We can't concentrate, and we can't get help when we are really in trouble. It is better to turn our body and mind to the Three Treasures, let them unify our beliefs, worship God instead of seeing God, burn incense in every temple, and purify our beliefs.

Welcome to know the real Buddhism.

If you want to learn Buddhism, please see the Feast Master's Believing in Buddhism and Learning Buddhism. Very easy to understand.