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Originally Posted by Skaligojurah
Well, that's a certain sect of Buddhism. True Buddhism I believe doesn't even have Buddhas, or deities at all.
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If you read the quotation, you'll see it's not just one "sect", it's several branches that believe this. And calling for example Burmese buddhism, which is followed by almost 90% of the Burmese population, a "sect" when it is in fact over 40 million people - and even that is just a drop in the ocean of the people who
do believe in a religion that teaches women are morally inferior, then you're obviously trying to make the issue seem smaller than it is. The way it seems to me, if you consider yourself a buddhist who does not believe women are morally inferior to men, you are part of a minority, not them.
Obviously, you are not buddhist because you believe in your own path to enlightnment without guidance which is contrary to some of the most central stuff in buddhism,
the three jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), which even I know about.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Skaligojurah
Buddhism teaches you that most of your wants, and desires are psychosomatic, and gives an avenue to focus on what really matters. The reason why the caste system is such a small thing is because Buddhism teaches you money does not equal value.
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I agree that buddhism can teach us stuff about values, but does it really teach us to care about stuff that matters? The way I understand it, the real ideal of buddhism seems rather naive to me. Simply put, animals like us need three things; to eat and drink, to survive and to make babies. Desires to have money, to have sex, to be successful are somehow manifestations of these biological needs and help us fulfill them as best as we can. Enlightenment in buddhism seems to me to mean a complete carelessness for these needs and a general dissolvement of the ego, something which is completely unnatural and would unable us to live a natural life as it requires you to ignore natural needs. While your ancestors have managed to fulfill these needs, which is why you are on this planet, living up to a buddhist ideal like celibacy would make you an evolutionary dead end. The reason this is so hard for us to do is because every grain of biological sensibility in your being, the subconcious part of you which cares about perpetuating your genes through further generations, should be completely against it. Needless to say, enlightnment wouldn't be very impressive if everyone could do it.
We know what rewards following your desires may have; you can perpetuate your genes through your children and having wealth will give them a good start in the contest known as life which again gives them a better chance of perpetuating their genes. The reward for following buddhism, however, is much more abstract and intangible. A few reach englihtnment, whatever that is, and the rest will just have to hope that their hardship is rewarded in the great cycle of life and death. Are buddhists really trying to attain what is important in life? I don't think so.
I won't deny that at worst our natural desires may turn into obsessions which come in the way of our happiness, but that doesn't mean buddhism is a good recipe for a happy life.