If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

[Benjamin]

Like the title says, if you weren't a Buddhist, which tradition or religion/philosophy would you follow? (for example Daoism, Atheism, etc.)

I think this serves to be an interesting question, for it shows where else our philosophical leanings may be when the Dhamma is left out of the equation. Personally, I'd go with Stoicism. I find a lot of parallels between it and the Buddha's teachings.


***Please take the question as a hypothetical scenario. We don't need a repeat of the "What if you knew rebirth didn't exist" thread here. It's just for fun.***


Looking forward to some interesting answers.

[plwk]

Another parallel here

[Benjamin]

Yes, a different question but one that's very related. Thanks for posting.

[Digity]

I'd be nothing.

[ground]

Like the title says, if you weren't a Buddhist, which tradition or religion/philosophy would you follow? (for example Daoism, Atheism, etc.)
...
***... It's just for fun.***

I is not a buddhist and does not follow anything.

Is this fun?

[James the Giant]

I'd be a militant atheist terrorist.

[Reductor]

I suppose I'd be a hedonistically inclined man with materialistic, annihilationist views, since those attitudes seem most natural to me.

I'd lie awake at night fretting about death. I'd spend my days sick over life.

[Aloka]

if you weren't a Buddhist, which tradition or religion/philosophy would you follow

I didn't follow any tradition, religion or philosophy before I was a Buddhist - so it would still be the same.

.

[Benjamin]

Well, I found it fun. Maybe interesting is a better choice of word.

I didn't mean this to be a parallel of the other thread posted here; a sort of "What would your life be without Buddhism" type of thing. I'm asking if you had a second choice as far as a religion or philosophy goes, what would you pick besides the Buddhasasana?

Didn't expect so many people to be so cut and dry

[daverupa]

The thing is, in my case I spent decades hunting through the religions on offer, and they were all found wanting, so there really isn't another game in town that I can see.

I was fond of Daoism for quite a while, so I might've ended up doing various qigong exercises instead of bhavana.

[Sylvester]

The thing is, in my case I spent decades hunting through the religions on offer, and they were all found wanting, so there really isn't another game in town that I can see.

I was fond of Daoism for quite a while, so I might've ended up doing various qigong exercises instead of bhavana.

Just don't go practising those 'Harvest Flowers' exercises, unless it's the solar variety.

[Coyote]

Interesting question. I may have stuck with Christianity.
If not that, them probably an agnostic "still searching". It's really hard to say.
I like Greek philosophy, and stoicism appealed to me too, though I like Plato a lot more. I'd probably look there for guidance and inspiration.

[Sam Vara]

Like the title says, if you weren't a Buddhist, which tradition or religion/philosophy would you follow? (for example Daoism, Atheism, etc.)

If I could, I'd be a Christian.

[Benjamin]

Like the title says, if you weren't a Buddhist, which tradition or religion/philosophy would you follow? (for example Daoism, Atheism, etc.)

If I could, I'd be a Christian.

You still can be. Could you explain?

[rohana]

Hopefully I would not be a nihilist and choose something like Vedānta instead. Cultivation of samādhi is the next best pleasure if nibbāna is not on the menu.

[LonesomeYogurt]

A jerk, probably.

[Spiny Norman]

Like the title says, if you weren't a Buddhist, which tradition or religion/philosophy would you follow? (for example Daoism, Atheism, etc.)

I'd be a pagan as I like nature, stone circles and dressing up...

[Aloka]

if you weren't a Buddhist, which tradition or religion/philosophy would you follow

I didn't follow any tradition, religion or philosophy before I was a Buddhist - so it would still be the same.

.

On second thoughts....maybe in a parallel universe I'd invent my own religion, sit on a high throne in exotic robes as its queen... and have people prostrating to me, feeding me strawberries and icecream and begging me for my wisdom teachings .... whilst I blessed them on their heads with my dessert bowl, as they filed past my high queeniness in an orderly line.

[Sam Vara]

Like the title says, if you weren't a Buddhist, which tradition or religion/philosophy would you follow? (for example Daoism, Atheism, etc.)

If I could, I'd be a Christian.

You still can be. Could you explain?

I mean that you have to believe things that I seem to be incapable of believing, and see the world in a way that I cannot. If I could get over those little hurdles, I would be attracted to the following.

The sense of complete and immediate salvation granted as an act of grace, and with no reservations or sense of it being deserved.
A link to a strong literary and musical culture that I grew up with, but have never fully been a part of.
A deeper understanding of some of the most impressive people that I have met, who claimed to be Christians.

These things would be nice; and this choice is a way of honouring a religion which I generally find to be benign and accepting.

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

A jerk, probably.

My answer would be similar to Aloka's but the question is inherently conflicted, because it allows for "the hindsight" that comes from Buddhism, yet doesn't allow one to accept Buddhism as one's view.

Metta,
Retro.