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

Exploring Theravāda's connections to other paths - what can we learn from other traditions, religions and philosophies?
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Benjamin
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If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by 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. :anjali:
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plwk
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by plwk »

Another parallel here
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Benjamin
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by Benjamin »

Yes, a different question but one that's very related. Thanks for posting.
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Digity
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by Digity »

I'd be nothing.
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ground
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by ground »

Benjamin wrote: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? :sage:
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James the Giant
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by James the Giant »

I'd be a militant atheist terrorist.
Then,
saturated with joy,
you will put an end to suffering and stress.
SN 9.11
Reductor
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by Reductor »

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

I'd lie awake at night fretting about death. I'd spend my days sick over life.
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Aloka
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by 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.

.
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Benjamin
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by 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 :shrug:
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daverupa
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by 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.
  • "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting oneself one protects others? By the pursuit, development, and cultivation of the four establishments of mindfulness. It is in such a way that by protecting oneself one protects others.

    "And how is it, bhikkhus, that by protecting others one protects oneself? By patience, harmlessness, goodwill, and sympathy. It is in such a way that by protecting others one protects oneself.

- Sedaka Sutta [SN 47.19]
Sylvester
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by Sylvester »

daverupa wrote: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.
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by 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.
"If beings knew, as I know, the results of giving & sharing, they would not eat without having given, nor would the stain of miserliness overcome their minds. Even if it were their last bite, their last mouthful, they would not eat without having shared."
Iti 26
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Sam Vara
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by 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.
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Benjamin
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by Benjamin »

Sam Vara wrote:
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?
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rohana
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Re: If you couldn't be a Buddhist, what would you be?

Post by 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.
"Delighting in existence, O monks, are gods and men; they are attached to existence, they revel in existence. When the Dhamma for the cessation of existence is being preached to them, their minds do not leap towards it, do not get pleased with it, do not get settled in it, do not find confidence in it. That is how, monks, some lag behind."
- It. p 43
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