So what is the difference between Buddhism as religion and as a philosophy?

I kind of am wondering this to understand different sides of Buddhism not just the one that is related to religion.





Please tell me the benefits of the Buddhism faith along with the philosophy then list the cons of Buddhism as a faith as well as a philosophy.





Then list you personal feelings on both negative and positive.





Please if you feel a link you have read for information would make your opinion more clear then list a few links you feel are worthy and understandable in explaining what you are trying to say.





Thank you, Mel.|||Good morning, Mel.





As I see Buddhism and in my practice, when it is viewed as a religion it is primarily due to rituals that vary between traditions and schools.





When viewed as a philosophy as opposed to a religion there is not a major difference in Buddhism. It is a way of living in either regard; the teachings (suttas and sutras) remain the same so there is not a major difference from viewing it as a religion or philosophy. The Dharma remains the same regardless as to how one regards Buddhism. So, in this regard, I cannot as you ask "鈥ist the cons of Buddhism as a faith as well as a philosophy" since I have taken refuge. If there were cons in either regard I wouldn't have made the conversion and, yes, I did considerable research, contemplation, and reading before I made that decision.





Sites on the Internet are legion. I am hesitant to make recommendations in this regard since it depends upon the tradition to which one is drawn. Best to follow that path on your own.





May all be at peace.





John|||As a philosophy, it explains everything and doesn't help with any of it. As a religion, it overcomes all ignorance and suffering, but you don't know what you are doing. It's like the difference between having a road map or a car.





Try both.|||When Buddhism is practiced as a religion, meditation is the key to nirvana and Buddha is the savior who taught the world to join him in anti-materialism. When Buddhism is practiced like a philosophy, Buddha is just one of the many scribes in world history and meditation is just an activity you do on Sundays.|||The distinction between "religion" and "philosophy" is something we inherited from the Greeks and have developed further since the 17th century. It did not exist in 6th century BC India and it is a little unreasonable to expect the Buddha to have set up his system of thought and behaviour to fit neatly into categories that would be in use 26 centuries later.|||Buddhism is sometimes referred to as a non-religion because it is a practice tradition and therefore does not focus on an outside source for "salvation".|||i will try to answer ...........|||This is a great question and is a tall order for the YA format! I will attempt an answer in a general sense while I do specifically practice and study Ch'an Buddhism.





The Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhist, once said that religion is a container for the practices and symbols that remind one of the meaning of life and the experience of that life. ( I cannot find the exact quote at the moment) So Buddhism can be looked at in that way for sure. Even the Ch'an (Zen) sect of Buddhism has it's altars, artifacts, specific understandings and preferred practices. Some Zen temples have a minimal and blank altar which is understood to reflect the emptiness that is everything - an organizing principle for sure. Also spoken by the Dalai Lama: "This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness." Here this Buddhist leader reveals that the organizing principle (which some call religion) is not based on belief but on the direct observation of daily life and the kindness, or lack of it, that is practiced.





At first look, another Buddhist sect appears to have a more religious approach. The Shin or Pure Land sect, a devotional system, practices a faith in what they call "Other Power" opposed to something like self power. A heaven and the Buddha described in Pure Land are all glorious and otherworldly. Eventually a Pure Land practitioner finds out that this place is none other than her very own world revealed anew. Here in this revelation the idea of self and other are a moot point. Jesus actually said much the same thing: "The kingdom of heaven is within you". This reflects the radical shift in understanding that all religion is about...when it is not preoccupied with being a literal or fundamentalist delusion. I think this shift also reveals the "unreligious" philosophical base for all religion - before it became a "religion" of unmindful practices. Buddhism generally avoids this forgetful way by declaring up front that it is much less religion than a direct understanding of experience, not a ritualized version of it. Buddhism is more like a science of consciousness or mind - even though it has been declared the national religion of several counties by their rulers. As always there are political and personal reasons to lean into the religious aspects of Buddhism as observed by others. But that is not ,finally, what Buddhism is about.





Again from the Dalai Lama: "Buddhism does not accept a theory of God, or a creator. According to Buddhism, one's own actions are the creator, ultimately. Some people say that, from a certain angle, Buddhism is not a religion but rather a science of mind. Religion has much involvement with faith. Sometimes it seems that there is quite a distance between a way of thinking based on faith and one entirely based on experiment, remaining skeptical. Unless you find something through investigation, you do not want to accept it as fact. From one viewpoint, Buddhism is a religion, from another viewpoint Buddhism is a science of mind and not a religion. Buddhism can be a bridge between these two sides. Therefore, with this conviction I try to have closer ties with scientists, mainly in the fields of cosmology, psychology, neurobiology and physics. In these fields there are insights to share, and to a certain extent we can work together."





An excellent contemporary look at this science of mind which is evidence based would be the work of Dr Dan Seigel.


http://drdansiegel.com/?page=press%26amp;sub=a鈥?/a>


Check out the audio titled: A Week of Silence. Based in modern scientific observations, this doctor has re-uncovered nothing less that what the Buddha taught from day one, which is: There is a purely natural way out of suffering by understanding what one already is. (Jesus - The Kingdom is within.)





All religions can be traced back to philosophical speculation. When this is either ignored or forgotten it becomes a system of closed belief, not of open minded speculation. The open ended speculation necessary to understand daily experience is the basis of equanimity and is also the root of compassion. Some call this a radical acceptance of "What Is" as a basis of higher human brain function. This means that all delusional thinking must be seen through and left behind. Meditation as the Buddha taught is the perfect vehicle for this kind of understanding. The proof is in the pudding - people become more compassionate without having to understand the particulars of any religion - either philosophical or religious. This equanimity is the jumping off point for compassion, not for proof of or for belief in anything.





The Indian sage Nagarjuna (d. apx 450 AD), who is sometimes called the second Buddha (of this world), developed a marvelous philosophical approach that opens the dialog between what can be known, what cannot be known, what is important and not importa