The religious community often debates on whether Buddhism is categorized as a religion or as philosophical teaching. The answer to the question varies depending on an individual’s point of view. There are three main types of Buddhism practices across the world with each of them having smaller branches with slights variances in their teachings and beliefs. The different styles of Buddhist mainly encompass Theravada Buddhism, Vajrayana Buddhism, and Mahayana Buddhism. The various forms often have deities that are worshipped while others do not. Some often have scriptures while others do not usually believe in any physical form of the Buddhist teachings. The first article is authored by Rachel, a blogger, presenting the argument that Buddhism is a religion (Rachel, 1). On the other hand, the second article authored by Pamela Winfield recognizes Buddhism as a philosophy. Analyzing and comparing the two pieces having divergent views on the religious nature of Buddhism is crucial for understanding whether it is a religion or philosophy.
Summary of the articles
Rachel in her article considers Buddhism as a religion. The author acknowledges the fact that Mahayana Buddhism which is often found in greater part of Asia that includes Japan, Korea, and China often teaches on attaining enlightenment (Rachel, 1). The Mahayana often accept that every individual wishes to ensure the effective attainment of enlightenment and thus end the cycle of rebirth which others recognize as “Karma.” The article proceeds to state that Buddha is the greatest of the deities but is not worshipped. Instead, Buddha often inspires all those who practice doing as he once did. The author states that Buddhism often requires that the individuals that choose the wrong path attempt to re-accomplish these tasks in their next life alongside other punishments imposed on them by karma. The characteristics of this type of Buddhism thus often play a significant role in showing the religious nature of Buddhism. The author concludes by stating that Buddhism often contains all the different elements of a religion. Moreover, the article associates Buddhism with fallacies that characterize other religions and just as dangerous as other religions as well. A quote proves the claim on the dangerous nature of Buddhism that the author uses to summarize the teachings of Buddhism.
On the other hand, Winfield tends to focus on enlightening the readers on some of the aspects of Buddhism that ensures its appeal to the Americans as more of a philosophy than a religion (Winfield, 1). The author commences by discussing the early influences of the American Buddhism. Winfield provides a brief history of the introduction of Buddhism into American culture. She recognizes the presentation of the traditions of Buddhism to the audience as rather a non-atheistic and intellectual tradition characterized by the lack of competing gods, meaningless spirituals, and irrational beliefs. The author proceeds to discuss continuity and change of some of the practices that characterize Buddhism. However, there is the necessity for noting that the author recognizes the fact that Buddhism is characterized by several deities, rituals, and doctrines besides sacred texts, sectarian developments, ethics, and ordained priests that often characterize the different religions. The author recognizes the fact that Buddhism in America mainly gained a significant amount of following due to the mystical appeal of Buddhist meditation. Majority of the Americans that have adopted Buddhism have contributed significantly to the erosion of the ideal values associated with Buddhism. Winfield states that the modern construction of the seemingly nonreligious Buddhism has contributed significantly to the emergence of the modern day spiritual but not religious phenomenon besides the considerably secularized and commodified mindfulness movement that characterizes the American Buddhism. The author thus recognizes the fact that the secularized nature of the American Buddhism has resulted in its appearance as more of a philosophy than a religion.
Analysis and Comparison
The different texts presented by the authors tend to offer opposing views concerning the religious or philosophical nature of Buddhism. Both scholars ensure the effective reference to the varied materials with the aim of validating their claims. For instance, Rachel refers to several study materials that are reliable to validate her claim on the religious nature of Buddhism. Rachel ensures effective referencing of the historically critical occurrences that shaped Buddhism significantly in the 19th century in different nations. On the other hand, Winfield exhibits the preference for relying on scholarly materials in validating her claims. She refers to some of the considerably popular authors and poets that served as the early converts to Buddhism in America. Winfield recognizes the fact that the different poets and authors played a crucial role in founding the popular strain of mystical philosophy called Theosophy. The fact that both texts tend to rely on considerably reliable study materials in proving their claims is crucial in validating the arguments on the religious and philosophical nature of Buddhism.
The nature of the organization of the works of both authors depict some similarities. Both authors ensure effective introduction of their texts through having strong thesis statements. For instance, Rachel introduces her article by asking a question on the significance of recognizing Buddhism to which she responds by acknowledging that the credibility of Buddhism strongly depends on its categorization as a religion (Rachel, 1). The author proceeds to discuss the different crucial points in the text’s body in paragraphs that are organized logically. On the other hand, Winfield introduces her discussion effectively and gives a short but detailed thesis statement, “Welcome to Buddhism, American-style” (Winfield, 1). Winfield has further ensured effective organization of her literary work by separating the considerably similar information by subtitles. The different subtitles tend to play a significant role in presenting the information that relates to it. The different subtitles used in the text are crucial for facilitating retrieval of information by the readers for reference purposes. The conclusions of both articles feature the views of the authors concerning the nature of Buddhism.
Both texts depict the fact that the findings of both authors are rather based on facts and not geared towards defending any particular viewpoint without considering both aspects of Buddhism. Despite the fact that both arguments exhibit high levels of validity and acceptability, the logical thinking evident in Rachel’s work tends to depict its genuineness. Moreover, the argument presented by Winfield tends to pay more attention to the American Buddhism, and hence the findings do not apply to the entire Buddhist population (Winfield, 1). There is the necessity for noting that introduction of Buddhism in America was by converts who contributed significantly to ignoring some of the critical values and beliefs that served as the foundation of Buddhism in Asia where it originated from.
A closer look at both articles shows the validity of their thesis statements. It is clear that Buddhism has drawn a significant amount of attention resulting in debates concerning its religious nature. The question of whether Buddhism is a religion or philosophy has drawn a significant amount of attention from the scholars and other interested parties. However, there is the necessity for acknowledging the fact that consideration of some of the practices and beliefs that served as its core values is crucial. The opinion on whether Buddhism is either a religion or philosophy is strongly dependent on the scope of study that one conducts for proving the claim.
In conclusion, from both articles, it is evident that there is the lack of clearly defined way of determining the validity of any religion. However, Buddhism depicts the presence of the crucial elements that make up the different popular religions. Buddhism has both the texts and scriptures dating back further than those of Jesus and Mohammed (Prothero, 211). Moreover, the different texts that guide the Buddhists provide the necessary instruction concerning the effective ways of living and engaging in life practices which is also available in other religions as well. However, the major difference encompasses the fact that Buddhism does not often recognize the presence of the Supreme Being responsible for the creation of the world. As a religion Buddhism often play a crucial role in allowing its followers to ensure the effective attainment of something greater than themselves through the crucial life lessons and structured practices. Buddhism is thus religion and needs to be treated as such.
Works Cited
Prothero, Stephen R. God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World–and Why Their Differences Matter. New York, N.Y.: HarperOne, 2010.
Rachel. Rachel’s Musings: Buddhism is a Religion. Retrieved from https://www.rabe.org/thoughts-on-buddhism/buddhism-is-a-religion/ On [24 March 2018]
Winfield, Pamela. The Conversation: Why so many Americans think Buddhism is just a philosophy. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/why-so-many-americans-think-buddhism-is-just-a-philosophy-89488 On [24 March 2018]