Is Buddhism A Religion?
Can The Metaphysical Aspects of Buddhism be Ignored?
It is often argued that Buddhism is not a religion at all but a philosophy, a set of ethics or even an applied psychology.
Buddhism rejects the concepts of God and Soul, features which define a religion for many Westerners, and places great emphasis on self-transformation through the practice of meditation. This has led some to question its status as a religion.
No God
The Abrahamic religions like Christianity, Islam and Judaism are monotheistic - believing in only one god - but Buddhism denies the existence of a Supreme Being and creator of the world. This has led some to label it ‘atheistic’ but it has been suggested that Buddhism might demand a new category – that of the ‘non-theistic’ religion, a religion without a God and it is not alone in this. Other Eastern belief systems such as Confucianism, Taoism and Jainism also deny the existence of a single God.
Despite this doctrine of ‘no-God’ many Buddhist schools recognise a pantheon of gods and spirits. This is sometimes attributed to the incorporation of deities already extant in the cultures with which Buddhism has made contact.
However, the Buddha also taught about various realms of rebirth (originally five) which include those populated by ghosts, gods and even titans as well as a hell. Those focusing upon the psychological aspects of Buddhism interpret these metaphorically as the various states of mind that can be experienced within a lifetime but to many Buddhists these realms are interpreted literally.
No Soul
Contrary to the teachings of the Brahman religion of the time, the Buddha denied the existence of an eternal soul claiming that after much investigation he could find no evidence for it. Instead, he taught that a human being can be analysed into five separate yet complexly related parts, he called these the five aggregates.
The Metaphysical
Arguably it is the metaphysical aspects of Buddhism that make it a religion rather than just a set of ethics, psychology or a philosophy. Ideas such as karma and rebirth which existed in India before the Buddha are key concepts in his teachings.
Karma, which is the accumulation of good or bad ‘merit’ through moral choices is what determines the circumstances of an individual’s rebirth. The effects of karma can be realised immediately or at any time during this lifetime and beyond. While some see karma as the shaping of a person’s state of mind in their ‘rebirth’ from moment to moment, it is impossible to ignore the Buddha’s continual reference to an individual’s multiple lives often spanning aeons.
The nature of the entity that is reborn is a matter of much speculation; rather than a ‘soul’, which Buddhism denies, it is often described as the momentum of a person’s desire or a mental ‘continuum’.
Meditation versus Prayer
Unlike the activity of prayer in other religions, Buddhist meditation is a transformational practice that aims to develop self-control, purification and ultimately enlightenment. While prayer is often a petition to God to intercede on the worshipper’s behalf, meditation aims at self-reliance.
Faith
Throughout his teaching career the Buddha emphasised personal experience and investigation on the path to enlightenment. He frequently asked his followers to test his teachings against their own reason rather than take his word as absolute truth. The empirical nature of Buddhism then is unique among religions which can sometimes demand a ‘blind faith’ from their followers.
Buddhism’s emphasis on personal practice and responsibility and it’s denial of certain metaphysical concepts integral to other religions can be used to undermine its status as a religion. However, to ignore or misinterpret Buddhism’s own metaphysics is perhaps to reduce its effectiveness as a complete way of life: one that can meet an individual’s ethical, psychological, philosophical and spiritual needs at once.
