| </span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (Automatic Nate,)
</span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by (Autolykos,)
I say that Buddhism is not really a religion. After all, Buddhism, in its classical sense, does not require the worship of any deities (not even Buddha himself, although many later sects adopted worship of him). It is really just a systematic philosophy.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
This is a bit off topic, but in talking to missionaries who work outside Beijing, I've heard that at least Chinese Buddhism usually involves a number of household gods and local spirits--they're always talking about people going to the town gods' shrines and what not. Out in the country, outside the reach of the government, quite a bit of god-activity accompanies Buddhism.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
That's actually Confusicism (sp?) mixed in with Buddhism, the worship of ancestors and a pantheon of Gods (Taoism?). It was integrated with Buddhism and thus spreading itself across China. |