עברית
Faith
Is Buddhism a Religion or a Way of Life?
Question
Regarding Buddhism - from what I understand from Wikipedia. Buddhism is not idolatry but a way of life founded by a man named Buddha 2,500 years ago. And when they bow to his statue, it is a sign of respect and appreciation but not as idolatry. Since that is not what he invented, A- Am I correct? And consequently, it is not a religion but a way of life. B- In the end, are his statues considered instruments of idolatry? I would appreciate sources since I need to use the information for writing a Torah article. Abraham
Answer
With Hashem's help, Greetings, Buddhism developed into various sects and streams. However, you will find that all Buddhists attribute to Buddha genuinely divine qualities and claim he was more than a man. Even if they do not explicitly say so, they liken him to a perfect divine being incapable of error. This is similar to the way Christians envision Jesus as a deity in human form. It is possible that some Buddhists are more rational and acknowledge that Buddha was merely a man, but for most, bowing to statues signifies more than respect. To them, it is a way to communicate and connect with what they see as a divine entity who incarnated in this world in different bodies and times to teach his wisdom. For sources, see the Wikipedia entry "Buddha," which states: "His status and essence differ across various Buddhist traditions. Some see him as a human who overcame human weaknesses (mostly the approach in Mahayana and Vajrayana), while for practitioners of the Theravada stream, his status resembles that of a god." It is interesting to note that despite the divinity attributed to Buddha, historical tradition reveals that he died from food poisoning.
Regards, Daniel Bales
