BUDDHISM
In the dictionary the definition of religion is, “the belief in and worship of a God or gods,” with the key element being worship. If you believe in God and do nothing about it you don’t have a religion. When you believe in and obey your God and glorify him by giving him honor and the praise of your lips then you can say you have a “religion.” Buddhism is called a world religion but technically its not because Buddhists don’t believe in a supreme being we refer to as God. You could say Buddhists worship man as their god because they glorify themselves as the way to heaven. In the Buddhist system of faith each individual is to attain enlightenment on their own, which will result in their achieving eternal bliss.
Buddhism is an Indian religion based on the original teachings of Guatama Buddha, who lived between 600-400 BC. According to legend, Buddha sat under a Ficus tree meditating on the spiritual workings of the world when suddenly he attained the “Awakening” thereby gaining insight into the spiritual workings of all things. The beliefs, traditions and spiritual practices of Buddhism all originate from the Buddha, the “enlightened” one. Buddhism spread through much of Asia. Today Buddhism is worldwide with over 500 million followers which makes it the fourth largest religion in the world.
Buddhism is the dominant religion in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Japan, Bhutan, Mongolia, Singapore, Malaysia, Laos, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. Large Buddhist populations also live in China, India, Nepal, Australia, North and South Korea and the United States. Half of all Buddhists live in China and the U. S. has three and a half million Buddhists and the number is growing rapidly. The secular humanists are drawn to Buddhism because it reinforces their belief that man is the supreme being in the universe and there is no God.
Buddhism has three main branches: Theravada (The School of the Elders), Mahayana (The Great Vehicle) and Tibetan Buddhism. The goal of Buddhism is to overcome the suffering caused by the desire for and ignorance of reality’s true nature, including impermanence and the non-existence of self. Buddhists want you to believe this physical world isn’t real, it’s an illusion. Only the spiritual world is real. Buddhists want you to believe not only is there no God, but man doesn’t have a soul or eternal spirit that lives on. Buddhist traditions emphasize transcending the individual self through the attainment of Nirvana by following the path of Buddhahood thereby ending the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Nirvana is that state of total awareness of all spiritual truths that result in happiness and eternal bliss.
Through Buddha’s enlightenment he discovered four noble truths:
1.Dukkka – We cling to impermanent states and things. This causes dissatisfaction in our lives and leads to pain and suffering, which keeps us in Samsara, the reincarnation cycle, unless we achieve Nirvana (total happiness). The three marks of existence are “dukka”, impermanence and the non-self.” Buddhism, like other Indian religions, asserts that everything is impermanent, but, unlike the other Indian religions, Buddhism asserts there is no permanent self or soul in living beings.
Later Buddhists texts claim rebirth can occur in one of six realms, three good and three bad. The three good realms are heavenly, demi-god and human. The three bad realms are animal, hungry ghost and hellish. Which realm you go to for rebirth depends on your Karma, which simply means the actions or works you did during your lifetime, such as doing good deeds. My question is, if man has no soul or spirit what is it about us that is transferrable from one life to another? How can we be reborn from nothing? Buddhists solve that puzzle by saying it’s our consciousness that undergoes rebirth. That sounds a whole lot like an eternal soul or spirit to me.
2. Samudaya – Human misery originates within us because of our the inner craving for pleasure and our longing for being or non-being.
3. Niradhu – Man’s inner cravings and desires, which are causing so much misery in our lives, can be eliminated.
4. Magga – Eliminating man’s cravings and desires is the result of following a methodical way or path which will result in Nirvana, the state of restraint and self-control that ends the birth, death, and rebirth cycle of our lives (reincarnation). Nirvana is the state of spiritual release marked by our “emptiness” and the realization of the non-self. This “liberation” is supposed to bring the highest happiness and the state of eternal bliss. This is the Buddhist’s idea of heaven and it’s something they believe people can achieve on their own. Buddhists essentially believe that people are their own gods and can make their own happiness. There is no need for an external god when we can find heaven on our own. Buddhists can seek Buddhahood on their own or they can join a monastic community and become a monk and seek Nirvana that way.
Buddha’s teachings are called “dharma” and Buddha came up with five moral precepts that the faithful are to follow. Buddhists are prohibited from doing the following:
1.Killing living things.
2.Taking what is not given.
3.Sexual misconduct.
4.Lying.
5.Using drugs or alcohol.
Buddhists also follow the eightfold path to enlightenment:
1.Right view – wisdom
2.Right intention – wisdom
3.Right speech – moral virtues
4.Right action – moral virtues
5.Right livelihood – moral virtues
6.Right effort – meditation
7.Right mindfulness – meditation
8.Right concentration – meditation
If you look back at human history from the Garden of Eden to today one thing is obvious. Man cannot save himself. Throughout history man has been the cause of worldwide carnage, destruction and the slaughter of mankind through their endless wars. God had it right in the Bible when he said man would destroy themselves were it not for the Second Coming of Christ to save us. God put eternity in the hearts of men so that they would seek him out. God lets all men know there is something missing inside them, a void, that only God can fill. We all know it. We all feel it, whether we admit it or not. We can fool ourselves but we can’t fool God. Some will seek the true God and they’ll know it when they find him while most will deny God exists or they’ll go down a wrong path that seems good in their eyes but ultimately leads to hell.
No worldwide religion can flourish without supernatural help. The two supernatural beings at work in our world are God and Satan. All religions on earth are sponsored by one or the other. We know God is the author of Judaism and Christianity. Therefore all other religions are sponsored and nurtured by Satan in an effort to lead man away from the truth of God. Satan has put spiritual blinders on the nonbeliever so that the Bible is foolishness to them. Guatama Buddha was not a god or a prophet. Buddha was simply a man sitting under a tree until Satan whispered his lies in his ear an urged him to start a new religion.
Buddha died and was buried in a grave somewhere whereas Jesus Christ, the author of Christianity, is not in his grave. It is empty because he is risen, proving he is God. Jesus Christ ascended back to heaven where he now sits at the right hand of God the Father. Buddha claimed he was “enlightened” and for 2500 years others have been searching for this state of Nirvana but to my knowledge nobody else has found it. Everyone else is still searching for it and we’re supposed to take one man’s word for it that Nirvana exists. Have you ever heard of anyone achieving Nirvana? Is there any proof that any person has ever achieved Nirvana? I think not. There are no best selling books by Buddhists claiming what great things Buddhism has done for them. There are no proofs out there to support the Buddhist doctrines; no prophecies; no personal testimonies of the faith. Buddhism is a fake religion.
Psalm 14:1 – The fool has said in his heart, there is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none who does good.
Psalm 14:3 – They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.
Psalm 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.
Psalm 46:10 – Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
The business elites and Hollywood celebrities find it chic to flaunt their Buddhist religion before Jehovah, the one true God who made America great. Buddhism feeds their egos and lets them avoid any guilt for their sinful actions. They need to pull their head out of their rear end before it’s too late and seek God while he may be found or face the wrath of God on the last Day. Here is a partial list of celebrity Buddhists:
Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Orlando Bloom, Jennifer Aniston, Goldie Hawn, and Jeff Bridges.
Bill Clinton, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Ma, Steve Jobs, William Ford, and Steve & Elaine Wynn.
Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Lopez, Sara Jessica Parker, Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, and Sting.
Uma Thurman, Steven Segal, Kate Hudson, Kate Bosworth, Jackie Chan, and Patrick Duffy.
Tina Turner, K D Lang, Alanis Morissette, Herbie Hancock, Boy George, and David Bowie.
John Cleese, Penelope Cruz, George Takei, Dennis Weaver, Naomi Watts, and Jet Li.
George Lucas, Oliver Stone, Tiger Woods, Jack Dorsey, Alez Rodriguez, and Ron Reagan.