Who is Buddu?

[NoName]

Who or what is Buddha? Is he your god, a Prophet, or somthing differnt?

[I, Brian]

You may find this helpful:
http://www.comparative-religion.com/buddhism/

Also, you've been asking a lot of basic questions about different world religions - in which case, I heartily recommend you visit the main site for at least a very brief oiverview of some of them.

http://www.comparative-religion.com/

[toujour_333]

well, it all depends on what viewpoint ur coming from in my opinion. to me, buddha was just a person, just like u and me. however, he was enlightened, which means that he understood the true nature of reality and the world around us. now, we all can become enlightened, just like the Buddha, and he taught us how through his words which have since been compiled into what is know as the pali cannon. but, the pali cannon explains how the Buddha became enlightened and the path that lead him to enlightenment, as well as some other things. also, im assuming that by 'Buddha' that u mean Siddhartha Gautama. if you are asking what is a buddha, that is someone who is fully enlightened. it also depends on what sect of buddhism that u practice as to how many buddhas u believe have existed. this is my understanding of buddhism from my own studies, so if anyone finds any faults in my comments, please inform me so that i can correct it. i hope that i have answered your question and if u have any more, please feel free to ask.

be well in peace

[inhumility]

Originally Posted by toujour_333

it also depends on what sect of buddhism that u practice as to how many buddhas u believe have existed.

Hi,
Just for my information,please tell me.How many sects are there in Buddhism and whether any of them believes in God,please compare each one of the sects from this vantage point ie belief in God.

[Vajradhara]

Namaste inhumility,

thank you for the post. i realize you asked toujour, however, i hope you don't mind my response.

with regards to the number of schools within the Buddha Dharma, there are three main views to be found. Hinyana, of which only the Theraveda school is extant, so we simply call it Thereaveda Buddhism, Mahayana and Vajrayana.

as i say, the Thereavedan school is the only extant school of the Hinyana. within the Mahayana, however, there are over 1,000 schools, the most well known to most beings are schools like Zen, T'ien T'ai, Ch'an, Pure Land, Nichiren and so forth. Within the Vajrayana, there are three main groups, Tibetan, Korean and Japanese, the Chinese school of Vajrayana is the same as the Tibetan Nyingma school, for the most part.

belief in a Creator Deity is a radically different worldview than what Buddhism teaches, as such, there are no schools that uphold the idea of a Creator Deity.

if you have a serious interest in the tradition, you may find this URL to be helpful:

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/basic-guide.htm

metta,

~v

[JustifiedByFaith]

Question:

There is a man who works at a grocery that I often go to and I noticed he cut off his hair and is bald. I said, "Looks good ..." He said thanks, the problem is the women comment often and seems they can't resist me. I said, "That's good isn't it?" He said, "No, I shaved being a Buddhist to try to humble myself but these women and others make it hard for me by thier comments I keep being lifted up." I as a christian can relate to him. I find that all attempts I make without Jesus to truely be humble is for me impossible.
Any comments in the Buddhist mindset regarding being humble?

[samabudhi]

Just for my information,please tell me.How many sects are there in Buddhism and whether any of them believes in God,please compare each one of the sects from this vantage point ie belief in God.

Deities of various levels all came to Buddha to receive teachings. Gods still suffer. They may live for a long time, but they eventually die too. Those who are fortunate receive teachings from the Buddha and enter the path. So all Buddhist sects believe in supernatural beings, yet Buddhists don't worship them.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/a.../wheel414.html

[samabudhi]

Any comments in the Buddhist mindset regarding being humble?

Buddhists don't really see being humble as a target as such, since it affirms the idea that there is anyone to be humble - the personal self seen as a fantasy.

But we do recognize that a being's mind is defiled by 3, elaborated to 5, negative mental states. These are ignorance/naivety, hatred, greed/attachment, jealosy, and pride/arrogance.
So in this case, the ideal is to extinguish pride/arrogance.

These defilements are rooted in the mind, not the body. So shaving your head might prune them, but to uproot them, one needs to purify the mind first and foremost.