Saw this, thought of Sky

[BDBoop]

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Wishful thinking.

 

[koshergrl]

Isn't that a Hindu thing?

 

[garyganu]

Those are spiritual principles. To bad that the exact opposite is being promoted by today's popular culture. Look at "Occupy Wall Street" for example.

 

[Sunni Man]

Every time I see this picture of a dog on fire.

I think of Sky trying to turn her dog into a Buddhist.

 

[BDBoop]

Wishful thinking.

Of course. As long as we can't come to any kind of agreement on a personal level, how can we expect more from our leadership?

 

[BDBoop]

Those are spiritual principles. To bad that the exact opposite is being promoted by today's popular culture. Look at "Occupy Wall Street" for example.

You.

Using spiritual concepts to push a political agenda.

YOU are the problem.

 

[garyganu]

Those are spiritual principles. To bad that the exact opposite is being promoted by today's popular culture. Look at "Occupy Wall Street" for example.

You.

Using spiritual concepts to push a political agenda.

YOU are the problem.

Please try to understand and forgive me. May peace an love be with you.

 

[amrchaos]

Hinduism and Buddhism tend to blur when one talks about spiritual concepts.

Kind of group them together at times--except one group are polytheist and the other ---come to think about it, Buddha is not considered a god by Buddhist. So who do Buddhist pray to?? Are they some form of atheist?

Maybe I am missing something.

 

[Sunni Man]

Buddhism is basically a philosophy; and not really a religion.

 

[amrchaos]

Buddhism is basically a philosophy; and not really a religion.

Religion is a philosophy about the world and how to live it.

You can take the metaphysics out of a religion and you are left with the basic philosophy. The philosophy is what one should use to judge if a religion is "True" or "False".

"True" and "False" takes on your subjective inclinations, of course.

 

[Sky Dancer]

Hinduism and Buddhism tend to blur when one talks about spiritual concepts.

Kind of group them together at times--except one group are polytheist and the other ---come to think about it, Buddha is not considered a god by Buddhist. So who do Buddhist pray to?? Are they some form of atheist?

Maybe I am missing something.

Buddhism arose out of a Hindu culture. Some similiarities are present, including many armed meditational deities, such as the one depicted in the OP.

Who or what do Buddhists pray to? We pray to the lineage of enlightened masters that we may be inspired to achieve realization.

We are praying to that which is already present within us, but is unrecognized.

 

[Sky Dancer]

Buddhism is basically a philosophy; and not really a religion.

That question of whether Buddhism is a way of life, or a religion is hotly debated among Buddhists ourselves.

If you look at Tibetan Buddhism, the form that I practice, it has many of the same "trappings" as the RCC, does. I was raised in the RCC.

We chant in a language other than English, (either Tibetan, Sanskrit or Pali). We have lush displays of art; thangkas of meditational deities, (thangkas are cloth paintings), statues that are consecrated, (filled with holy substances and blessed), candles, incense, flowers, a shrine (which would be called an altar in the west). We wear robes and shawls. We perform prostrations, (just like Muslims do, or Catholics). We have holy days. We have ceremonies, called "wangs" (in Tibetan) "abhisheka", (in Sanskrit) or "empowerments" in English.

Our practices, aka "thun" (in Tibetan) or sadhana (in Sanskrit) follow a specific order:

Taking refuge, generating bodhichitta, (the enlightened intent), seven branch prayer, praises to the meditational deities and lineage masters, visualization, mantra recitation, meditation, non-meditation, dissolving the visualization and offering dedication prayers.

So, is Buddhism a religion or not? It was once the state religion of Tibet. It is the state religion of the tiny country of Bhutan. I would say, yes, Tibetan Buddhism is a religion, but is a non-theistic religion. We don't believe in or pray to a "God". Meditational deities are not gods. They are symbolic representations of subtles states of consciousness that cannot be depicted well in words, but they can be experienced.

Probably this post is too much information.