Dude, you don't even acknowledge right and wrong when the eight fold path is predicated on right and wrong. So why would you think you would understand what Buddha meant by enlightement?It doesn't matter if some Buddhists believed in eternal spirits. That belief is not required to walk the Eight Fold Path.I disagree. Samsara proves otherwise. Samsara proves that Buddhists do believe in eternal spirits. When the body dies the mind or spirit moves on and continues to move on eternally or until the body and mind or spirit reaches its spiritual awakening or enlightenment. Samsara also disproves that the body and mind or spirit are one as the body dies but the mind or spirit goes on to live again in a new body.Buddhism teaches nothing regarding eternal spirits, creators or personal deities or spirituality in general.So you are saying that Buddhism teaches that spirit is a product of mind? Sounds more like a materialist philosophy than a Buddhist philosophy.I never said Buddhism is a materialist philosophy. But if you do not believe you are more than just matter, your philosophy is a materialist philosophy.The practical benefits of faith and spirituality are so superior to the lack of benefits of materialism that betting on theism is rational and betting on materialism is irrational. It’s not about infinite rewards after death, it is about practical rewards on the journey to death.I do not believe it matters if gods exist or not and gods are certainly not necessary in order to live a righteous life.
Thoughts?
Buddhism is hardly a materialist philosophy.
And you still haven't proven your case that a believer in gods is somehow possessing an advantage over a nonbeliever.
Siddhārtha Gautama did not teach there was no God. He taught to die to self to see reality. Reality is God. And I didn't use the phrase non-believer. I used the phrase materialist which is a more descriptive term. And if you don't believe a person who is spiritual has a natural benefit over materialists then you don't understand Buddhism.
I never said that Buddhism teaches that there is no god.
I said belief in gods is not required to walk the Eight Fold Path.
And spirtuality is a state of mind. The spirit is a product of the mind and does not exist apart from the mind. The mind does not exists apart from the brain, the brain does not exist apart from the body.
Enlightenment is the awakening of the intellect and the realizing that nothing is permanent not even your own concept of self.
Depending on the actions performed in previous lives, rebirth could be as a human or animal or even ghosts, demi-gods, or gods. Being born as a human is seen by Buddhists as a rare opportunity to work towards escaping this cycle of samsara. The escape from samsara is called Nirvana or enlightenment.Once Nirvana is achieved, and the enlightened individual physically dies, Buddhists believe that they will no longer be reborn.The Buddha taught that when Nirvana is achieved, Buddhists are able to see the world as it really is. Nirvana means realising and accepting the Four Noble Truths and being awake to reality.Some Buddhists believe that enlightened individuals can choose to be reborn in order to help others become enlightened. Others believe that, when Nirvana is achieved, the cycle of samsara, all suffering and further existence for that individual itself ends.
What does Buddhism teach about life after death? - Life after death - GCSE Religious Studies Revision - BBC Bitesize
Learn about samsara and nirvana and how Buddhists believe we can influence what happens to us when we die with BBC Bitesize GCSE Religious Studies.www.bbc.co.uk
There is no enduring essence or self
The self is an idea, a mental construct. That is not only the Buddha’s experience, but the experience of each realized Buddhist man and woman from 2,500 years ago to the present day. That being the case, what is it that dies? There is no question that when this physical body is no longer capable of functioning, the energies within it, the atoms and molecules it is made up of, don’t die with it. They take on another form, another shape. You can call that another life, but as there is no permanent, unchanging substance, nothing passes from one moment to the next. Quite obviously, nothing permanent or unchanging can pass or transmigrate from one life to the next.
The Buddha taught his disciples not to fear death. This has been interpreted by Buddhists as suggesting that if they live well, their rebirth will be good.
After his enlightenment, the Buddha could remember his previous lives. Some of these previous lives are recorded in the Buddhist scripture, the Jakata.
What does Buddhism teach about life after death? - Life after death - GCSE Religious Studies Revision - BBC Bitesize
Learn about samsara and nirvana and how Buddhists believe we can influence what happens to us when we die with BBC Bitesize GCSE Religious Studies.
www.bbc.co.uk