Buddhism and Karma (Religion)

by xeno6696 , Sonoran Desert, Thursday, August 29, 2013, 01:03 (4103 days ago) @ David Turell

George; Here is a discussion of what is wrong with Buddhism, from an atheist who has taught at a Buddhist school:
> > 
> > http://rationalist.org.uk/4021/the-dark-side-of-buddhism
> 
> George, glad you are participating again. You are bringing in wonderful material. I would love to see Matt or Tony respond to this, the conclusion of the article:
> 
> "At the end of the day, it's still true that, in many respects, Buddhism maintains its moral edge over Christianity or Islam handily. That instinct for proselytising unto war which has made both of these religions such distinctly harmful forces in the story of mankind is nowhere present. But, the drive to infect individuals with an inability to appreciate life except through a filter of regret and shame is perhaps even more dangerous in Buddhism for being so very much more subtle. Squeezed between the implications of inherited evil instincts and a monolithic conception of what counts as a right answer to the question of one's own personal existence, a young person entering a Buddhist community today is every bit as much under the theological gun as a student at a Catholic school, but because society has such a cheery picture of Buddhist practice, she has far fewer resources for resistance than her Catholic counterpart. And that allows sad things to happen. I would urge, then, that as fulfilling as it is to point out and work to correct the gross excesses of Christianity (and, let's face it, fun too), we can't let the darkness of Buddhist practice go by unremarked just because it works more subtly and its victims suffer more quietly."
> -See my response to the OP, but in general, this critique is valid. There are forms of Buddhism that adhere to the idea that no one except Buddha is/was capable of enlightenment. (Usually Theravedan Buddhism.) It's what caused the Buddhist "Schism" and created the Mahayana school of Buddhism that represents the majority of Buddhism today. -> Since the author is an atheist, this must be a clear and accurate criticism. And very different than Kabbalah.-Kabbalah has important theological roots, but considering that Kabbalah starts with a supreme being, it IS going to be very different than Buddhism. By its nature, Buddhism skips origin questions and generally, downplays the role of gods--and the Tibetan forms even promise that you can reincarnate as gods.

--
\"Why is it, Master, that ascetics fight with ascetics?\"

\"It is, brahmin, because of attachment to views, adherence to views, fixation on views, addiction to views, obsession with views, holding firmly to views that ascetics fight with ascetics.\"