I get that these days it is impopular to be identified as a religion.Why? Because there is no definition of religion possible which does not apply to Buddhism perfectly. Open any book on world religion, and you will find Buddhism listed as one of the major world religions.Lots of people I met swear that Buddhism is not a religion, but rather a way of life. We had some interesting debate on that in the group. You may not want to repeat that to loudly. Add to that the strong animistic culture of Nepal, and you get an interesting blend, where it soon becomes impossible to determine who believes what - and why.īy the way, I started this paragraph by calling Buddhism a religion.In fact, it would seem that the absence of of a central teaching person in the life of an individual means that everyone is kind of free to worship whatever God they want, in whatever way they want. The monotheistic religions emphasize ’the one way’, Buddhism and Hinduism allow for many ways. In Islam you listen to the Imam in christianity to the pastor or priest, and in Judaism you listen to the rabbi - but in Buddhism and Islam there is not one main teaching event in the week. But another major difference that I observed is that there is no main teaching event. Buddhism and hindusim are of course different from Christianity, Islam and Judaism in that the latter are monotheistic (they have one God).Buddhist can worship in Hindu temples, and Hindus can participate in Buddhist rituals. In Nepal, Buddhism and Hinduism not only coexist peacefully they are also somewhat interchangeable.Buddhism finds its origin in Hinduism, and, in a way, is a refinement on Hinduism. But there is a large group of Buddhists (Nepal is the birth place of Buddha). Here are a few conclusions at which I arrived during my trip: I asked a lot of questions of our different guides (some of the group members started laughing or rolling their eyes after a while), but it would seem my rational western analytical mind does not quite get the Buddhist way of thinking. I am not sure I am qualified to tell you much about Buddhism as a religion. Until you go to the dinner hall, where you have to take them off. The floors are mosly black and white marble, which in summer must be nice and cool, but for now was quite cold! The monks just wear slippers I was glad with my mountain climbing shoes with thick socks. The building is mostly red, with decorations in red, orange and yellow everywhere, finished with details of gold paint. The golden roof can be seen from miles away, with long lines of colorful prayer flags leading up to it. Still, let me show you some of what we saw. Unfortunately, some of the most amazing places are not allowed to be photographed. We spent an afternoon looking around the monastery. Presumably because it is one of the holiest places in Buddhism. Apparently not many westerners are privileged to visit the Thrangu Tashi Yangtse Monastery monastery at Namobuddha.
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