Is Buddhism a Failure?

S.A.M. said:
Using the term Buddhists seems contradictory to the notion that followers of the Pali canon do not worship the man that derived the path. Its like saying Mohammedans for followers of Islam.
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Actually his name was:
Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit)
Siddhattha Gotama (Pali)

Buddha just means "awoken one."
 
swarm said:
Actually his name was:
Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit)
Siddhattha Gotama (Pali)

Buddha just means "awoken one."
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So when you go to a Buddhist temple the statue of the Buddha refers to any awoken one?

Enmos said:
I'm sorry ?


So ?


Edit:

Could you please put the following religions in order of successfulness and tell me what method you used ?

Christianity
Islam
Hinduism
Buddhism
Judaism
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A religion is not successful in relation to other religions. Only in relation to itself.

e.g. a Jew who followed the dietary laws no matter where he lived would still have relevance to the religion, while one who considered the laws of his religion as unnecessary would soon find the society where he lived as more relevant.

A Buddhist landlord who has serfs has decided his religion is irrelevant to his social milieu.

If all Jews and Buddhists decided the way of life as preached by their religion was irrelevant or anachronistic to their society, the religion would die out or be mutated into something different from what it originally was.
 
S.A.M. said:
A religion is not successful in relation to other religions. Only in relation to itself.

e.g. a Jew who followed the dietary laws no matter where he lived would still have relevance to the religion, while one who considered the laws of his religion as unnecessary would soon find the society where he lived as more relevant.

A Buddhist landlord who has serfs has decided his religion is irrelevant to his social milieu.

If all Jews and Buddhists decided the way of life as preached by their religion was irrelevant or anachronistic to their society, the religion would die out or be mutated into something different from what it originally was.
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Doesn't matter, you can rate them independently.
 
Enmos said:
Doesn't matter, you can rate them independently.
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Why don't you rate the following in terms of success instead?

coconut
mango juice
tamarind
allspice

sometimes you make little or no sense.
 
S.A.M. said:
Why don't you rate the following in terms of success instead?

coconut
mango juice
tamarind
allspice

sometimes you make little or no sense.
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You were the one that claimed that Buddhism is a failure. You must have some rating system..
I did not claim that mango juice is a failure, did I ?
 
Enmos said:
You were the one that claimed that Buddhism is a failure. You must have some rating system..
I did not claim that coconuts are a failure, did I ?
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I already explained my reasoning. Buddhism fails as a religion because the way it preaches is irrelevant to most Buddhist societies, who have converted the Buddha into a deity and the Noble Truths into the Pali Canon. From samurais to taekwondo to Lamaism to oppressive communism to the junta and the Sinhalese, Buddhist religious practice has been mutated into something other than what the original Buddha preached. That does not mean that there are no individual Buddhists. Just no Buddhist societies.
 
S.A.M. said:
I already explained my reasoning. Buddhism fails as a religion because the way it preaches is irrelevant to most Buddhist societies, who have converted the Buddha into a deity and the Noble Truths into the Pali Canon. From samurais to taekwondo to Lamaism to oppressive communism to the junta and the Sinhalese, Buddhist religious practice has been mutated into something other than what the original Buddha preached. That does not mean that there are no individual Buddhists. Just no Buddhist societies.
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See I don't get how a religion in itself can be a failure, unless it's disproved of course.
Isn't it rather the followers that have failed ?
 
Enmos said:
See I don't get how a religion in itself can be a failure, unless it's disproved of course.
Isn't it rather the followers that have failed ?
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What followers? If they decided that being a landlord and having serfs beats living with suffering as an aspect of life, how is that a failure of the followers?
 
S.A.M. said:
What followers? If they decided that being a landlord and having serfs beats living with suffering as an aspect of life, how is that a failure of the followers?
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Because they failed to adhere to the ideals of the religion ?
 
If the majority of the people "fail to adhere" to the ideals of the religion they claim to follow, it means the religion is no longer relevant to them.
 
Cart before horse. If the religion says the world is flat and the world is shown to be round by the people, they will "fail to adhere to the ideals" of their religion.
 
S.A.M. said:
Cart before horse. If the religion says the world is flat and the world is shown to be round by the people, they will "fail to adhere to the ideals" of their religion.
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Yes. Because religion claims to be the ultimate truth.
Backwards, isn't it ? :D
 
Enmos said:
And so you failed according to the religion.
They didn't invent to concept of hell for nothing you know.
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If you think you failed, that is cognitive dissonance. If you have no faith and no religion, you cannot pass or fail.
 
S.A.M. said:
If you think you failed, that is cognitive dissonance. If you have no faith and no religion, you cannot pass or fail.
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What would God say about such reasoning ?

Edit: Besides, I said 'according to the religion,' not 'according to the infidel'.
 
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