“I pray that we are not a religion.” Is Buddhism a religion? Is it, instead, a philosophy? First, let’s see what the Buddha himself has to say. It turns out, he has an answer for that question. He says emphatically, “What I teach is...
(Context: In Buddhism, the gods are merely our friends.) The religion Brahmanism predates the Buddha. The Buddha was born into a culture in which a certain group of priests, the Brahmans, believed in and worshiped Brahmā as the Creator God, and they were in the...
The early Buddhist relationship with the gods is very much unlike that in any religious tradition. Typically, a religion is built around the worship of one or more gods, and they almost always take the central and highest place in that religion. In early...
(Context: Why Buddhist monastics are not allowed to perform miracles in public.) The story of Devadatta illustrates how developing psychic powers in your meditation does not necessarily do anything to help you to attain enlightenment. Buddhism is primarily...
(Context: Why Buddhist monastics are not allowed to perform miracles in public.) Devadatta was a first cousin of the Buddha who became his disciple. He was a talented meditator who developed great psychic powers.[1] He used his powers to gain fame, power...
