Why is Buddhism the "COOL" religion of the Western AntiXian/Atheists?

[theraskal]

perhaps I am wrong, yet seems to be that BUDDHISM is kind of the accepted "COOL" Religion of the Western Anti-Xian/Atheist types and there seems a certain spiritual immaturity in their attitude and I wonder how many of them have actually even given serious study of Buddhism?

Seems to me that barring the Christ/Messiah belief, otherwise Buddhism teaches the SAME DISCIPLINED CONSERVATIVE RIGHT LIVING ideology that Xianity/Islam/Judaism teaches?

am I correct or wrong in these observations?

[theraskal]

this is one of my continuous Re-Reads. It really simplifies the ideology of Buddhism and is full of Good Wisdom which can Inspire and Improve one's character and life:




in the reading I observe much the same RIGHT LIVING message that one could hear from a Xian Guru

[theraskal]

^if one read that simple book and actually LIVED the Teachings they would be living in a very CHRISTlike way

[theraskal]

[theraskal]

this one did give me a good chuckle although I can't confirm if either is a true/false statement and I actually kind of like FAT Buddha and Blonde Jesus

[Masato]

There is a very interesting theory that before the events of the New Testament, Jesus may have gone to India and studied with the mystics and gurus there.

There are some amazing similarities between Jesus' teachings and parables to old Indian/Buddhist parables. Too similar to ignore the coincidence.

My mother before she passed was very interested in this, she thought they were basically giving the same advice.

I can't remember exactly which parables paralleled... was it the mustard seed?
I'll have to go look again.

I've even heard theories that the word CHRIST and KRISHNA share some roots. Maybe Luigi can chime in on this

[Masato]

this one did give me a good chuckle although I can't confirm if either is a true/false statement and I actually kind of like FAT Buddha and Blonde Jesus

LOLOL

[Luigi]

There is good historical reason for this actually. During the days of the Portuguese Empire the pork chops had the unique task of trying to hoist xianity on followers of Dharmic faiths. In an effort to resist this, Sri Lankan Buddhists began to modify their teachings and presentation of their religion in order to strengthen it against xian attacks, and especially in ways that would appeal to Europeans. The result was the brand of Buddhism you typically encounter in the West which presents itself as more of a philosophy than a religion and ambivalent towards the very existence of divinity. This of course is in stark contrast to the Buddhism you will find in places like Thailand and Mongolia, where worshipping Dharmic Gods are a central part of the faith.

[theraskal]

I am aware of the theories that Jesus visited India and have read some about it and watched some youtube vids agreeing/disagreeing with the possibility

as for myself, I'm neutral and do not agree/disagree and try to keep the mind open to the different possibilities and theories expressed

I am no expert on the matter who has made extensive archaeological and/or scholarly study of the subject, just a common casual interest which means I am mostly ignorant about it

[Luigi]

Another thing to consider is Jesus didnt actually have to go to India to be influenced by Buddhism. Buddhist monks travelled, and in at least some instances were traveling in the Near East. Also the new religious ideas permeate geography and Jesus could have been indirectly influenced even if he never met a single Buddhist.

Look into the concept of the Axial Age of religions, its no coincidence that when a new religion stumbles on a useful feature all of a sudden all new religions have it. For this reason we can say at the very least that the use of missionaries is a feature xianity grafted from Buddhism.