I find Buddhism quite intriguing. It's more of a philosophy rather than a religion, and it does not come in opposition with science in any way. It's hard to imagine attrocities and holy wars done in the name of Buddhism and many call it "the religion of the future", even Einstein seem to had some good words about it (although some quotes may be illegitimate). Any thoughts about this?

It certainly is intriguing, but not everything what you say is accurate.
In buddhism it is harder to seperate the philosophy from the religion as has happened in Western culture.
There are also so many different buddhisms, some of which are quite magical and very incompatible with science. Even the idea of reincarnation is not 'scientific' yet for many buddhists this is a reality.

Buddhism is just as stupid as any other religion, atheism is the only logical way to go...

Quote: Original post by CodaKiller
Buddhism is just as stupid as any other religion, atheism is the only logical way to go...

Atheism is the only LOGICAL way to go? Based on what? Just where do you get off claiming "There clearly is NO god!" is any more logical than "There is a god!"?

Both are completely based on faith with zero proof to support it. Lack of evidence is not evidence.

Buddhism may be fascinating, but personally I don't believe in religions anymore.
Since every religion says nonbelievers will go to hell, I feel entitled to mix & match the best of a few ones in my own personal mix.
I am often amazed by some coincidences that can happen (although I have to admit this is now put in serious doubt). I don't quite feel entitled to say if what I believe is what you may call a "god", but everyone is going to find out sooner or later and I bet most will be surprised. :P

Quote: Original post by CodaKiller
Buddhism is just as stupid as any other religion, atheism is the only logical way to go...

Atheism is such a muddied up term that it's basically useless. It covers everyone from the people who say "I believe that no god exists" to people who say "I don't have any reason to believe god exists" to people who say "Maybe there is a god, but I don't know." Completely and utterly different ways of thinking all covered under the same blanket term.

People need to stop saying 'atheist' and use more specific wording.

Quote: Original post by LeChuckIsBack
I find Buddhism quite intriguing. It's more of a philosophy rather than a religion, and it does not come in opposition with science in any way. It's hard to imagine attrocities and holy wars done in the name of Buddhism and many call it "the religion of the future", even Einstein seem to had some good words about it (although some quotes may be illegitimate).

Any thoughts about this?

I've been in Thailand for a few weeks, and actually I was surprised to find out there, that Budhism there is just a religion like Christianity is in Belgium (except that there almost everyone still actively practices it, while in Belgium not so many people do). No mysterious philosophical stuff and such like you see in the movies. They have temples similar to our churches (don't think about ancient temples or something, just like you have a few cathedrals in Belgiums most churches here are quite mundane, in Thailand too you have the few old big nice touristic temples but most temples are modern buildings with a stupa shaped roof), in which they do something similar to our masses that is no more mysterious than our masses at all.

It sure is a very peaceful religion however, and of course is still a bit more mysterious than christianity, but, I was a little bit disappointed when I saw it in Thailand in the daily reality.

Quote: Original post by Talroth

Quote: Original post by CodaKiller
Buddhism is just as stupid as any other religion, atheism is the only logical way to go...

Atheism is the only LOGICAL way to go? Based on what? Just where do you get off claiming "There clearly is NO god!" is any more logical than "There is a god!"?

Both are completely based on faith with zero proof to support it. Lack of evidence is not evidence.

I would argue that thats not a very accurate analogy. You don't need to prove something doesn't exist to have a logical belief that it doesn't. For instance, would you say its illogical to say that there is no easter bunny, since I have no evidence proving it doesn't exist? The burden of proof is on the person claiming something exists.

Quote: Original post by LeChuckIsBack
It's hard to imagine attrocities and holy wars done in the name of Buddhism ...

Um, no it isn't.

Ichikawa Hakugen’s Critique and Lingering Questions for Buddhist Ethics

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During the first half of the twentieth century, Zen Buddhist leaders contributed actively to Japanese imperialism, giving rise to what has been termed “Imperial-Way Zen” (Kodo Zen). Its foremost critic was priest, professor, and activist Ichikawa Hakugen (1902–1986), who spent the decades following Japan’s surrender almost single-handedly chronicling Zen’s support of Japan’s imperialist regime and pressing the issue of Buddhist war responsibility.
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The Sōtō sect and Japanese military imperialism in Korea

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The Sōtō sect was actively engaged in Buddhist propagation in colonial Korea after having succeeded in establishing its first missionary temple in Pusan in 1905. By the time it withdrew from Korea in 1945, the Sōtō sect had secured an extensive propagation network connecting more than one hundred temples. Despite its successful Buddhist polemics, Sōtō's Buddhist teachings in Korea were basically political propaganda viable only within the framework of Japanese colonial imperialism. The Sōtō sect in colonial Korea was deeply involved in the cause of Japanese imperialism by carrying out three major tasks: Buddhist services for the Japanese military, promotion of the kōminka (transforming [the colonial peoples] into imperial subjects) policy, and the pacification of colonial subjects. Not surprisingly, none of these goals-which were promoted in the name of Buddhist compassion and non-selfhood in the tradition of Zen Buddhism-could survive the collapse of Imperial Japan's claim to universal benevolence that had been premised on the Greater East Asia Coprosperity Sphere.

Zen at War: Japanese Buddhism's ugly karma

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In Zen at War, and Zen War Stories, Brian Daizen Victoria catalogs the evidence of Japanese Buddhist support for violence, from 1868 until the end of World War II. With one long quotation after another, he shows how the priests and institutions of Zen, Pure Land, and every sect became cheerleaders for the Empire, and justified war as a profound expression of enlightenment. In Zen at War, Victoria allows these priests to be convicted by their own testimony, presenting long passages (often translated into English for the first time) with little comment. He argues more forcefully in Zen War Stories, in which he pairs quotations with his own responses. In the final chapter of the Second Edition to Zen at War he broadens the discussion of Buddhism and war, going back all the way to Shakyamuni.
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As Victoria tells it, Buddhists made a Mephistophelian bargain: they demonstrated they could "effectively promote loyalty to the throne, patriotism, and national unity", and in exchange they were protected by the Emperor’s government. A style of Zen emerged that could fulfill the needs of the state: Imperial Way Zen. Its proponents claimed that Zen was the heart of Bushido, the Way of the Warrior, and that Zen could provide the steel to harden Japanese soldiers’ minds.
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Zen at War, by Brian Victoria (Review)

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It’s not that no Buddhists spoke out against any of this, but very few did and not much evidence of their actions survives. Had more of them organized against the war, things might have proceeded very differently. In fact, there is little evidence of regret even after the war. Japan’s largest Protestant group issued an apology in 1967; the first Buddhist admission of complicity didn’t appear until 1987. At the writing of Victoria’s book, only four Buddhist statements about the war had been issued and most leading sects remain silent.

Even worse is that there has been no repudiation or reform of the ideas that led to all of the problems in the first place. The ideology has been transferred from the state to the corporation. Zen Buddhist teach that selfless devotion to the goals of a company is itself a form of enlightenment. The Imperial Zen Soldier has become the Corporate Zen Salaryman.
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Nichiren Buddhism in the 20th Century

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Some Buddhists did not simply comply reluctantly with State Shinto. Rather, some enthusiastically promoted a movement called "Imperial Way Buddhism" (Kodo Bukkyo). Imperial-way Buddhism taught that Japanese Buddhism was superior to all other forms and then identified Buddhism with the state and the state with the emperor. To worship and serve the emperor was the same as worshiping and serving the Three Treasures of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. Brian Victoria reports that Takasa Nichiko, the administrative head of the Nichiren Shu, and other leading Nichiren Shu clergy formed "The Association for the Practice of Imperial-Way Buddhism" (Kodo Bukkyo Gyodo Kai) in 1938. This association even identified the Gohonzon as the Japanese emperor: "...the principle image of adoration in imperial-way Buddhism is not Buddha Shakyamuni who appeared in India, but his majesty, the emperor..." (pp. 84-85, Zen at War) As will be seen, even before 1938 the idea that there was an intrinsic unity between Buddhism and Imperial Japan were already in circulation, especially among those advocating a return to the more hard line methods of shakubuku in propagating Nichiren Buddhism.
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Buddhism and Japanese Nationalism: A Sad Chronicle of Complicity

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When I first proposed a number of hypotheses about the origins of religious violence, I initially assumed that most of confirmations would come among the Abrahamic religions. I have now realized that there is one theory that applies only to Asia, and most accurately only to some Hindu and Buddhist schools. When the doctrine of the mystical dissolution of the self is appropriated by the state, as it was proposed by Zen Buddhists such as D. T. Suzuki, then state sanctioned violence was the result. In the Abrahamic tradition mystics have always stood on the periphery of their traditions and have been often persecuted or at least marginalized. In stark contrast, mystics have operated from the very center of most Asian religions. It is significant to note that many armed Hindu sadhus joined the mutineers in the 1857 Sepoy Rebellion in India.
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The general Buddhist reaction to the new Meiji religious policies was to submit to all imperial laws and to actively promote nationalism and militarism. Buddhist complicity with imperial rule, with some exceptions, continued through four wars until the armistice of 1945. As the imperial war machine moved in Manchuria in 1931, there were more and more attacks on Buddhists by militant nationalists declaring that they were still not patriotic enough. The debate that followed, especially the eagerness by which the Buddhist defended their nationalist bona fides, makes for a sad chronicle of religious believers conforming to state ideology.
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Quote: Original post by Talroth

Quote: Original post by CodaKiller
Buddhism is just as stupid as any other religion, atheism is the only logical way to go...

Atheism is the only LOGICAL way to go? Based on what? Just where do you get off claiming "There clearly is NO god!" is any more logical than "There is a god!"?

Both are completely based on faith with zero proof to support it. Lack of evidence is not evidence.

I'm not really a believer of God, but I won't exclude it 100%. But I don't think it's 50% chance that there is one or 50% that there isn't one. I think the chance that there is a God that matches the description of the Bible or any other similar book, is rather small (though possible). I'm personally not really a fan of believing that there exists exactly one conscious entity that is more special than all other conscious beings however. I'm more for "there's a lot of conscious entities in the universe, some of which are randomly on Earth, but I can't explain how consciousness works or why it exists, so it's cool to know that there is some mystery that science can't find out".