I can only speak for myself, but I’m really only concerned with whether a belief promotes irrational action or deluded reasoning that manifests in some sort of real world harm.
The issue with beliefs based on superstition is that they create avenues by which ideas can bypass our critical thinking. If a system of belief is able to convince people to deny what they witness with their senses or that which can be tested for scientifically, that to me is dangerous, whether it’s a religion or anything else.
I wasn’t raised in a country that is heavily influenced by Zen Buddhism, so to me it does appear more benign than some relgions, but someone who grew up around that kind of thing might have better insight into how it breeds irrational thought. I don’t rule out that it could be problematic, but I simply don’t know enough about it to say. It’s a very different tradition from Abrahamic type religions, the fundemental premise seems to be quite different depending on the sect.
I’d say this is a fairly good spot to focus an investigation. Buddhism can sometimes be orientalized and idealized by westerners, and it’s not good to let that blind us to when someone like Ashin Wirathu claims it in order to stoke Islamophobia, Imperial Japan used it in nationalist propaganda, or some traditions use it to denigrate women.
Any belief system will likely have some power-hungry bastards try to use it in these kinds of ways, I think.
Personally I do usually see myself as a secular buddhist - I am agnostic on the truth of the longer arcs most schools draw regarding rebirth etc., but I know experiences within a human lifetime include suffering, change, the pain of grasping etc. which the teachings offer some understanding of and tools for dealing with that have helped me. And from the suttas I’ve read, that appears to be the thing the Sakyamuni Buddha returned to a fair bit - the purpose of practice is to reduce suffering, not metaphysical musings.
I can only speak for myself, but I’m really only concerned with whether a belief promotes irrational action or deluded reasoning that manifests in some sort of real world harm.
The issue with beliefs based on superstition is that they create avenues by which ideas can bypass our critical thinking. If a system of belief is able to convince people to deny what they witness with their senses or that which can be tested for scientifically, that to me is dangerous, whether it’s a religion or anything else.
I wasn’t raised in a country that is heavily influenced by Zen Buddhism, so to me it does appear more benign than some relgions, but someone who grew up around that kind of thing might have better insight into how it breeds irrational thought. I don’t rule out that it could be problematic, but I simply don’t know enough about it to say. It’s a very different tradition from Abrahamic type religions, the fundemental premise seems to be quite different depending on the sect.
I’d say this is a fairly good spot to focus an investigation. Buddhism can sometimes be orientalized and idealized by westerners, and it’s not good to let that blind us to when someone like Ashin Wirathu claims it in order to stoke Islamophobia, Imperial Japan used it in nationalist propaganda, or some traditions use it to denigrate women.
Any belief system will likely have some power-hungry bastards try to use it in these kinds of ways, I think.
Personally I do usually see myself as a secular buddhist - I am agnostic on the truth of the longer arcs most schools draw regarding rebirth etc., but I know experiences within a human lifetime include suffering, change, the pain of grasping etc. which the teachings offer some understanding of and tools for dealing with that have helped me. And from the suttas I’ve read, that appears to be the thing the Sakyamuni Buddha returned to a fair bit - the purpose of practice is to reduce suffering, not metaphysical musings.