What do you like about Buddhism?

[biggyboy]

I like Buddhism because it is so logical and it make sense. It applies to every part of our daily activities and life whether we want to believe them or not.  Buddhism itself is not a religion but it is a way of life to rehabituate our negativities into positivities and hence becoming a better person.  It teaches us on how to gain control of our lives and live purposefully. 

The law of cause and effect (karma) is something one should take refuge in and not dismiss it.  It is so logical and make sense.  How we want our life to be depends solely in our own hands.  Not the Buddhas or Gurus nor our parents and friends can help to take them away or dissolves them.  They are like shadow to us..it follows us wherever we go even to our future lives.   How else would I want to be?

[Tammy]

I like Buddhism because it is not just a religion, it is our way of life. It teaches us to be absolutely selfless and the very motivation of our practise is to eventually able to help others.

Also the theory of all sentient beings being equal on all grounds. Whatever we are suffering or enjoying now is the result of our past doings, no one else (not even the gods!!!!) are responsible for our fate. It's all in the palm of our hands!  And we are able to a change our future and our fate! Isn't this beautiful?

[kris]

What I like about Buddhism is basically the Karma theory. Based on the Karma Theory, I am in such situation because of my karma and my previous actions, and as such, I am responsible for what had happened. As opposed to the god theory, where I am here because of god's decision.

Also, in this era, most of us cannot accept things with just faith without explanation. I dare not say the entire Buddhism can be explained, but it is a lot more than the god theory (where most will require faith in the god without much explanation).

Also, the whole point of accepting the Karma theory is that we take things into our hands, and we can decide our future. I like the Karma theory where we go after death will depend on what I do today, instead of, where I go depends on whether I believe in some god or not.

[rossoneri]

What i like about Buddhism is if you want to gain something out of it, you better make sure you work hard on it. One has to work hard in life if we wanted to have some kind of achievement in our secular world and Buddhism is very much the same, and if we work hard and practice it properly we can even be enlighten. Everyone has the chance to gain enlightenment but it is all depends on how much effort do we put on it. Also it depends on our previous karma. It's an act of nature or what we called 'Karma' or cause and effect. It is so logical, not even Buddha Shakyamuni Himself be able to escape the cause of suffering before He gained enlightenment. And another aspect of Buddhism which i like is we practice to look into ourselves and learn moulding our mind to let go of our negative behaviour such as: laziness, selfishness, egoistic, anger and so on. I think we will become a better person and happier if we able to do.

[negra orquida]

I like Buddhism because it helps me:

• make the ups and downs in life less extreme and less frequent
  get to the core of my negative emotions to open up the root cause of unpleasant feelings
  see why we should always be nice to others
  be a nicer, kinder and more appreciative person
  understand why things happen as such and not be attached to expectations of what may not happen

In short, Buddhism helps me be a happier

[Carpenter]

I like Buddhism because it is not just a religion, it is our way of life. It teaches us to be absolutely selfless and the very motivation of our practise is to eventually able to help others.

Also the theory of all sentient beings being equal on all grounds. Whatever we are suffering or enjoying now is the result of our past doings, no one else (not even the gods!!!!) are responsible for our fate. It's all in the palm of our hands!  And we are able to a change our future and our fate! Isn't this beautiful?

And to add on on this, many of us seems to be like enjoying our lives, without knowing with this ‘enjoyment’, we actually create more attachment with what we have and brings more suffering for ourselves in the future, life is so impermanent, anything can just happen anytime, when we are in our ‘good’ life that time, we even have to practice more on spiritual, because we don’t know when the bad one will come, and with spiritual, at least we can still divert the cause of suffering and advance further in our spiritual practice.

[Positive Change]

What I like about Buddhism is that:

1. It is based on a experiential factor which encompasses, thought, action and feeling.
- Based on a self analyzing aspect... going in depth about the way we think, the way we act and in turn the way we feel. Whereby outside influences are filtered out in order for us to truly examine the inner workings of our mind.

2. It is an individual spiritual path which is different from other "organized religions" which are based on instilling fear and detract from the beauty of their respective original "teachings".
- We make our own glory or create our own "downfall". There is no "higher being" that rewards or punishes us. And we are not pushed into a "herd mentality" whereby one method has to suit all.

3. It is something very direct, tangible and logical.
The teachings are factual, logical and backed up with centuries old lineages.

4. It teaches us to be responsible for our own actions (karma) and not blame the mystical or "fate".
- Based on the fact that we are responsible for our own thoughts, our own actions and our own feelings. We are purely accountable for our path and practice.

[Dolce Vita]

I like Buddhism because
1) it is not just a religion, it is psychology, medicine, philosophy, science, universe.
2) it is very logical, karma is a universal law, it will not change because time has change.
3) it is a religion that talks about respect a lot.
4) it does not discriminate people, you don't have to be straight or 'normal' to be a buddhist.

[dsiluvu]

I like Buddhism because....

1. Makes me think deeper. Like why on earth are there so much suffering in this world and why is it some suffer more and some less - Laws of Karma answered that one.

2. Gives me a solution and it can be applied directly, immediately, daily. Because for every problem we have, there is a solution, an antidote for that problem. It is our choice to take it and use or not.

3. Empowers me to believe in possibilities. Because Buddha said everyone is born with a Buddha nature and it is possible for you to change your destiny. No other religion says that as far as I know. No other religion gives you that possibility and the sky truly is the limit! There is always a choice, and you make it and your accountable for it!

4. Allows you to question and debate. In Buddhism it is actually healthy to think, check, ask questions when in doubt or unsure. In other religions... you are not, but to believe and just have faith. This stopped working for me when you see people you love pass away without warning and at the time they should not - supposedly.

There are many more reasons but these are the main ones that triggered me to accept Buddhism. I may not got it all right but at least I got on the road.

[Dorje Pakmo]

I like Buddhism because,

1) It makes a lot of sense to me. The teachings are very logical and mainly depends on reason and doesn't simply ask one to have blind faith.

2) It teaches me to be mindful, and sensitive to everything that's happening around me. And that we ourselves create the causes for what we experience, so every time we identify and reduce our negative thoughts and actions we become better.

3) It show me that we are in control of our own lives and we have the ability to change our lives. By choosing to change, anyone can start immediately to make their situation better. Because it is all in our mind how we view things as negative or positive.

Most importantly, Buddhism always stress the importance of respecting and existing in harmony with other religions.
 

[biggyboy]

Not only that Buddhism is logical and the way of life as many understood, Buddhism is also an all encompassing teaching of the Buddha whom has realised all things are achievable by all beings if we believe 100% on rebirth and karma.  How we want to be is just by the mere of our thoughts and our choice on how we want it to be, successful or failure. 

Likewise, the fundamental teachings of gratitude, integrity, honesty, care, kindness, etc...is lacking in many societies and cultures.  We need to unlearn and learn - perfect and ingrained all of these (to name few qualities) into our mind stream.  Even if these basic requirement are not there what are we talking about peace and harmony and to benefit others when we don't even understand what is responsibility towards one's life.  Let alone universal responsibility.

One of the reason that I like Buddhism is - nothing is perfect and we should not perceive and grasp all things the way we think it should be and it changes every time.

[Dhiman]

Buddhism appears to me as teachings passed down since the time of Buddha Syakamuni. Personally I am attracted to Buddhism due to its reasonable nature that encourages practitioners to question the teachings and find out the answer, not just plain beliefs.

Buddhism pushes me out of my comfort zone to achieve more in both spiritual and secular life. Before knowing the Dharma, I set limitations to myself as to what I am capable of doing and to my surprise, looking back from now, some of my actions perceeds my expectations.

Buddhism teaches me ways to deal with the different experiences in life be it good or bad. The result is equanimity - a calm state of mind that accepts things the way they are and not judgemental. This assists me in controlling my emotions, specifically anger.

Also in general, Buddhism promotes world peace and religious harmony, something I have strongly believed in. It emphasizes on respect and non-discrimination towards other religions, something uncommon in this degenerate age.

[tsangpakarpo]

What I really like about Buddhism is that it is very logical and it leads us out of this place we are deluded in. As much as I still can't understand the entirety of Buddhism, I dare say there is an answer to every question. In fact, logic should be the fundamental of all religions. Why? Simply because it is easier to convince a person with logic than with mystics.

All religions wishes for a person to improve, to be a better person, though at different levels. But the fundamental basis of all religions is compassion. Which is good..but not enough.

Buddhism goes beyond just logic. With logic, we gain a vast knowledge and understanding of our human lives and beyond (6 realms). With that understanding, we realize there is a problem, we are all suffering and will continue to suffer. But by studying the Dharma further, we also realize there is a way out!

The magic about Buddhism is that it is very direct. It shows us the problems and let us know there is a solution to it. But of course we have to work for it. This is where the logic kicks in again, we cannot expect the Buddhas to clear all our problems for us instantly. Never in life have we ever had our problems vanish just like that. When facing a problem, we work hard to come out with solutions and work through the obstacles, finally succeeding to overcome the problem. Same for Buddhism, we have to work for it. The ultimate goal in Buddhism is to achieve eternal happiness. So like how we tackle our worldly problems, we should also work hard to tackle the obstacles we face in achieving eternal happiness. The only difference is these obstacles are within us. Oh wait, there is another difference, the end result in achieving eternal happiness is much more satisfying and worthy than our worldly pursuits.

Another logic, the reason why we have Gurus here to guide us. Well, if I say there is a Buddha in front of you, would you believe? No right? But if I say there is a person in front of you who have studied the teachings of Buddha which was left behind since thousands years ago, that's easier to comprehend isn't it? In the Lamrim it is said that our Guru is the Doctor, the Dharma/teaching is the medicine and we are the sick patients. Very logical isn't it?

So yes, I like Buddhism because it is VERY LOGICAL.

[Rihanna]

I have read through most of the comments here and i agree with almost all the views. What I want to add is I like Buddhism because:

1. It teaches that the quality of our heart is more important than any super normal powers we might have like our ability to foretell the future, the strength of our faith or any extravagant gestures we might make. Its emphasis is on 'heart qualities', ethics and good behaviour. It teaches that we should try to develop our intellectual ability to the fullest and teaches us to develop love and kindness so that we can be a true friend to ourselves and others. This is supreme philosophy!

2. Buddhism has always been a gentle way of life and the idea of using force or pressure to induce belief is repugnant to Buddhists. It does not try to impose on anyone. I have not heard of any missionary Buddhist monks trying to convert anyone into Buddhism and impose their will on another person. Instead they share their knowledge and then leave it to the other person to decide if he/she 'accepts' Buddhism.  I find this very refreshing coming from a family background of a different faith.