Is Buddhism a Religion or Philosophy ?

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May 31 , 2010

Introduction

A religion refers to the worship of one or more gods and the belief in the fact that these gods posses supernatural powers . This involves devotional as well as ritual observances and adherence to a moral code that normally governs the subjects of the god (Ashley 60 . Religion is normally identified by prayers , art , music and by ritual edition . It focuses on specific metaphysical , supernatural and moral claims which could be based on reality and these normally results in the

laws and ethics that these religion follows . Philosophy on the other hand refers to the study of fundamental problems that are general including such issues as existence , values , reason , and mind language among other things . Philosophy searches into deep meanings and reasons . This seeks to answer the question of whether Buddhism is a religion or a philosophy

Buddhism

Buddhism has been classified as an Indian religion . It has also been termed as a philosophy that encompasses a number of traditions practices and beliefs that are based on teachings of Buddha . He was known as Siddhartha Gautama (Ashley 59 . His name means the enlightened one . He is referred to as the founding father of Buddhism and is therefore referred to as the supreme Buddha . Buddha mainly taught or enlightened people on how to root out suffering . He also taught people to believe that all physical reality is normally an illusion and they belief in the transcending of this

There are two...