"Why would you worship a fat man?" Ummm I do not, no one does. Buddha was a man who just taught about enlightenment and his experiences and how to live a good life, same as Jesus that you do worship. No one worships Buddha, they just follow his teachings and try to be the best version of themselves they can be.
"Then why do people have statues to worship." Again, no one worships him, If they have a statue of him in their home, it is just for a reminder to live a good life and to constantly try to improve on yourself. If someone bows the the statue it is out of gratitude for his teaching not in a worshiping way.
"Well I do not want to believe that I will come back as a piece of grass.. that is silly." Well you are silly for not researching before talking. A gross misunderstanding of about Buddhism exists today, especially in the notion of reincarnation. This notion of the transmigration of the soul definitely does not exist in Buddhism. The common misunderstanding is that a person has led countless previous lives, usually as an animal, but somehow in this life he is born as a human being and in the next life he will be reborn as an animal, depending on the kind of life he has lived. No where does it say you will come back as a piece of grass. Buddha taught according to the mental and spiritual capacity of each individual. For the simple village folks living during the time of Buddha, the doctrine of reincarnation was a powerful moral lesson. Fear of birth into the animal world must have frightened many people from acting like animals in this life. If we take this teaching literally today we are confused because we cannot understand it rationally. If someone believes in reincarnation it is separate from their Buddhism beliefs.
" Is Buddhism a Religion?" Well this is a little more tricky. You can go to a Buddhist church but really Buddhism goes beyond religion and is more of a philosophy of the way you live your life. Philosophy 'means love of wisdom' and the Buddhist path has 3 parts (1) to lead a moral life, (2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and (3) to develop wisdom and understanding.
"I am not coming over to your hippie Buddhist ways." No one asked you too. Buddhism is also a belief system which is tolerant of all other beliefs/religions. Buddhism can actually work with what you believe Buddhism agrees with the moral teachings of other religions. Real Buddhism is very tolerant and not concerned with labels like 'Christian', 'Muslim', 'Hindu' or 'Buddhist'; that is why there have never been any wars fought in the name of Buddhism. Other religions try to force people to covert and pressure them, you will never see a person who believes in Buddhism try to force you into believing what they do. It is a way of life. It is a way of thinking not something you can force on someone else. That is why Buddhists do not preach and try to convert, only explain if an explanation is sought.
"Well why would you follow what Buddha taught? " Hmm pot calling kettle black much? You following blindly on faith with some fairly crazy stories (virgin birth, rose from dead anyone). Buddha did not ask his followers to follow blindly, but asked them to try and test out his teachings. Buddhism depends on more of understanding than on faith.
"Well then what did this Buddha teach?" Well the basic concepts can be summed up in 4 Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold path.
The first truth is that life is suffering i.e., life includes pain, getting old, disease, and ultimately death. We also endure psychological suffering like loneliness frustration, fear, embarrassment, disappointment and anger. This is an irrefutable fact that cannot be denied. It is realistic rather than pessimistic because pessimism is expecting things to be bad. Buddhism instead explains how suffering can be avoided and how we can be truly happy. Happiness comes from within.
The second truth is that suffering is caused by craving and aversion. We will suffer if we expect other people to conform to our expectation, if we want others to like us, if we do not get something we want,etc. In other words, getting what you want does not guarantee happiness. Rather than constantly struggling to get what you want, try to modify your wanting. Wanting/craving deprives us of contentment and happiness. A lifetime of wanting and craving and especially the craving to continue to exist, creates a powerful energy which causes the individual to be born. So craving leads to physical suffering because it causes us to be reborn.
The third truth is that suffering can be overcome and happiness can be attained; that true happiness and contentment are possible. lf we give up useless craving and learn to live each day at a time (not dwelling in the past or the imagined future) then we can become happy and free. We then have more time and energy to help others. This is Nirvana.
The fourth truth is that the Noble 8-fold Path is the path which leads to the end of suffering.
The Noble 8-fold Path is being moral (what we say and how we live our life), focusing the mind on being fully aware of our thoughts and actions, and developing wisdom by understanding the Four Noble Truths and by developing compassion for others.
"Okay so what is karma?" I am so glad you asked. It is kind of like your 'do unto others'
Karma is the law that every cause has an effect, Karma underlines the importance of all individuals being responsible for their past and present actions.
Buddhism teaches that wisdom should be developed with compassion. Compassion includes qualities of sharing, readiness to give comfort, sympathy, concern, caring. In Buddhism, we can really understand others, when we can really understand ourselves, through wisdom. If you are at one extreme you could be a goodhearted fool and at the other extreme, you could attain knowledge but have no emotion. Buddhism uses the middle path to develop both. True wisdom is not simply believing what we are told but instead experiencing and understanding truth and reality. Wisdom requires an open, objective, unbiased mind. to follow a Buddhist path requires patience, courage, flexibility and intelligence.
So pleas help stop the hating on Buddha and help others learn about him. He was a good person (just like Jesus was a good man who taught many good lessons) who taught many good lessons and left a legacy that has been around FAR longer than Christianity. Christianity is one of the newest forms of religions. Buddhism has been around before there were organized religious groups. Not everyone has to believe the same things. Why not take a step back from biased and sometimes judgmental bigoted way of thinking and be open to the possibility that people can believe in Christian beliefs and believe in the teachings of Buddhism as well. They do not have to be separate but rather work together to be the best version of you for what you believe.
Hope this has helped clear up some of the misconceptions and opened your mind to more possibilities.
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