Forgive my ignorance, but is Buddha and Buddhism the same Buddha?

[manlymatt83]

I'm performing a wedding ceremony for a couple who is not religious. When I asked the bride for favorite authors/poets, she mentioned how much she liked Buddha and Ghandi.

I found this page which has some Buddhism blessings on it:

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-laurie-sue-brockway/buddhist-wedding-blessing_b_7216820.html

Particularly, I really like the quote "Cherish good will right and left, early and late, and without hindrance, without stint, be free of hate and envy, while standing and walking and sitting down, whatever you have in mind, the rule of life that is always best is to be loving, kind."

Is this the kind of quote she would appreciate, or would her appreciate of Buddha be separate from Buddhism itself?

Thank you.

 

[cbrunny]

I know that if I were getting married again, I'd definitely want the officiant to fact check on an internet forum.

I'm 95% sure that Buddha is a character from Star Wars. Buddha the Hutt, I believe. Something about slavery and gold bikinis. Fact.

 

[manlymatt83]

ha

 

[Ancalagon44]

There are different varieties of Buddhism and I believe there have been different Buddhas too. Not entirely sure.

A buddha, as far as I know, is someone who has achieved enlightenment. It is a title rather than a name.

You could look for quotes from the various Dalai Lamas.

 

[manlymatt83]

There are different varieties of Buddhism and I believe there have been different Buddhas too. Not entirely sure.

A buddha, as far as I know, is someone who has achieved enlightenment. It is a title rather than a name.

You could look for quotes from the various Dalai Lamas.

Thanks!!

 

[sdifox]

Buddhism is the religion that follows the teachings of Buddha.

 

[Perknose]

There are different varieties of Buddhism and I believe there have been different Buddhas too. Not entirely sure.

A buddha, as far as I know, is someone who has achieved enlightenment. It is a title rather than a name.

You could look for quotes from the various Dalai Lamas.

^^^ No, there was only ONE Buddha, unlike the Dalai Llama.

 

[Ancalagon44]

^^^ No, there was only ONE Buddha, unlike the Dalai Llama.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhahood

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_named_Buddhas

 

[uhohs]

I like Gandhi quotes too

 

[R0H1T]

First of all it's Gandhi, secondly Buddha is from the land of Gandhi, lastly Buddhism is a cult following of Buddha, not unlike many other religions

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhahood

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_named_Buddhas

Yeah no there's only one Buddha, named Gautam.

 

[Perknose]

Yeah no there's only one Buddha, named Gautam.

Yeah, where Ancalagon is correct is that in the mystery/history of Buddhism there are supposed to have been numerous previous incarnations of the Buddha.

But since actual Buddhism was founded in the wake of the life of Gautama Buddha in the 6th effing century BC, there has been only one, him.

Therefore, OP, if you see any quotes from The Buddha, they are ALL from the one "actual, historical" Buddha, Gautama Buddha. It is not like the Dali Llama where there is a formal, continuous succession. Since the 6th century BC until now, there has only been the Gautama Buddha.

When people refer to the Buddha, they are always and only referring to Gautama Buddha.

This is the danger from getting your knowledge from Wikipedia. You can easily misinterpret what is typed in those boxes.

 

[R0H1T]

Yeah, where Ancalagon is correct is that in the mystery/history of Buddhism there are supposed to have been numerous previous incarnations of the Buddha.

But since actual Buddhism was founded in the wake of the life of Gautama Buddha in the 6th effing century BC, there has been only one, him.

Therefore, OP, if you see any quotes from The Buddha, they are ALL from the one "actual, historical" Buddha, Gautama Buddha. It is not like the Dali Llama where there is a formal, continuous succession. Since the 6th century BC until now, there has only been the Gautama Buddha.

This is the danger from getting your knowledge from Wikipedia. You can easily misinterpret what is typed in those boxes.

A lot of that is an offshoot of mythology from Hinduism, lots of Hindu mythology & religious beliefs permeate Buddhism, in fact most (types) of Buddhism practiced today was spread by a Hindu ruler Ashoka. Gautam didn't leave too many scriptures or teachings behind, a lot of what we've read is open to interpretation, again not unlike other religions.

 

[quikah]

Is this the kind of quote she would appreciate, or would her appreciate of Buddha be separate from Buddhism itself?

Um, why don't you ask her?

 

[AreaCode707]

Wow, I feel really out of place putting my $.02 in here as someone who is pretty far from a rich understanding of Buddhism, but I feel like there is still something kind of basic lacking in the answers so far so here goes.

There is the historical personage of Siddhārtha Gautama, known as the Buddha (capital B). The quotes you're finding are very likely from him. Yes, he is the origin of the Buddhist religion.

There is also the title of buddha (small b) that refers to a person who has achieved a certain state of enlightenment. While there may be some writings and documentation out there, it'd seems unlikely that you're running into those, so you don't need to worry too much about it.

In short, if your friend is Buddhist, she'd be probably be delighted to have you use the quote you selected. I recommend any time you use a quote you read the context though, so here's the source material: http://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/btg/btg21.htm

 

[Charmonium]

True Buddhism is about escaping the cycle of samsara - death and rebirth - the realm of karma - achieving nirvana. But that is monastic Buddhism. So it's not technically a religion in its truest form. It is as it's practiced by ordinary people since there the objective is to try to be reborn into a life or plane of existence where you will find it easier to attain enlightenment.

My guess is that your friend doesn't really understand very much about Buddhism and probably just has some romanticized notions about it in which case whatever quotes you come up with that fit that mold will probably be fine.

 

[Craig234]

Since it's come up, let's note that while the Dalai Lama has been a succession of people for a long time, the current Dalai Lama is the last.

Why? Because China took over the historical home of the religion and has said they will pick the next successor; the current Dalai Lama said he will not reincarnate as a result.

 

[Ancalagon44]

Since it's come up, let's note that while the Dalai Lama has been a succession of people for a long time, the current Dalai Lama is the last.

Why? Because China took over the historical home of the religion and has said they will pick the next successor; the current Dalai Lama said he will not reincarnate as a result.

The current Dalai Lama has said that he is not sure there will be a need for another Dalai Lama. In other words, it is not up to him or China, but depends on whether the world still needs a Dalai Lama. China will obviously try to declare their own person as the next Dalai Lama, but its not as simple as that. I think such actions have resulted in splits in the past, when they could not agree on who the next Dalai Lama should be.

 

[Thebobo]

Out of the religions Buddhism is probably the most *peaceful. Forced to pick a religion I would pick the big big fat dude.

*they have their assholes to.

 

[Mai72]

Out of the religions Buddhism is probably the most *peaceful. Forced to pick a religion I would pick the big big fat dude.

*they have their assholes to.

Buddha isn't really a religion. It's more a way of life. In fact, Buddha dispised religious figures.

 

[CZroe]

Out of the religions Buddhism is probably the most *peaceful. Forced to pick a religion I would pick the big big fat dude.

*they have their assholes to.

I saw an awful lot of destroyed Wats (temples) when I was in Thailand a few months ago and there were plenty of murals depicting Buddhists wars there and in Japan, where I also visited. Though it preaches peace, it has historically been as bloody as others.

I currently live with a Buddhist. She's pretty chill.

 

[sdifox]

Out of the religions Buddhism is probably the most *peaceful. Forced to pick a religion I would pick the big big fat dude.

*they have their assholes to.

Ask the Rohinga Muslims and the Tamils.

 

[Thebobo]

Ask the Rohinga Muslims.

Yea I said they have their assholes to.

But http://listovative.com/top-10-peaceful-religions-of-the-world/

 

[Thebobo]

Buddha isn't really a religion. It's more a way of life. In fact, Buddha dispised religious figures.

Religion isn't really real either so.

 

[Thebobo]

I saw an awful lot of destroyed Wats (temples) when I was in Thailand a few months ago and there were plenty of murals depicting Buddhists wars there and in Japan, where I also visited. Though it preaches peace, it has historically been as bloody as others.

I currently live with a Buddhist. She's pretty chill.

We lived in Bangkok Thailand for 4 years when I was a kid and the monks would come by with their ohm's bowls for food. Even then I was impressed by their lack of materialism of course that has changed.

Monk Cave

 

[Charmonium]

We lived in Bangkok Thailand for 4 years when I was a kid and the monks would come by with their ohm's bowls for food. Even then I was impressed by their lack of materialism of course that has changed.

Just for general background, there are 2 main schools of Buddhism, Theravadin which is the Indian branch (primarily) and tends to be more ascetic and then there's the Mahayana or Chinese branch which has a more expansive interpretation of Buddhism. This is where you get ideas like bodhisattvas and Pure Lands. Mahayana actually means 'Great Vehicle' since it tries to provide a path to enlightenment for everyone, whether it be in this life or the next. They call Theravadin the Hinayana or small or lesser vehicle since they have a much narrower interpretation of Buddhist teaching. Mahayana is by far the dominate branch and the one you find most in the far east. It's the branch Zen belongs to.