Turkish Buddhism: Its Origins and Demise

[nikhilsablania]

To know more about Buddhism read book 'Buddha and his Dhamma' by Dr. BR Ambedkar. It can be downloaded from net. Book three three of this book can explain many things regarding Buddha's thoughts on God, soul, rebirth and other metaphysical things. He rejected all such notions. The chapter includes WHAT THE BUDDHA TAUGHT -

Part I — His Place in His Dhamma,

Part II — Different Views of the Buddha's Dhamma,

Part III — What is Dhamma,

Part IV — What is Not Dhamma,

Part V — What is Saddhamma,

[falcon02012]

i am a Muslim in Quran God told us he sent a prophet to every nation .

what i am trying to find out if Buddha is one of them.

can you pleas tell me what is the oldies known Buddhism holly book.

i have asked if Buddhism believe in God i was told yes and No can you

tell me what Buddha said about God.

finally how many sects Buddhism have and which one the oldest ?

[opensourcebuddhism]

@falcon02012 Well falcon, to answer your question that the Qur'an says a prophet was sent to every nation, I am sure it say that. But no, Buddha definitely did not believe that a god or gods could help you...only you can help you. You must address your own issues viz. your consciousness. Muhammad would not have recognized Buddha as a prophet. As for the many sect you ask about, which is the oldest...doesn't matter for Buddha. He is always about here/now experience.

[jungleng]

@falcon02012 opensourcebuddhism said it pretty well, I might also want to add, Buddha taught that nothing is permanent, and we should not be attached too much to our "self", meaning, in the end, there isn't really a soul or a self. So it is in many ways very unlike Abrahamic religions.

[milascave2]

@falcon02012 Buddha said that there is noting in the universe that is eternal and unchanging. Buddhist scriptures claim tah Buddha talked to Gods but did not believe that Gods are eternal. just very long lived. Also, he did not learn the truth from the Gods. He learned the truth from his own reflections and experiances. The Gods sometimes helped him, but after his enligtenment, the tables turned and the Gods gathered to learn from him.

[milascave2]

@falcon02012 The oldest Buddhist text is probably the Pali Coannon, a colection of his talks composed around the first century AD. While there are more sects than you could imagine, the oldest is probably the Teravadin. I say probably because Buddhists disagree on these points, but historicaly, I think it is true. I wish I could claim that Buddha was a prophet of God, but he never claimed such a title, and it dosn't realy seem to fit.

[BodhisatvaOfTheEarth]

@falcon02012 Buddhism has long histoy in the influenced of cultures and beliefs in the west before the invasion Muslim invaders. And when muslims took root the invaded lands, Buddhism incorporated much of its teachings to the Islamic world. Just like the concept oneness of Buddha-nature within Mahayana Buddhism with the oneness of God(allah) in Islam. Buddha's oldest teachings made into scriptures called the Tripitaka sutras of Hinayana schools and later the Mahayana Sutras.

[BodhisatvaOfTheEarth]

@falcon02012 Buddha believes there is the unborn, uncreated, timeless, and boundless reality in which all people can attain it. Buddha did not believe in a myth God or gods who punishes people into living hell. He believes there One Supreme reality he called Nirvana when we awaken to our own selflessness- to our true nature. He sometimes called it Brahma(god) meaning Oneness of Reality.

[buddhidev]

@falcon02012

As the Buddhist, Lord Buddha didn't deny the presence or absence of God. He said this knowledge is not necessary to develop and improve your life and mind because you may obsess to find this answer rather than focus to improve yourself.

[Yamarukun]

I am a Turkish Islam guy, but I also felt very connected with Buddhism.

I know that my ancestors had been Buddhist and Muslim so therefore it seems so logic. It tells me that we are all connected and all cultures are in us.

Namaste

Jamal.

[opensourcebuddhism]

@Yamarukun Thank you Jamal, for your perceptive comments. Yes, Turks were once Buddhists mostly, then that amazing wave of Muhammad's message spread like a wildfire. It is all good. None of these major religious forces ever disappear...they just shift like sand. Buddhism bores out Japanese youth, but American youth just love it. Chinese youngsters seem to like Christianity...Islam is growing faster than any other religion in America....maybe even Buddhism will make its way back to Turks!

[Yamarukun]

@opensourcebuddhism hahaha maybe!, we shall see.. I think the most important thing is that we remind ourself that we are all conected we can not hate him or her for this or that. U blame urself as well. I just hope evryone wakes up one time and realises what is important and what not.

[lovellespice]

If I didn't love Jesus so much I would be Buddhist.. =)

[KHMERAZN562]

Actually, its turkic buddhism.

[HanHentii]

buryats are not turks.they are mongols

[opensourcebuddhism]

@HanHentii You are correct.

[thisisspahtah]

Actually in all Turkish languages, there's no word equivalent to the concept of "Turkic". You are either "Türk" (Turkish) or not. Unfortunately, many Turks from former Soviet republics have been absolutely brainwashed into forgetting who they really were.

[opensourcebuddhism]

I just don't know if this is true. jack rowe was an excellent student, i trust his work.  how could these soviet republic citizens be "brainwashed"? Turks were the Mongols brothers at arms. Those two are distinct, but not very.

[thisisspahtah]

Maybe saying brainwashed is a bit harsh. I was just referring to the extent of Russification by the USSR, because of it many people from what you'd call Turkic nations aren't aware of their own history. It's actually very important considering they formed the frontier between East/West.

[opensourcebuddhism]

indeed, but i had the idea that pan-turkism is spreading, and that is not in the interests of Russians.

[alaykumsalam]

I am a buddhist so sad seeing buddhist monastry being destroyed.

[alaykumsalam]

so sad...Om Mani Pad me hom! Tribute to buddha!

[ThePersia123]

what do you mean by that statement?

[zodhr]

I want to add something. Turkey, (The Republic Of Turkey) is not a Muslim country. It is a secular country, but many of the population being Muslim does not make a country Muslim.

Actually Turkey is one of the few countries who does not have a specific religion.

[onurozbek89]

well, buddhism and shamanism came to turkey with Mongol invasion to anatolia, but I do not think it is a shame, because, if Turks were buddhist, then they wouldn't be the first ones to see buddhism fitting to a warrior. Japan and mongolia had their way already

Onur

[opensourcebuddhism]

those turks lie right on the alleged east/west divide. they decided only that islam would make a better warrior religion than buddhism, not that buddhism was not impossibly a warrior religion. japanese budddhists didn't turn violent until really the bakufu / samurai period. this was long after the turkish / muslim conquest of afghanistan et. al. remnants of the kushana empire.

jp

[prinznevsky]

um, I believe the monastery on Mt. Hiei had an established tradition of warrior monks, or "sohei" well before the Kamakura period. And let us not forget the Shaolin Temple. Buddhism (like Christianity) espouses non-violence, but that doesn't mean (Like Christianity again) that the practitioners would not use it to further political aims and protect their interests. Buddhism was sort of a "big money" religion from the 6th cent. onward in East Asia, so its role in society made it important

[opensourcebuddhism]

I am sure you are correct without double checking, simply because I know violence is not limited to any single religion(s). I should say that Islam does have a history of military action that arguably exceeds Buddhist examples however.

[prinznevsky]

no doubt. The Islamic faith's cultural roots of tribal dispute are inherent it its approach. Buddhism is more like Christianity, in the sense the the power of the message was distorted, debated, and manipulated by those who used it as a means to control. In Islam, it seems the entire idea is about the maintenence of power, whereas Early Buddhhism and Christianity seemed to be more about liberation from oppression. Odd isn't it!

[opensourcebuddhism]

Astute observations, for the parallel my own!

Thanks and yes, very ODD!

[kusalaviro]

@prinznevsky There's one clear distinction. There is NO scriptural authority for violence in Buddhism whereas the books of Christianity and Islam are filled with mandates for war...

[lovellespice]

@kusalaviro there are no mandates of war or open-ended orders to commit acts of war in the Bible.. yes there are records of violence in biblical times but these were Descriptive rather than Prescriptive, meaning they describe historical events rather than open-ended mandates for war

[greatProphet1]

@opensourcebuddhism

There is another religion called shinto which give permission of war and its the religion of japanes king.So buddhism never said anything about war,Its shintoism that creat war.

[opensourcebuddhism]

Indeed it is a shame. Well, the Turks saw Islam as a religion more fitting the warrior than Buddhism. Probably true, but how different would the world be today had they remained Buddhists! OF course, that is an oxymoron, for had they remained Buddhists, they would likely have deceased from conquest.

James

[efsun06]

that is so true!

[kusalaviro]

What a shame...

[Heverci]

Actually, Yugurs (or Sari Uygurs) in China still practice Buddhism.

[Gewaldro]

That's true, I've got some videos about Yugurs.