IS BUDDHISM A RELION OR PHILOSOPHY?

A basic argument in this paper is that essential Buddhism is not religion or philosophy. Relative to religion, the Buddha did not claim to be other than a human being; he did not suggest he was a god or a god manifested in human form; he did not claim inspiration from any god or external power (Rahula, 1974); and he discouraged veneration of himself (Nyanaponika, 1986). The Buddha is one of the "jewels" of Buddhism because he was just a man; what he achieved in terms of awakening is available to everyone. Essential Buddhism has no personal deity or impersonal godhead, no creeds or dogmas, no rituals or worship, no savior, and nothing to take on faith; rather it is a set of practices and free inquiry by which one sees for oneself the truth and usefulness of the teachings (Khantipalo, 1992; Nyanaponika, 1986; Rahula, 1974; Snelling, 1999). The Buddha clearly did not want to establish a religion. And the Buddha's community was educational, not religious; the members were prohibited from involvement in religious practices and were not to compete with the Brahmin priests.
Similarly, the Buddha avoided philosophizing and debates with philosophers. He particularly avoided speculative metaphysical questions (Rahula, 1974). For example, he would not discuss whether the world is eternal, whether the soul is the same as the body, or whether a buddha exists after death. He did not consider such philosophizing as useful to the path; rather it is more important to clean up one’s life and train one’s mind. Practice is more important than philosophy. In a popular analogy, the Buddha described a man shot with a poisoned arrow (Rahula, 1974). What if the man would not let the doctor treat him until he knew the name, caste, appearance, and home of the archer, as well as the type of arrow, bow, and bowstring that were used? He would die before being treated. Similarly, Buddhist practice provides a way to reduce suffering that is not dependent on belief in a cosmology.
On the other hand, a family of Buddhist religions came into being, based on essential Buddhism and later Buddhist teachings. The vast majority of Buddhists in the world approach Buddhism as a religion. Buddhist religions have a good basic code of ethics (e.g., no killing, stealing, or lying) and seem to bring peace and gentleness to many practitioners and cultures. Like most major religions, Buddhism does not claim that it is right and other religions are wrong. Hence, from a Buddhist perspective, one can be a Buddhist and also be a Christian, Sufi, or atheist. No one has been tortured or has any war been waged in the name of Buddhism.
Similarly, there is now a rich field of Buddhist philosophy (e.g., Abe, 1985; de Silva, 2000; Guenther, 1975; Jacobson, 1983; Kalupahana, 1987). And the Buddhist literature contains some very influential philosophers, including Dogen (Yokoi, 1987), Nagarjuna (Batchelor, 2000; Garfield, 1995), and Dharmakirti (Dunne, 2004).
In mainstream academia in the United States, Buddhism is perceived as being religion and/or philosophy, and is generally taught in those departments. Hence, academic psychologists often perceive Buddhism as being irrelevant or inappropriate, and thus miss out on a powerful psychology. There is nothing "wrong" with Buddhist philosophy and religion, and they can be very helpful. But from the perspective of essential Buddhism, they could distract people from important practice, such as meditation and opening the heart. And, the Buddha warned about becoming attached to views, opinions, rites, and rituals.
Buddhism arose in cultures that believe in reincarnation and karma within and across lifetimes. Hence, these beliefs are part of most Buddhist religions, particularly Theravadin and Tibetan Buddhism. Buddhist practices and morality are then seen as a way to improve one’s next incarnation and eventually free oneself from the cycle of rebirth. But, this sometimes limits the full meaning of the dynamics involved. Relatedly, much of the Vissuddhimagga is Brahmanism, not Buddhism, and has thus added confusion about essential Buddhism, such as the nature of dependent origination, discussed later (Buddhadasa, 1992).