benlehman: (Default)
benlehman ([personal profile] benlehman) wrote2008-05-02 05:45 pm

Attention Atheists

Attention atheists who say "atheists don't do horrible things in the name of their religion."

Please go read a book about the cultural revolution.

[identity profile] wunderworks.livejournal.com 2008-05-06 03:43 pm (UTC)(link)
Ugh, I wish I would have all this in just one reply. While Jodo, and I don't know enough about Zen in the particulars regarding the afterlife, doesn't focus on reincarnation, it definitely has it. Like Christianity, they see Buddha as a savior that will take you to Heaven so that you will escape Hell, if you're devout enough (say enough chants/Hail Mary's), but they do believe you'll get another chance after you've spent a long time in Hell, just like the other forms of Buddhism.

The ENTIRE idea of Pure Land is to escape the cycle of Death and Re-birth. They see it as a bad thing, not a learning process. They see Buddha as a 'Get out of Jail Free' card, if they follow his twelve step program.

So while they aren't keen on it entirely, they do believe in reincarnation.