Hey JanH. Remember the chat earlier today?
Buddhism: The doctrine, attributed to Buddha, that suffering is inseparable from existence but that inward extinction of the self and of worldly desire culminates in a state of spiritual enlightenment beyond both suffering and existence.
Doctrine: A principle or body of principles presented for acceptance or belief, as by a religious, political, scientific, or philosophic group; dogma.
And yes, *I* used the term philosphy.
As I said before, in western(mostly theist) terms, this means to us that anything and everything is God (since we rely on God for spiritual enlightment). Excuuuuuuuse me for not being 100% technically correct in something that I've said regarding abstract ideas as creation and theism. in a flipping chat room.
there's also another definition of Buddhism...
The religion represented by the many groups, especially numerous in Asia, that profess varying forms of this doctrine and that venerate Buddha.
I think I was arguing #1, and you were arguing #2. It's a real shame that we got side tracked, as I think you would have added a lot to mine and flowerpetal's discussion in the chatroom. Perhaps next time.