# How would you change the world? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 10, 2003, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-change-the-world/160194 "2003-03-10T01:41:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-change-the-world/160194/41 "2003-03-12T12:33:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfje \* > \*\*ninja, just a small remark: Buddhism isn’t a religion, it’s a philosphy. Buddha isn’t a god, and isn’t seen as a god by Buddhists. > Buddha just happened to be the guy that escaped the endless cycle of rebirth first, and taught others how. > Buddhists do not worship a god. They try and better themselves as human beings, believe in Karma (whatever you do wil come back to you), and believe that people are “doomed” to be reborn until their soul is “perfect”, and they no longer need to be reborn. > > just on the side, folks. \*\* Also on the side: This is like saying Islam isn’t a religion because Muhammed isn’t seen as a god. While many modern Buddhists see Buddhism as a philosophy and don’t accept the existence of gods or other beings, Buddha certainly did, and so did his followers. They just didn’t worship them. While I agree that Buddhism teeters on the brink between religion and philosophy (few dogmas and rituals, for one thing), it cannot be said straight out that it’s not a religion. ---
**Author:** ![elfje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-change-the-world/160194/42 "2003-03-12T17:06:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Priceguy \* > \*\*Also on the side: This is like saying Islam isn’t a religion because Muhammed isn’t seen as a god. While many modern Buddhists see Buddhism as a philosophy and don’t accept the existence of gods or other beings, Buddha certainly did, and so did his followers. They just didn’t worship them. While I agree that Buddhism teeters on the brink between religion and philosophy (few dogmas and rituals, for one thing), it cannot be said straight out that it’s not a religion. \*\* Mohammed was a prophet, not a God, as I’m sure you know. As far as I know, Buddha did not believe in a God as such. Here are some links, and these are also the site of where I found these: “Buddha: The name given to one who rediscovers for himself the liberating path of Dhamma, after a long period of its having been forgotten by the world. According to tradition, there is a long line of Buddhas stretching into the distant past. The most recent Buddha was born Siddhattha Gotama in India in the sixth century BCE. A well-educated and wealthy young man, he relinquished his family and his princely inheritance in the prime of his life to search for true freedom and an end to suffering (dukkha). After seven years of austerities in the forest, he rediscovered the “middle way” and achieved his goal, becoming Buddha.” As far as I know, prophets don’t “become” gods. Siddharta became a Buddha though. Sumtin relly different. also this: “After he attained enlightment, which amounted to achieving a remarkable insight into the human condition, Siddartha was unsure what to do with this tremendous wisdom he had gleaned. At first, he thought of teaching it to others, but then doubted that it could be truly communicated in words, that others would be unable to comprehend what he was getting at. Perhaps this wisdom was for him alone to realize and use. Fortunately for us, however, a sense of duty prevailed and while then as now, in terms of great truth most people metaphorically have too much dust in their eyes to fully see, there are some whose sight is obscured by only a little dust. The Buddha hoped that his teaching might be of benefit to the. So, he set off to teach.” He’s definitely not acting like a god. [http://www.geocities.com/lesliebarclay/FourNobleTruths.html](http://www.geocities.com/lesliebarclay/FourNobleTruths.html) [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/glossary.html](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/glossary.html) Buddhism centers around awareness, having a conscience to see what’s right and wrong, to find the perfect balance how to live ones life. It sees reincarnation as a necessary evil, you will be reborn until you achieve “perfection”, that is, until there is no reason why you should return. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-change-the-world/160194/43 "2003-03-12T17:49:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elfje \* > **Mohammed was a prophet, not a God, as I’m sure you know.** Yep. Exactly as I said. Buddha is not seen as a god, Muhammed is not seen as a god. Buddhism and Islam are both religions. Apparently our disagreement is over semantics. ---
**Author:** ![elfje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-change-the-world/160194/44 "2003-03-12T17:50:37Z")
no, priceguy, we really do differ in opinion. I still think Buddhism is not a religion. but let’s agree to disagree ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-change-the-world/160194/45 "2003-03-12T19:05:34Z")
To finish this hi-jack, elfje, I’ll open a thread in IMHO in a few minutes. I really would like to hear your reasoning. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-change-the-world/160194/46 "2003-03-12T20:34:08Z")
> [@](#): > > (1) No matter how well off you are, if you want, you can still find something to whine about. True. And often most annoying. However, consider: If people didn’t complain so much, things would never get any better. We’d still be sitting in caves. No, maybe we’d still be swinging in the trees. In any case, we’d not have invented, for example, the wheel if somebody hadn’t complained that dragging things on sticks across the ground was hard. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-change-the-world/160194/47 "2003-03-12T20:38:43Z")
I would make it so that geeky, pasty white, out of shape, balding near-thirtysomethings were the epitome of sexiness and cool. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2003, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-change-the-world/160194/48 "2003-03-13T00:31:31Z")
To solve the energy problem and food problem and the difficulty of access to space in one fell, magical swoop, I would install a ring of space elevators and a ring of microwave rectennas on orbit (most easily geostationary orbit, _but there are other configurations_) fifty million square kilometers of solar collector in orbit around the sun, and a nanotech matter compiler in every home- This could be achieved without a magic monkey’s paw, but it could take up to a thousand years of effort… during which time humanity has dozens of chances to slide back into the dark ages. It seems to me that it will be a close run race. Still, when you wish upon a star… * * * [http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html](http://www.orionsarm.com/main.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-you-change-the-world/160194.md?page=2)