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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Buddhism is a spiritual and atheistic religion. It is not rare or bizarre to have spiritual beliefs and also lack a belief in deities. The Asian world has a few religions that are based on a collective consciousness, and not a deity.

Atheism is a lack of belief in a god. It does not define belief in an afterlife, spiritual powers or anything else. Look beyond your own narrow definition of religion, and you will see there is a very wide variance in beliefs.[b] The focus on exactly what every atheist believes is bizarre[/b]. 
[/quote]

could you answer how you define spirit and spiritual?  are they beyond nature?  are they entities that people can imagine but that other people don't imagine?  are they like ghosts?  Do the spirits have powers and abilities that humans do not have? can you call upon the spirits to intervene in your life or the lives of others?[/quote]

I personally don't believe in spirits. I am not going to try to answer those questions for other people because those beliefs are not defined by the term "atheist.". You should do some reading on Buddhism, or any of the eastern religions. In monotheistic religions, god is a separate entity that acts kind of like a parent. In many eastern religions, people and earth are all part of god, or those things are together and not a god at all. [/quote]

Not bizarre - it's very simple -- nothing supernatural - i.e., beyond nature -- no angels, demons, fairies, gods, or any beings imagined beyond nature. It seems odd that you are so sure about the exact terms/beliefs of Buddhism without willingness to explain it.   From what you say, it sounds like the word  "god" is used differently,  not meaning supernatural at all. I'm not particularly interested in pursuing this, just wanted to clarify what you meant.[/quote]

There is no 'god' in buddhism. There is a belief that all living things are connected. And there is an importance put on that and a desire to celebrate and find deep appreciation for that. In addition it inspires Buddhists to have empathy for all things because all things are connected. Buddha is the first person who realized and embraced this, but he is not a god. More a mentor to Buddhists.

In Buddhism people seek Nirvana instead of Heaven. Nirvana being defined essentially by true knowledge and acceptance that all living things are equal and together and fundamentally connected and realizing your place in the universe as a tiny but essential but also inconsequential part of a greater whole.

I would explain 'spirituality' in the context of atheist belief as being kind of analogous to love. I do not believe in spirits or an afterlife where previous humans are conscious and still 'them'.

I do have a very deep and powerful love for humanity and for the earth and a very deep and powerful gratitude for being a human on this earth and able to experience all that allows me to experience. I don't 'worship' my husband and my children, but the love I feel for them feels deep and different and important and fundamental. And that is the same type of love I have for life on this planet in all its incarnations. I believe that that is what most atheists are describing when they say they feel a spiritualness in their life (although I'd welcome perspectives that differ from this). It is what I imagine your love for God feels like.

-AA[/quote]

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