How do Buddhism fit in the Eastern Religion element?

mrslulu,

Buddhism is more a philosophy for life than a religion. It is an agreement we make with ourselves to follow a particular way of life. And it mainly consists of taking care of ourselves and encouraging others to do the same. Buddhism has become very wide spread. There are lighter elements of it that some people practise like Zen Buddhism which I am quite fond of, and there is a more serious element to it which some people believe to be a more religious aspect of it. I don't think it needs to fit in with anything. Many religious people practise Buddhism as a way of life.

Sounds like an assignment question to me...

Many in the West claim that Buddhism is more of a philosophy than a religion, and while it is true that Buddhism is significantly philosophical, the same is true for any other religion. What makes Buddhism a target for such a claim is that it is a so called non-theistic religion. In Buddhism no deity is central, which is not to say absent. This particularity facilitates conceptually separating the underlying Buddhist philosophy from the over all religion of which culture is undeniably a part. Once a Westerner extracts the philosophical elements of Buddhism and incorporates them in his or her Western lifestyle, you get something different, and that's all right, but then you can make any claims about Buddhism which might not really have anything to do with Buddhism practiced in the East.

I'm not sure I'm answering any questions--I just think that Buddhism as being just a philosophy is a Western misunderstanding.