Why is Buddhism different from other religions?

Why is Buddhism different from other religions?

1- Buddhism does not believe in an almighty creator

The Buddha said, “I have never said that there is no creator and I have never said that there is a creator.”. 

- The Buddha only said what he saw and knew as it really was, saying what he saw, without adding or subtracting, without lying, without embellishing to give others illusions about what they did not see.

- The universe and living beings operate according to the law of cause and effect - dependent origination, not created by a divine individual.

This makes Buddhism associated with a philosophical - ethical system, living humanely on cause and effect rather than a theistic religion.

2- Truth comes from personal experience

- The Buddha did not ask for "belief" but asked for "Seeing" (knowing - understanding - experiencing).

- In the Kalama Sutta, the Buddha taught:

"Do not believe anything because it is repeated many times, do not believe because it is traditional, do not believe because it is rumored or written in the scriptures, only when you see clearly for yourself, then believe and follow it"

3- Liberation is self-reliance, not the grace of others

- All suffering and happiness are created by oneself through karma (Karrma), not by "heavenly grace" or punishment.

- Liberation (nirvana) is the result of practice, right view, morality, meditation, not a reward from God. Just like if you want to be good at math, chemistry, physics, you have to study by yourself, do exercises, practice to gain knowledge of that subject, not God giving you that knowledge. If you want to escape poverty, you have to study, improve your knowledge, work, not pray to God, not refuse to study, work to escape poverty, that is the truth.

4- The concept of "no-self" - a spiritual revolution

• Buddhism is the only religion that affirms "no permanent self".
• While most other religions say that humans have an immortal soul, Buddhism says: "There is no fixed self - only the flow of aggregates, dependent origination and dissolution."
• This frees humans from egoism, stubbornness, and arrogance - the root of suffering.

"Buddhism is not based on faith, but on WISDOM. It does not focus on worship, but on liberation from suffering. It does not take fear as its root, but on understanding - compassion - awareness as its center."

That is why many modern scholars call Buddhism a "path of awakening" rather than a "religion" in the traditional sense.