Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy?

This question has always perplexed me: Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy. All the major religions have some kind of an omnipotent, supernatural entity that is variably called god, source, allah or such; in Buddhism, there is no such almighty controller of all things. Does a religion always have to have a god? And if Buddhism doesn't have a god, it is "just" a philosophy, then first of all it will not qualify for IRS' tax exempt status; and many people in this country will not have a religion, will not be considered "religious," and are therefore atheists? Of course these people, namely Buddhists, are still very "spiritual" people, very kind and loving people, probably more so than some of those who have a "religion." There is something wrong with this picture.

Today, I finally find a reasonable explanation for this weird state of affairs and I would like to share with you. While reading Matthieu Ricard's book "The Monk and The Philosopher," the author quoted an answer to this very question by Andre Migot, a French medical doctor, adventurer and Buddhist scholar during the first half of last century, and Matthieu Ricard is a Tibetan monk of French origin, who lives in Nepal. The quote is from Migot's book "Le Bouddha" (The Buddha):

"There has been a lot of discussion about whether Buddhism is a religion or a philosophy, and the question has never been decided one way or the other. In these terms, it is a question that only makes sense to a Westerner. Only in the West is philosophy just a branch of knowledge like mathematics or botany, and only in the West is the philosopher a person, usually a professor, who goes through particular doctrines during his courses but, once he goes home, lives exactly like his lawyer or his dentist without what he teaches having the slightest influence on the way he lives his life. Only in the West is religion,for a large majority of believers, a small compartment that only gets opened on particular days, at particular times or in certain predetermined circumstances, and is firmly closed again before actually doing anything. Although there are professors of philosophy in the East, too, a philosopher there is a spiritual master who lives what he teaches, surrounded by disciples who want to follow his example. His teaching is never based on sheer intellectual curiosity, for its value lies only in its realization. In this light, there seems little point in wondering whether Buddhism is a philosophy or a religion. It is a path, a way of salvation, that which led the Buddha to enlightenment; it is a method, a means of attaining liberation by working intensely on the mind and spirit."

I might add that this explanation is applicable to Confusianism as well. I often explain to people that in China, most people (including myself) don't belong to any organized religion; that their spiritual anchor is a combination of Confusianism and Buddhism, which are more like philosophies.

Life after Death

While I am on the matter of old age, I might as well get right to the crux of the matter: the big D, and get it out of my chest.

When we are young, life seems limitless. Even when we are at middle age, we are preoccupied with making a living, climbing the corporate ladder, growing a family, building a personal wealth, or whatever else we were busy doing; the matter of growing old is at best a distant glimpse of irrelevance. It's something too far away to worry about. But as time passes, that shadow of old age looms larger every year; and behind that shadow, another, a more ominous one, also appears.

Each individual will have to develop his or her own way to deal with the issue, of course. I just want to lay out my own way to look at it. By so doing, I don't pretend to tell anyone how he/she should treat the matter. Also, discussing the big D inevitably touches on the matter of religious belief, or the lack of it. Again, my religious view has a lot to do with how I deal with the big D, but I don't pretend to influence anyone into adopting my own belief.

Each of today's major religions in the world claims it has THE only real maker of the Universe, and provides some form of life or continued existence after the end of the life on Earth. Christianity provides for Heaven and Hell. Basically the good people go to Heaven and the bad people go to Hell; but those who follow God will be forgiven of their sins and will go to Heaven. (I must admit I am no Bible scholar and this is just a layman's understanding of the matter.) Islam also provides for a life in God's Kingdom after the end of life on Earth. In fact, in Islam life on Earth is but a trial period for the real, eternal life afterwards, when a just God rewards those who believed in him and served him well, and punish those who didn't.

Buddhism doesn't provide an all-mighty maker, but provides for a system of ever-evolving reincarnation, in which a life is "recycled" eternally so there is always life after "death" as the way Nature works. The catch is this: If a person is good by Buddhism standards in this life, he/she will be reincarnated into a good life, most likely in human form, the next time around; if a person is bad by Buddhism standards, he would be recycled into a hard life in human form, or a lower form a life, such as a pig or a mouse or even a single-cell amoeba. The above, obviously, is but a gross oversimplification of the matter.

I do believe that the idea of life after death in Christianity and Islam and the reincarnation system in Buddhism do have a salutary effect on this world; and I believe that that is why they were invented to begin with. They serve to persuade people in this world to behave well and to get along with one another harmoniously. So I think the promise of a good life after death is good if it can achieve that goal. In other words, that is a good trick, but a well-intentioned one.

Now what do I believe? I am not a Christian; I am not a Muslim; I am not a Buddhist, although I do subscribe to a lot of its precepts. I am a Unitarian-Universalist because this is the only spiritual school that I feel comfortable associating with. In terms of the G issue, I consider myself an agnostic: Nothing has persuaded me so far that there is a God; but I am not sure that there can't be some kind of omnipotent force that is responsible for creating and maintaining this world, either. Further, I don't believe we can know the answer for sure in this life; and I don't want to waste my time looking for it.

Is there life after death? I will find out when I die. If there is, I will have to face it whatever it is like. If there isn't, I wouldn't know the difference anyway.

The biggest problem is, of course, the anxiety one has before it comes. How long am I going to live? In what way am I going to die? etc. I don't believe I can possibly know, and I don't want to know. As long as I am healthy and continue to enjoy life, I wish to live forever. But I do accept the fact that life is limited and will end somehow. Whenever life ceases to be enjoyable, there is no point in prolonging it. Government rules notwithstanding.

There are obviously many other aspects of this issue, which I can't possibly address totally at one sitting. I do want to hear others ways to look at the issue. Please comment by talking about your way to look at it.