According to your opinion, is blasphemy possible in Buddhism?

[ZombieHorde]

For example, if I kill someone for not being a Buddhist, would I be blaspheming Buddhism?

[OffWithTheirHeads]

1. No. You would just be an asshole.

Buddahisim has no Gods, or as many Gods as you like. You can't blaspheme, you can only show the world that you are an asshole.

[YankeyMCC]

7. ring, ring

[white_wolf]

2. No, it wouldn't be blasphemy.

It would be a terrible thing and karma would have a negative impact on you.

[ellisonz]

3. No.

This supposes that there is a you, there is a me, and there is someone...Buddhists do not have a concept of "blasphemy."

Incorrect understandings of karma in the early sutras

In Buddhism, karma is not pre-determinism, fatalism or accidentalism, as all these ideas lead to inaction and destroy motivation and human effort. These ideas undermine the important concept that a human being can change for the better no matter what his or her past was, and they are designated as "wrong views" in Buddhism. The Buddha identified three:

Pubbekatahetuvada: The belief that all happiness and suffering, including all future happiness and suffering, arise from previous karma, and human beings can exercise no volition to affect future results (Past-action determinism).
Issaranimmanahetuvada: The belief that all happiness and suffering are caused by the directives of a Supreme Being (Theistic determinism).
Ahetu-appaccaya-vaada: The belief that all happiness and suffering are random, having no cause (Indeterminism or Accidentalism).[26]

Karma is continually ripening, but it is also continually being generated by present actions, therefore it is possible to exercise free will to shape future karma. P.A. Payutto writes, "the Buddha asserts effort and motivation as the crucial factors in deciding the ethical value of these various teachings on kamma."[27]
[edit]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma_in_Buddhism#Incorrect_understandings_of_karma_in_the_early_sutras

[obamanut2012]

4. No

It isn't possible.

[Newest Reality]

5. I don't think

your example would apply, but it is technically possible that one can blaspheme the Buddha(s). In fact, it seems to be a lighter offense than to blaspheme the Lotus Sutra, (Mahayana) as that Sutra states it.

What I meant by "technically" depends on various factors, but notice that the Lotus Sutra creates a condition where, if you blaspheme the entities mentioned below, you could inadvertently be doing so to a Buddha:

The Buddha declared to the bodhisattva Aksayamati, "Good man, if there are beings in the land who can be conveyed to deliverance by the body of a Buddha, then the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara preaches the Truth by displaying the body of a Buddha.... To those who can be conveyed to deliverance by the body of Brahma [God the Creator] he preaches the Truth by displaying the body of Brahma. To those who can be conveyed to deliverance by the body of the god Shakra he preaches the Truth by displaying the body of the god Shakra. To those who can be conveyed to deliverance by the body of the god Ishvara [the personal God] he preaches the Truth by displaying the body of the god Ishvara.... To those who can be conveyed to deliverance by the body of an elder... a householder... an official... a woman... a boy or girl... a god, dragon, spirit, angel, demon, garuda-bird, centaur, serpent, human or non-human, he preaches Dharma by displaying the appropriate body.... The bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, by resort to a variety of forms, travels the world, conveying the beings to salvation."

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I don't recommend studying the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Law for newbies to Buddhism. Much of what you encounter will not seem to jibe with the Westernized interpretations that have filtered into our culture. If you do want to get to know the Lotus, then look-up the free, online book called Buddhism for Today. At least you will get some interesting commentary and explanations of the very ornate and potent allegories it presents and also some skillful conversions that are easier for the Western mind to digest.

On a spiritual, meditative path, blaspheming is actually not something you need to judge nor does it seem conducive to partake of such an indulgence. What is the benefit?

[timeandmotion]

6. Yes

Your question is a little difficult to answer, since the example you are giving is not one of blasphemy - Buddhists do kill people for not being Buddhists, as we have seen in Burma and Sri Lanka recently - they may be committing a sin according to their religion, but it isn't blasphemy anymore than it would be for a Christian who breaks the commandment against killing. Blasphemy is the act of speaking or acting disrespectfully toward something that is considered sacred by someone, and this may be classified as a crime in some countries. For example, in Thailand, if you were to do something like step on a statue of the Buddha in Thailand, you would be liable for criminal prosecution under section 206 of their penal code, which reads: "Whoever, to do, by any means whatever, to the object or place of religious worship of any group of persons in the manner likely to insult such religion, shall be imprisoned as from two years to seven years or fined as from two thousand Baht to fourteen thousand Baht, or both." Non Buddhists are not even allowed to take statues of the Buddha out of Thailand - my understanding is that someone tried smuggling heroin out in one, which the Thais would very definitely consider an outrageous act of blasphemy.

[liberal_at_heart]

8. I would say that blasphemy would be considered wrong speech in the eight fold path and

murder would be considered wrong action in the eight fold path. In order to strive for enlightenment, Buddhists believe people should think and act in a way that promotes peace, compassion, and enlightenment. Wrong speech and wrong action would be straying from the path to enlightenment.