These beings were created by me. He matter-of-factly described them, as he might talk about an ordinary person. Born Siddhartha Gautama, his teachings serve as the foundation of the Buddhist religion. The Buddha replied: “Suppose Malunkyaputra that a man has been wounded by a poisoned arrow and his friends and family are about to call a doctor. Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. As Karen says, maybe Buddhists and Theists are actually addressing the same reality in different terms. (Compare Job 28:20, 21, 28; Psalm 111:10.) Every task that God does in the Abrahamic religions was assigned to various systems of natural law by the Buddha. Maybe the whole issue should be seen in another way. I suggest you think about the concept of existence. Moral of the story: Belief that there is God or belief that there is no God are both equally useless, one has to … The Venerable S Dhammika also categorically denies that Buddhism believes in a God for many reasons, including that it is based on fear and appealing to more traditional arguments such as lack of evidence. He was a real man named Siddartha Gautama. Of the ten major avatars of Vishnu, Vaishnavites believe Gautama Buddha to be the ninth and most recent incarnation.. Buddha's portrayal in Hinduism varies. Did I hit anything? There are many who contend that Siddhartha Gautama, the man otherwise known as the Buddha, was an atheist, and that his original teaching, at its core, did not include concepts such as karma and reincarnation.. Others are of the school of thought that he was an agnostic, neither avowing or disavowing such ideas, and resting instead in the simple, transpersonal state of “not knowing”. Gautam Buddha - Does God exist - Once upon a time, Gautam Buddha was visiting a village. In the evening a third man came and he asked, "Does God exist?" In fact, such misunderstanding did occur even in the Buddha’s life-time. The Actual incident is when Buddha was asked whether there is God or not? I mean, do you really know what the Buddha said on the matter? Gautam Buddha - Does God exist - Once upon a time, Gautam Buddha was visiting a village. The purpose of this website is to promote understanding and knowledge. So while he did not specifically say there is no creator god, in Buddhism, there is nothing for a creator god to do. Does it even matter? At the age of 29, he realized that wealth and power do not manifest happiness themselves. Buddha knowing that man to be an atheist said with firm voice as if he is in firm conviction "Yes, there is God". To use the language of psychology, such a deity is an archetype of our own deepest nature, our most profound level of consciousness. In tantra we focus our attention on such an archetypal image and identify with it in order to arouse the deepest, most profound aspects of our being and bring them into our present reality." How do you know you exist? "As far as I can tell, there are Western Buddhists out there who believe God doesn't exist. Learn Religions uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. … There is no belief in a personal god. Was the reason why the Buddha didn't speak about God and the soul, because he couldn't provide the proof for it? In others, he seems to deny the soul. What did Lord Buddha really have to say about God? Far from being a non-believer in God, the Buddha acknowledged “one common essence” (1) which he, with his deeply-penetrating spiritual insight, was able to see and know. Budding professor of religion. For more explanation, see "Dependent Origination," "Buddhism and Karma," and "The Five Niyamas.". But next day someone came and asked the same question now Buddha replied "YES, there is GOD". Instead, they say, he was a human being who awakened—attained enlightenment—through his own efforts. Whether your concept of God is an all-powerful, all-knowing “capital G” God, or a less defined concept of universal consciousness, or a nature deity, or the more practical “meditational deity” — Buddhism welcomes all of these equally. One cannot be a Christian without verbally confessing the deity of Jesus the Christ. In her book ‘A History of God,’ Karen Armstrong states the following and quotes Edward Conze and his book ‘Buddhism: its essence and development’: “Nirvana literally means ‘cooling off’ or ‘going out’ It is not merely a negative state, however, but plays a role in Buddhist life that is analogous to God. 1 Peter 1:3-9 ESV / 14 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. Yes. To conclude then, As stated at the beginning of the article, in Buddhism, there is room for all types of views on the idea of God. It is clear from many Buddhist suttas (sutras) — supported by the views of many scholars — that the Buddha did not deny the gods. So, a Buddhist can believe in, and even worship a God, should they wish but enlightenment can only be achieved by one’s own effort, it is completely up to the individual. My challenge is: how do you know? Revised February 20, 2019; August 21, 2019. Suttas mentioned: Aṅguttara Nikāya 5.43 Saṃyutta Nikāya 42.6 How so? In reading through all the many sermons of the Buddha, it seems that he adjusted his teachings to the needs and capacities of his listeners. Part of the problem, of course, labels. Every task that God does in the Abrahamic religions was assigned to various systems of natural law by the Buddha. I focus, over the years, on the existence of the unknown. There is no point in praying to them because they rarely interact with humans and aren't interested in your prayers or offerings. Buddha was a spiritual teacher in Nepal during the 6th century B.C. Buddhism is sometimes called an "atheistic" religion, although some of us prefer "non-theistic"--meaning that believing in a God or gods really isn't the point. Because I first had this thought: ‘Oh, if only some other beings would come here!’ That was my wish, and then these beings came into this existence!”. Thinking along these lines can offer a great way to engage in interfaith dialogue with followers of other faiths and offers Buddhists a profound new way of looking at the Buddhist path that is defiantly food for thought. All Rights Reserved. It is said that soon after his enlightenment the Buddha passed a man on the road who was struck by the Buddha’s extraordinary radiance and peaceful presence. The Buddha clearly taught that all phenomena are "created" by means of cause and effect determined by natural law. 18. Suttas mentioned: Aṅguttara Nikāya 5.43 Saṃyutta Nikāya 42.6 https://www.thoughtco.com/atheism-and-devotion-in-buddhism-449718, https://www.dalailama.com/messages/religious-harmony-1/the-relevance-of-religion-in-modern-times, https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/abhidharma-tenet-systems/time-the-universe/the-fourteen-questions-to-which-buddha-remained-silent, https://tipitaka.wikia.com/wiki/Brahmajala_Sutta, https://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/qanda03.htm, https://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-liusuwan/is-buddhism-a-philosophy-_b_10176992.html, Video with wonderful mantra chanting: Om Gate Gate Paragate Para Samgate Bodhi Soha, the essence of Heart Sutra and Emptiness, Amitabha Sutra: cutting delusions with one-pointed blissful contemplation of Amitabha Buddha and the Pure Land. Buddha closed his eyes and remained utterly silent. [Note: We’re speaking about Buddhism generally; there are some schools, however, which have stricter ideas on divinities, beyond the scope of this story.]. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, including medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Does the unknown exist? Yes, there is a God. And since the websites seem to think my comments are incoming spam, I am responding to one of the posts here. If the unknown is bad, and it exists, then all hope is lost, etc. This form of reincarnation, nonetheless, has no basis in science or personal experience. And still others (as here in his replies to Vaccha), he declines to say one way or the other. Monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu, a trained translator of the Buddha’s words, certainly has. Some even go so far as to say that the Buddha said so, too. While the concept of a Creator God is absent in Buddha Dhamma (Buddhism), some beings fit into some conventional ideas on satan, angels, and demons, such as … GOD Exist and he … said the Buddha. 1. (Introduction to Tantra: A Vision of Totality [1987], p. 42). Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen, and never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. 56-57, [5]Barbara O’Brien, ‘Atheism and Devotion in Buddhism’. Ken McLeod’s article on Buddhist prayer in Tricycle magazine (may be paywalled): “Where the Thinking Stops“. At https://www.thoughtco.com/atheism-and-devotion-in-buddhism-449718 [Accessed 20th September 2018], [14]Karen Armstrong ‘A History of God’ (William Heinemann Ltd: UK, 1993. In many parts of Asia, lay people for centuries were taught very little about the dharma except to keep the Precepts and give alms to monks, and people "filled in the blanks" with local folk beliefs and bits of other Vedic traditions. “Wait!” he says. Was he kinder, more forgiving, more self-sacrificing than Buddha?Was he wiser, did he meet death with more perfect calmness, than Socrates?Was he more patient, more charitable, than Epictetus?Was he a greater philosopher, a deeper thinker, than Epicurus?In what respect was he the superior of Zoroaster? The Pali scriptures say the Buddha was only concerned about one primary matter, which was/is the complete cessation/freedom from suffering (dukkha) or the unshakeable freedom of mind (refer to MN 22, MN 29, MN 30, etc). God has no function, no role to play, either as an original source or as an instigator of current events. ", The Buddha did not speak of a creator deity, but he did speak of creation. And he said, "Yes, absolutely yes." The Buddha was trying to show that language was not equipped to deal with a reality that lay beyond concepts and reason.” [14]. (Yes, one can find examples of Asian laypeople relating to icons of Buddhism as if they were polytheistic deities. The Buddha did not teach Buddhists to seek or worship 'god' (Brahma). Dr. V.A. NOTE: Feature is the point-of-view of the author. By using Learn Religions, you accept our, Buddhism: 11 Common Misunderstandings and Mistakes, Faith and Doubt in the Buddhist Tradition, Early Buddhist History: The First Five Centuries. Buddhism has a lot more to say on labels and imputing concepts than it does about gods and deities — and “religion” is clearly a problematic label. Buddha: Proof of Reincarnation Probably the most important proof of reincarnation is the life of Siddhartha Buddha. He goes onto to describe it as a wrong view that one should think that though Brahma is eternal, we whom he created and the conditions of the world are impermanent: Earlier in the sutta, the Buddha clarifies that the views of some Brahmins and ascetics who hold views that the self is ‘partly eternalists, partly not-eternalists’ which as we know is contradicted by the Buddhist doctrine of Anatta. There are some who would say that Buddha did not teach reincarnation but instead spoke of rebirth. Buddha lived in a time totally different from our own — a time in which belief in Gods and divine interventions was incredibly natural and universal. At times, He did remain silent on this topic. Citations included. So while he did not specifically say there is no creator god, in Buddhism, there is nothing for a creator god to do. Please feel free to excerpt stories with full credit and a link to Budddha Weekly. Please feel free to excerpt stories with full credit and a link to. Submit Your Topic for “What the Teachers Say”, The Scientific Buddhist — Submit a Topic Idea. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Atheists Buddhists, Christians, shamans, pagans, agnostics, or “undecideds” can all equally practice the Buddha’s teachings. The creator god Brahma being the most important one. It is recorded in the Pali Canon that the Buddha castigated two monks for misrepresenting his teachings: one for saying that sexual intercourse was no bar to a holy life, and another for saying that in the process of rebirth the same consciousness was reborn without change. Are you a celestial being or a god? No, he did not, but it's important to understand why that is true. No. Then, why is Buddhism considered by many to be atheistic or nontheistic? He didn’t say that believing in a creator was right or wrong, nor did he specifically address this point. I don’t know what I hit. Buddha knowing that man to be an atheist said with firm voice as if he is in firm conviction "Yes, there is God". At times, He did remain silent on this topic. If the unknown does not exist, the only thing that exists is—what? What did the Buddha say about the source of his enlightenment? Love many subjects, bilingual third year uni student.” On Twitter>>. This development in Judaism was happening at about the same time as the life of the Buddha but in a different part of the world. In the afternoon another man came and he asked, "Does God exist?" Contributor to Buddha Weekly Lee Clarke: “I’m a Buddhist, Quaker, Humanist, existentialist and pacifist. The Buddha did so with a purpose. © 2020 Buddha Weekly: Buddhist Practices, Mindfulness, Meditation. On the other hand, he did NOT criticize them, or any other belief. The reason why the Buddha does not talk much about God, especially in Pali Sutta, is simply that belief in God is not necessary to achieve enlightenment. [8]. The historical Buddha said many things in his long lifetime of teaching. Before I got that, I came up with “the unknown is good”. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. But before going on with that, we should note that Buddha was not an agnostic (one who does not know). After a few minutes the man touched Buddha's feet, bowed down, paid his respects and said, "You are the first man who has answered my question." Further, the scriptures report the Buddha said to Brahmans that no Brahman teacher has ever seen god (Brahma) & also taught Brahmans that the way or path to Brahma is to radiate love in all directions (refer to Tevijja Sutta on the internet). Buddha Weekly does not recommend or endorse any information that may be mentioned on this website. Buddhists seek to reach a state of nirvana, following the path of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, who went on a quest for Enlightenment around the sixth century BC. What would you think of such a man?”, “He would be a fool, blessed one.” Replied Malunkyaputra shamefacedly “his questions have nothing to do with getting the arrow out and he would die before they were answered.” [4]. If you can’t go outside — go inside. This is more a difference in semantics. Ken McLeod’s article on Buddhist prayer in Tricycle magazine (may be paywalled): “Where the Thinking Stops“. We will look at the early texts to see what the Buddha seems to have thought about such activities. The Buddha mentions Brahma explicitly in the ‘Brahmajala Sutta’ and assigns him many characteristics that people would normally ascribe to ‘God’ as believers know him today: “And then, monks, that being who first arose there thinks: “I am Brahma, the Great Brahma, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, the All-Powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be. It seems we need to affirm the existence of the unknown in order to justify investigating it. But have you ever heard a supposed Buddha quote and wondered, Did he really say that? A commentary on these lines attributed to Sangharakshita said, "For us in the West it means, not determining, not understanding the Dharma, according to Christian beliefs, whether conscious, unconscious, or semiconscious. Never mind what you mean by God; what do you mean by "exist"? Reliance on any information appearing on this website is solely at your own risk. PP. So when you speak of God or gods in Buddhism, it's important to not define the word "god" as westerners usually do but to understand the word in the context of Buddhism. That's why he is in hell." The Buddha images on altars are symbols of the enlightened state and the Buddha’s teachings. Of these, Lama Thubten Yeshe wrote, "Tantric meditational deities should not be confused with what different mythologies and religions might mean when they speak of gods and goddesses. Psalm 115:1-18 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. But the Brahmanic gods of the Pali texts aren't in charge of anything connected to humans. Most of the time, in what we might call "classic" polytheism, gods are beings who have charge of specific things, such as the weather or harvests or war. What Does Buddha Dhamma Say about Creator, Satan, Angels, and Demons? Even if he believed in these things himself, he viewed the answers to these questions as not necessary to achieving enlightenment. Nicholas Niusuwan, A Buddhist writer for HuffPost in addressing whether or not Buddhism is a Philosophy or Religion, says the following: “Unless one defines religion as having a centralized belief system based on a god or set of gods, which isn’t the definition used by everybody, Buddhism does have religious aspects.” [12], Barbara O’Brien says: “If atheism is the absence of belief in a God or gods, then many Buddhists are, indeed, atheists.” [13]. In the same way, Buddha replied, to Malunkyaputra’s questions, his job isn’t to answer these metaphysical questions. If you were to have asked the Buddha if God exists, he might have said, "Who?". Love many subjects, bilingual third year uni student.”, Buddha | Buddhist Sutras and Sutta English. Far from being a non-believer in God, the Buddha acknowledged “one common essence” (1) which he, with his deeply-penetrating spiritual insight, was able to see and know. This reality is what Buddhists call ‘Nirvana’ and what followers of theistic religions call ‘God.’ Though this really is thought of very differently in each religion, it is still the same. They are characters who live in other realms and who have their own problems. 44-45 Quoting Edward Conze ‘Buddhism: Its essence and development (Oxford 1959), P.40, “I’m a Buddhist, Quaker, Humanist, existentialist and pacifist. P. 360, [8]Dr Alexander Berzin ‘The Fourteen Questions To Which Buddha Remained Silent’ at https://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/abhidharma-tenet-systems/time-the-universe/the-fourteen-questions-to-which-buddha-remained-silent [Accessed 20th September 2018], [9]Wikipitaka ‘The Brahmajala Sutta’ at https://tipitaka.wikia.com/wiki/Brahmajala_Sutta [Accessed 20th September 2018], [10]Dr V.A. Many contemporary Buddhists make prayer part of their practice. So, while the Buddha never explicitly said "There is no God," it's not incorrect to say that God-belief is not supported by the Buddha's teaching. Video teaching: Metta and Karuna, the “most important” Buddhist practices of Love and Compassion, from H.E. This seems the basic claim of any happy person. This is what the Buddha taught. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. In explaining why he remained unresponsive to the four questions, Buddha used the parable of the poisoned arrow. He wanted his followers to remain focused upon Nirvana and the permanent resolution of suffering, without distractions and wasteful discussions. But before going on with that, we should note that Buddha was not an agnostic (one who does not know). Of course, Buddha talked about Gods all the times, and many times used them as examples for people to be a rightful citizen of the world, by accumulate enough merits- One can be reborn as gods; other times talk about foolishness of these Gods who committed sins as they themselves fell to become a Hell Being.
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