Insert records of user Selected Object without knowing object first. Ronald Cowen Can you tell me what kind of siddhis you have and have you also achieved all the jhana? God was somewhere out there whereas Buddhahood was in me. Does Buddhism deny these entities? Someone told me Buddha copied almost everything from Brahmanism, how accurate is that? While there is a more recent, modern trend to portray Buddhism as simply agnostic on the question of God, this is not the case if we are defining God as Christians (or even as Jews and Muslims) would use the word. My praise and worship has come up to another level since becoming Buddhist. In some cultures, like Ancient Greece and Rome, the gods are nearly indistinguishable from human beings. Christian prayer was about asking for salvation from an omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresentFather. A God that created the universe is irrelevant in Buddhism anyway. In one sense, yes, in the same way that Buddhism denies all individual things or persons really exist as truly distinct things with real, individual identities. If they are mainly the Buddha's, how come they are generally accepted - as far as I understand it, he encouraged everyone to not take his word for anything, but instead seek the truth for themselves? not sure where I am going but I can see its not exactly all the same but its all the same placewe are headed toits clear to me Buddhism is quite complete and I find less tainted with Mans translation of Christs teachings. Grappling and disarming - when and why (or why not)? It is what Buddha spoke of when he said: There is, O Monks, an unborn, neither become nor created nor formed. There is no answer to who did create the creator? you were simply mistaken. In early Buddhist scriptures, the Buddha doesnt have WebThe Buddha himself encouraged the practice of buddhanussati, recollection of the Buddha, sometimes as a means of comfort: If you think of me, any fear, terror, or standing of hair on end that may arise in you will pass away ( Samyutta Nikaya 11.3). After all, the historical Buddha, Siddharta Gautama, was born 500 years before Jesus. It is not a specific being with a will or plan or purpose. First of all, Buddhism teaches that nothing can be by itself alone, everything must inter-be with everything else.1Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddhas Teaching (Broadway Books, 1998) 6 Indeed, on Buddhism, to obtain the end of suffering, one must come to realize this indivisible union of all things, that there is no personal self and there are no external objects.2Rodney Smith, Stepping Out of Self Deception (Shambhala Publications, 2010) 6 The Buddhist, therefore, cannot conceive of God as an actual, personal being that is truly unique and distinct from this interconnected oneness that encompasses all things.3Ibid, 4. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Thank you. Thank you Madhuri and I like that analogy you draw between Buddhism and nature, very powerful! Buddhists do not accept that these places are eternal. My parents had a lot of power over my life, but I can still be my own master - can't see that the two are necessarily connected. intellect & ideas. [1] According to the Cula-Malunkyavada Sutta in the Parable of the Poisoned Arrow, the speculation of the origin of cosmos or suffering or similar topics is not useful, because the more important and urgent matter is to attend to the topic of suffering. Every non-religious ideology, philosophy, and cultural tradition contains certain inconsistencies and contradictions. Simply the eye & forms, ear & According to Jim B. Tucker's book. Thanks Bernie once again for your thoughtful contribution and lets chant even more earnestly that the lotus flower of wisdom and compassion will bloom from the quagmire of obscenity that you eloquently describe. Transcript Original Video: Why dont you believe in God? The Buddha, like modern sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have their origin in These ideas are highly controversial among the Buddhist schools that do not hold to them. See people who are suffering and try to remember or reflect your own life and experiences as well. It's akin to asking why they don't use baseball bats in golf. Nirvana is not personal, is not in any sense a creator, and is not capable of action.7Keith Yandell and Harold Netland, Buddhism: A Christian Exploration and Appraisal (IVP Academic, 2009) 183 As one scholar notes, If absence of a personal creator God is atheism, Buddhism is atheistic.8Houston Smith and Philip Novak Buddhism: A Concise Introduction (HarperCollins Publishers, 2003) 53 The Dalai Lama elaborates further: The entire Buddhist worldview is based on a philosophical standpoint in which the central thought is the principle of interdependence, how all things and events come into being purely as a result of interactions between causes and conditions. Why Buddha said "There is No God" and Later "There is God"? The question about if Amitabha is a story that we just made up isn't even addressed. Having studied and practiced mindfulness meditation for 50 years, having been a Buddhist monk for 30 years, and having developed my own siddhis, I have many good reasons to believe that the Buddha had extraordinary siddhis and that they were the necessary means for acquiring the wisdom he talked about. This really should be sent to the magazine Buddhism Today. In short, it is very difficult for a Buddhist to claim that there is a belief or doctrine that truly exists, because of the idea of impermanence. David. Were there not, there would be no deliverance from the formed, the made, the compounded 14Houston Smith and Philip Novak Buddhism: A Concise Introduction (HarperCollins Publishers, 2003) 54. It's a question that has puzzled believers and non-believers alike throughout the ages: If God is truly goodor if "the gods" have humanity's best interests in mindwhy Wonderful way to explain it. We simply don't believe in a 'creator god', which is a whole nother story. Wouldn't that be equally 'obvious' for 'concious' entities in a computer simulation? Nevertheless, the three marks of existence points to the fact that 'personality' cannot exist in the ultimate reality. It simply is and that is all that can be said about it.16Ibid, 25 It is not personal, and it is not distinct or separate from you or anything else. "Since Human beings have a limited life and limited capabilities it is better to optimise their uses " -- this was the thinking of the Buddha. The article Buddhism and the God-idea by The Buddha used to remain silent, when Hindu Brahmins used to ask him about his views on God. The other questions already address the Buddhisms with either no god or no interesting and relevant gods. If Buddhists do not believe in God in the Christian or monotheistic sense and are not to devote themselves to any god in the pagan or polytheistic sense, then is there anything in Buddhist doctrine and practice that might be called the Buddhist god? But to atheists, the suffering on Earth makes their existence implausible. Like modern psychologists and sociologists, the Buddha believed that religious ideas, especially god, stemmed from mans innate fear of the unknown. Because at the very core of Nichiren Buddhism and at the heart of the mantra Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is the small matter of the Mystic Law of Cause and Effect. On the other hand, Buddhist biomedical researchers who experiment on life forms believe that the purpose of biomedical research is to save rather than to sacrifice life. 10 Essential Ways To Love And Take Care Of Yourself, 5 Reasons You Shouldnt Follow An Ayurvedic Wellness Plan, Astrological Forecast For The November Full Moon, The 3 Ayurvedic Doshas And Their Impact On Your Life, 5 Ayurvedic Treatments To Help Men With Depression, 8 Ways To Protect Your Brain's Cognitive Functions With Ayurveda. Can anyone explain that any better. For e.g. so yet a further step appears. One can't have something totally unrelated create something else totally unrelated. Annihilationism is the idea that consciousness and existence completely vanishes at death. Every position has had its defenders, all as ardent as those in other traditions. Box 1353 |Nampa, ID 83653 USA1-800-803-8093, Thich Nhat Hanh, The Heart of the Buddhas Teaching (Broadway Books, 1998) 6, Rodney Smith, Stepping Out of Self Deception (Shambhala Publications, 2010) 6, Keith Yandell and Harold Netland, Buddhism: A Christian Exploration and Appraisal (IVP Academic, 2009) 183, Stephen Asma, Buddha for Beginners (For Beginners LLC, 2008) 110, Houston Smith and Philip Novak Buddhism: A Concise Introduction (HarperCollins Publishers, 2003) 56-57, Houston Smith and Philip Novak Buddhism: A Concise Introduction (HarperCollins Publishers, 2003) 53, The Dalai Lama, The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teaching of Jesus (Wisdom Publications, 1996) 82 (referenced in Buddhism: A Christian Exploration and Appraisal by Keith Yandell and Harold Netland, 183-184), Houston Smith and Philip Novak Buddhism: A Concise Introduction (HarperCollins Publishers, 2003) 4, Keith Yandell and Harold Netland, Buddhism: A Christian Exploration and Appraisal (IVP Academic, 2009) 21, Houston Smith and Philip Novak Buddhism: A Concise Introduction (HarperCollins Publishers, 2003) 54, Rodney Smith, Stepping Out of Self Deception (Shambhala Publications, 2010) 25, Stephen Asma, Buddha for Beginners (For Beginners LLC, 2008) 60, Houston Smith and Philip Novak Buddhism: A Concise Introduction (HarperCollins Publishers, 2003) 53-54, The Teaching of Buddha (Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai, 1966) 13-14, 22-23, If you have any issues, please call the office at 385-246-1048 or email us at, Responding to Andrew Tate on Islam and Christianity. Are there conscious things besides merely men and animals? Sometimes, I also share Buddhism is a very unique religion. I can say much more, but Ill leave at that for now. Thus buddhist does not believe in a creator. etc. But I have written a book that discusses insights related to the siddhis. For completeness, there isn't one Buddhism, there are many Buddhisms. Secondly, outside of the idea of Nirvana itself, the Buddhist cannot conceive of anything, much less anyone, as permanent or unchanging.4Keith Yandell and Harold Netland, Buddhism: A Christian Exploration and Appraisal (IVP Academic, 2009) 183 Some have even contended that Buddha allowed for the possibility that Nirvana itself might not be permanent.5Stephen Asma, Buddha for Beginners (For Beginners LLC, 2008) 110 The idea that everything is constantly changing and that nothing is truly permanent from one moment to the next permeates throughout virtually all Buddhist literature. The different worlds in the Buddhist cosmos are also conditioned and experience change. We'd love to keep you up to date with what is happening at CARM. Even the Buddha himself (the person who thinks and moves and communicates) had passed away. Gods' Contradictory Characteristics: Making God Impossible to Exist. Sheriff Grady Judd is briefing the media regarding the arrests of twelve people in a family-run drug trafficking operation in Winter Haven called Operation Family As a follower of Jesus and a former Nichiren Buddhist, I am happy to say I experienced a major and liberating differences between Nichiren Buddhism and Christianity. At first sight, the two philosophies seemed poles apart. Or he could be unhappy with his creation and punish them. 7 Why dont Buddhists believe in God? that made the universe A dear friend just told me that since I wont accept Jesus Christ as my saviour that I will continue to suffer! WebIn a famous story from early Buddhist scripture, a man asked the Buddha if he was a god. This supreme being can be satisfied with his creation and could reward them. We chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo to put ourselves in rhythm with it. sounds, nose & aromas, tongue & flavors, body & tactile sensations, A new Pew Research Center survey of more than 4,700 U.S. adults finds that one-third of Americans say they do not believe in the God of the Bible, but that they do believe there is some other higher power or spiritual force in the universe. But a Buddha and the arahants transcend the realm of suffering, in that way they are superior to any gods. Starting the Prompt Design Site: A New Home in our Stack Exchange Neighborhood, Statement from SO: June 5, 2023 Moderator Action. Despite traveling and meditating for years, he remained largely unsatisfied and finally settled on something we today call the Middle Path. Nature itself reveals so much about itself and is a very strong example of what you sow is what you reap. As Jesus said, "I and the Father are one." I have talked to others who had similar experiences and feelings. This implies a certain amount of discretion and intelligence on the part of Karma, unlike gravity, which drops you on the nearest large object regardless to, well, anything. Admittedly, I'm a beginner myself. It is in this power that I place hope for good life and for salvation; it is this power that I blame for unfairness etc. Why Islam and not Hinduism? No, the Buddha said. Note though that this could be the statement of hard-nosed materialists as well. this first point outside time As stated, it is argumentative. And then sometime in the Mahayana phase, Buddhas gained a Pure Land, superhuman powers equatable to a god, and with the Amitabha, infinite life, not merely stupendously long life. He soon renounced his kingdom and wealth and decided to live life as a beggar. in my book. Thank you for following my blog. According to the Brahmajala Sutta as quoted in this question, temporal beings who have very long lives in the Brahma realm, sometimes may think that they are the Immortal Supreme God, when that is not the case. For most people in the world, the answer seems obvious: Because its self-evident that God exists. And from this come the various personalities attributed by different writers to God loving, wrathful, creative, judgemental and so on. For instance, try standing in front of a speeding bus with nothing but "faith" to keep it from hitting you. @MatthewMartin "The Amitabha vowed to save all beings before becoming a Buddha, the Amitabha has become a Buddha, therefore faith in Amitabha is efficacious" - this your assumed interpretation is erroneous, you just wrap a Christian Salvation idea you known onto the Amitabha doctrine. And if you see the Mystic Law as a sort of cosmic heartbeat or as the rhythm of life, youre not a million miles from the concept of God as Sustainer of Life, (incidentally, there is no notion of Creation in Buddhism.) Best wishes, David, We had yet another wonderful discussion meeting this morning in which everybody gave sincere and convincing testimony of the actual proof gained from this supreme practice. Anyway, I have indeed gotten so many benefits, so I continue despite my doubts or delusions, but f I could experience the Buddha within on a continuous basis, how glorious that would be. Thank you for putting into words on how I feel about this issue. For example, if you take the personality and morality out of sin (leading to punishment) and out of virtue (leading to reward), youd get something close to the Buddhist notion of an impersonal Law of Cause and Effect. Originating in India 2,500 years ago around 563 BCE with Siddhartha Gautama, it spread rapidly across Asia and the rest of the world over the next millennia. Sometimes in Buddhism I think we need to put our sentiment aside a bit for example I dont personally like some of the implications of karma & cause and effect, but I can see that they are true! Most religions assert that there is more to life than the matter we see around us. D , I like all the comments,they make some of us stronger and continue to chant Nam ho renge kyo Kindly keep the enthusiasm David. This is its only aim and object. PS. Life Coach best wishes, David, Dear David, The human consciousness and revolution is of utmost importance than getting trapped into the debate of God inside or outside. And useful for Nichiren Buddhists who sometimes, when new to the practice, chant to the Gohonzon as if it were God. As President Ikeda (and, may I say, others who do not practice Buddhism) has so often said, it is an authoritarian outlook that inevitably leads to strict procedures based on the formalities of doctrinal ideology, and as such leads to individual oppression when the original purity of any teaching, such as Christianity and Islam and even Buddhism, is gradually corrupted to the point where the dignity of human life is violated examples of this being child abuse by Catholic priests and nuns, the abuse of children in Islamic Madrassas, and, I deeply regret to say, the historic abuse of acolytes, and the exploitation of gullible believers by the priests of some (but not all) temples of Nichiren Shoshu.