What
Buddhists Believe
Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera
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The
God-Idea
The reality or validity of belief in
God is based on man's understanding capacity and the maturity of the
mind.
The Development of
the God-idea
To trace the origin and
development of the God-idea, one must go back to the time when
civilization was still in its infancy and modern science was still
unknown. Primitive people, out of fear of and admiration towards natural
phenomena, had believed in different spirits and gods. They used their
belief in spirit and gods to form religions of their own. According to
their respective circumstances and understanding capacity different people
worshipped different gods and founded different faiths.
At the beginning of the
God-idea, people worshipped many gods--gods of trees, streams, lightning,
storm, winds, the sun and all other terrestrial phenomena. These gods were
related to each and every act of nature. Then gradually man began to
attribute to these gods, sex and form as well as the physical and mental
characteristics of human beings. Human attributes were given to the gods:
love, hate, jealousy, fear, pride, envy and other emotions found among
human beings. From all these gods, there slowly grew a realization that
the phenomena of the universe were not many but were One. This
understanding gave rise to the monotheistic god of recent ages.
In the process
of development, the God-idea went through a variety of changing social and
intellectual climates. It was regarded by different men in different ways.
Some idealized god as the King of Heaven and Earth; they had a conception
of god as a person. Others thought of god as an abstract principle. Some
raised the ideal of Supreme deity to the highest heaven, while others
brought it down to the lowest depths of the earth. Some pictured god in a
paradise, while others made an idol and worshipped it. Some want so far as
to say that there is no salvation without god?no matter how much good you
do, you will not receive the fruits of your actions unless you act out of
a faith in god. The Atheists said, 'No' and went on to affirm that god did
not really exist at all. The Skeptics or Agnostics said, 'We do not or we
cannot know.' The Positivists say that the God-idea was a meaningless
problem since the idea of the term god 'was not clear'. Thus there grew a
variety of ideas and beliefs and names for the God-idea: pantheism,
idolatry, belief in a formless god, and belief in many gods and goddesses.
Even the
monotheistic god of recent times has gone through a variety of changes as
it passed through different nations and people. The Hindu god is quite
different from gods of other faiths. Thus numerous religions came into
existence: each one differed greatly from the other in the end, and each
one says that 'God is One'.
The God-idea and
Creation
As each religion came into
existence and developed around the God-idea, religion developed its own
particular explanation of creation. Thus the God-idea became associated
with various myths. People used the God-idea as a vehicle for their
explanation of the existence of man and the nature of the universe.
Today, intelligent men,
who have carefully reviewed all the available facts, have come to the
conclusion that, like the God-idea, the creation of myths must be regarded
as an evolution of the human imagination which began with the
misunderstanding of the phenomena of nature. These misunderstandings were
rooted in the fear and ignorance of primitive man. Even today, man still
retains his primitive interpretations of creation. In the light of recent,
scientific thinking, the theological definition of god is vague and hence
has no place in the contemporary creation theories or myths.
If man is
created by an external source, then he must belong to that source and not
to himself. According to Buddhism, man is responsible for everything he
does. Thus Buddhists have no reason to believe that man came into
existence in the human form through any external sources. They believe
that man is here today because of his own action. He is neither punished
nor rewarded by anyone but himself according to his own good and bad
action. In the process of evolution, the human being came into existence.
However, there are no Buddha-words to support the belief that the world
was created by anybody. The scientific discovery of gradual development of
the world-system conforms with the Buddha's Teachings.
Human Weakness and
the Concept of God
Both the concept of God
and its associated creation myths have been protected and defended by
believers who need these ideas to justify their existence and usefulness
to human society. All the believers claim to have received their
respective scriptures as Revelation; in other words, they all profess to
come directly from the one God. Each God-religion claims that it stands
for Universal Peace and Universal Brotherhood and other such high ideals.
However great the ideals
of the religious might be, the history of the world shows that the
religions up to the present day have also helped in spreading
superstitions. Some have stood against science and the advancement of
knowledge, leading to ill-feelings, murders and wars. In this respect, the
God-religions have failed in their attempt to enlighten mankind. For
example, in certain countries when people pray for mercy, their hands are
stained with the blood of the morbid sacrifices of innocent animals and
sometimes, even fellow human beings. These poor and helpless creatures
were slaughtered at the desecrated altars of imaginary and imperceptible
gods. It has taken a long time for people to understand the futility of
such cruel practices in the name of religion. The time has come for them
to realize that the path of real purification is through love and
understanding.
Dr. G.
Dharmasiri in his book 'Buddhist critique of the Christian Concept of God'
has mentioned, 'I see that though the notion of God contains sublime moral
strands, it also has certain implications that are extremely dangerous to
the humans as well as to the other beings on this planet.
'One major
threat to humanity is the blindfold called 'authority' imposed on the
humans by the concept of God. All theistic religions consider authority as
ultimate and sacred. It was this danger that the Buddha was pointing at in
the Kalama Sutta. At the moment, human individuality and freedom
are seriously threatened by various forms of authorities. Various
'authorities' have been trying to make 'you' a follower. On top of all our
'traditional' authorities, a new form of authority has emerged in the name
of 'science'. And lately, the mushrooming new religions and the menace of
the Gurus(as typified by Jim Jones), have become live threats to the
individual's human freedom and dignity. The Buddha's eternal plea is for
you to become a Buddha, and He showed, in a clearly rational way, that
each and every one of us has the perfect potentiality and capacity to
attain that ideal.'
God-religions offer no
salvation without God. Thus a man might conceivably have climbed to the
highest pinnacle of virtue, and he might have led a righteous way of life,
and he might even have climbed to the highest level of holiness, yet he is
to be condemned to eternal hell just because he did not believe in the
existence of God. On the other hand, a man might have sinned deeply and
yet, having made a late repentance, he can be forgiven and therefore
'saved'. From the Buddhist point of view, there is no justification in
this kind of doctrine.
Despite the
apparent contradictions of the God-religions, it is not deemed advisable
to preach a Godless doctrine since the belief in god has also done a
tremendous service to mankind, especially in places where the god concept
is desirable. This belief in god has helped mankind to control his animal
nature. And much help has been granted to others in the name of god. At
the same time, man feels insecure without the belief in god. He finds
protection and inspiration when that belief is in his mind. The reality or
validity of such a belief is based on man's understanding capacity and
spiritual maturity.
However, religion should
also concern our practical life. It is to be used as a guide to regulate
our conduct in the world. Religion tells us what to do and what not to do.
If we do not follow a religion sincerely, mere religious labels or belief
in god do not serve us in our daily life.
On the other
hand, if the followers of various religions are going to quarrel and to
condemn other beliefs and practices -- especially to prove or disprove the
existence of God -- and if they are going to harbor anger towards other
religions because of their different religious views, then they are
creating enormous disharmony amongst the various religious communities.
Whatever religious difference we have, it is our duty to practise
tolerance, patience and understanding. It is our duty to respect the other
man's religious belief even if we cannot accommodate it; tolerance is
necessary for the sake of harmonious and peaceful living.
However, it does not serve
any purpose to introduce this concept of god to those who are not ready to
appreciate it. To some people this belief is not important to lead a
righteous life. There are many who lead a noble life without such belief
while amongst believers there are many who violate the peace and happiness
of innocent people.
Buddhists can also
co-operate with those who hold this concept of god, if they use this
concept for the peace, happiness and welfare of mankind but not with those
who abuse this concept by threatening people in order to introduce this
belief just for their own benefit and with ulterior motives.
For more than 2,500 years,
all over the world, Buddhists have practised and introduced Buddhism very
peacefully without the necessity of sustaining the concept of a creator of
God. And they will continue to sustain this religion in the same manner
without disturbing the followers of other religions.
Therefore, with due
respect to other religionists, it must be mentioned that any attempt to
introduce this concept into Buddhism is unnecessary. Let Buddhists
maintain their belief since it is harmless to others and, let the basic
Teachings of the Buddha remain.
From time immemorial,
Buddhists have led a peaceful religious life without incorporating the
particular concept of God. They should be capable of sustaining their
particular religion without the necessity, at this juncture, of someone
trying to force something down their throats against their will. Having
full confidence in their Buddha Dhamma, Buddhists should be permitted to
work and seek their own salvation without any undue interference from
other sources. Others can uphold their beliefs and concepts, Buddhist will
uphold theirs, without any rancor. We do not challenge others in regard to
their religious persuasions, we expect reciprocal treatment in regard to
our own beliefs and practices.
-ooOoo-
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Source: Buddhist
Study and Practice Group, http://www.sinc.sunysb.edu/Clubs/buddhism/
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Layout: Chan Duc - Nguyen Thao
Update : 01-11-2002
