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Kandungan
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Buddhist Perspective On Modern Issues The God-Idea
The
reality or validity of belief in God is based on man's understanding capacity
and the maturity of the mind. I.
The Development of the God-idea To
trace the origin and development of the God-idea, one must go back to the time
when civilisation was still in its infancy and science was still unknown.
Primitive people, out of fear and admiration towards the natural phenomena, had
believed in different spirits and gods. They used their spirits and gods to form
religions of their own. According to their respective circumstances and
understanding capacity, different people founded different gods and different
faiths. In
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 transfer 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 realisation 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 developing, the God-idea went through a variety of changing
social and intellectual climates. It was regarded by different men in different
ways. Some idealised 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 went 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 Theists
said, 'Yes' and went on to affirm that God really did exist. The Atheists said,
'No' and went on to affirm that God did not really exist at all. The Sceptics or
Agnostics said, 'We do not or we cannot know.' The positivists said that the
God-idea is a meaningless problem since the idea of the term 'God' is not clear.
Thus there grew a variety of ideas and beliefs and names for the God-idea:
pantheism, idolatry, belief in a formless God, belief in many gods and
goddesses, etc. 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 the Christian God. The Christian God is again different from other Gods of
other faiths. Thus numerous religions came into existence; each one differed
greatly from the other and each one said that 'God is One.' II. The God-idea and Creation
As
each religion came into existence and developed around the God-idea, the
religion developed its own particular explanation of creation. Thus as the
God-idea evolved within different religious systems, this idea became associated
with various myths. People used the God-idea as a vehicle for their explanations
of the existence of man and the nature of the life. Today,
intelligent men who have carefully reviewed all the available facts, have come
to the conclusion that, like the God-idea, the creation myths must be regarded
as an evolution of the human imagination which began by 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 recent,
creation theories or myths. If
man is created by an external source, then he must belong to that source and not
to himself. Buddhists believe that man does belong to himself and that he 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 actions. He is neither
punished nor rewarded by anyone but himself according to his own good and bad
actions. 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. III. Human Weakness and the God-Religions
Both
the God-idea and its associated creation myths have been protected and defended
by the God-religions which need these ideas to justify their existence and
usefulness to human society. All the God-religions claim to have received their
respective scriptures as Revelation; in other words, they all profess to come
directly from the one God. Each claims that their religion stands for Universal
Peace and Universal Brotherhood and other such high ideals. However
great the ideals of the religions 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
quarrels, 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 blood of the
morbid sacrifices of innocent animals and, sometimes, even fellow human beings.
These poor and helpless creatures are 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. When
will they realise that the path of real purification is by love and
understanding? Another
weakness of the God-religions is that they 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' for God's sake. From the Buddhist point of view,
there is no justification in this kind of doctrine. Despite
the weaknesses 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 times of places when where the God concept was desirable.
This belief in God has helped mankind to control his animal nature. And so 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. The
basic cause for the failure of religion is when the people are made to look upon
their religion as an object of mere worship. This means that the religion of
essential living is given over to dead functions and ceremonials. When a
religion allows these conditions to exist, the religion has ceased to be of
value but becomes an actual hindrance. However,
it is not the religion, but the people who profess the religion and who create
the demand for a blind faith in their religion. This blind faith in turn creates
party-feelings and other forms of partisanship within and among religions. Thus
religions, in spite of their high ideals, have failed to enlighten mankind. Religion
should 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 to know. If we do
not do or know accordingly, religion is no good and no use to us in our daily
life. On the other hand, if the follower's of various religions are going to fight and to condemn other beliefs and practices -- specially to prove or disprove the existence of God -- and if they are going to spread anger and hatred towards other religions because of the different religious views, then they are creating enormous disharmony amongst the various religious communities. Whatever religious differences 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. Belief in Deities
Buddhists
do not deny the existence of various gods or deities who are more fortunate than
human beings as far as sensual pleasures are concerned. They also possess
certain powers which human beings usually lack. However the powers of these
deities are limited because they are also transitory beings. They exist in happy
abodes and enjoy their life for a longer period than do human beings. When they
have exhausted all the good kamma, they have gathered during previous births,
these deities pass away and are reborn somewhere else according to their good
and bad kammas. According to the Buddha, human beings have more chances to
accure merits to be born in a better condition and the gods have less chances in
this respect. Buddhists
do not attribute any specific importance to such gods. They do not regard the
deities as a support to the ethical development or as a support to the
attainment of salvation or Nibbana. Whether they are great or small, both human
beings and deities are perishable and subject to rebirth. It
is a common belief amongst the Buddhist public that such deities can be
influenced to grant their favours by transferring merits to them whenever
meritorious deeds are performed. This belief is based on the Buddha's injunction
to the deities to protect those human beings who lead a religious way of life;
this is the reason why Buddhists transfer the merits to such deities or remember
them whenever they do some meritorious deeds. However, worshipping and offering
in the name of such deities are not that important, although some Buddhist
customs center around such activities. When people are in great difficulties,
naturally they turn to the deities to express their grievances in a place of
worship. By doing this, they get some relief and consolation; in their heart,
they feel much better. However, to an intellectual who has strong will power,
sound education and understanding, such beliefs and actions need not be resorted
to. There is definitely no such teaching in Buddhism to the effect Buddhists can
attain Nibbana by praying to any deity. Buddhists believe that purity and
impurity depend on oneself. No one from outside can purify another. This method
proved successful in attaining Buddhahood and hence Nibbana without the least
help from an external source. Therefore, Buddhists can practise their religion
with or without the deities. Buddha is Not an Incarnation of GodSome
orthodox people in India absorbed the Buddha and his teachings into their faith
by claiming that the Buddha was an incarnation of their god. Although Buddhists
believe that the Buddha was in one of the heavens in his previous birth, they do
not claim that he came down to this world as a representative of any god. Even
today, certain religionists are trying to absorb the Buddha into their fold by
claiming that the Buddha himself had predicated that another Buddha would appear
in this world 500 years after his death and this latest Buddha will become even
more popular. They named another religious teacher who lived 600 years after
Gotama the Buddha as the latest Buddha. Thus they advise the people to give up
their old Buddha and to follow this new Buddha. However, we must be grateful to
them for giving the same status to the Buddha as to their religious teacher. But
we feel that this is probably another attempt to absorb Buddhism into another
faith. Those who try to introduce this so-called new Buddha as the enlightened
one must realise whether this new Buddha also has the same characteristics as
Gotama the Buddha. Certainly there are different views regarding the teachings
of these two religious teachers. There is no doubt that the Buddha had mentioned
that there will be another Buddha who will appear in this world, but it is very
clearly recorded that this future Buddha will appear only in India at some
incalculable period (in terms of years) in the future. o
o o Heaven and HellThe
wise man makes his own heaven and the foolish man creates his own hell here and
now. The
Buddhist concept of heavens and hells is entirely different from other religions
in that Buddhists do not accept the idea that these places are eternal. It is
unreasonable to condemn a man to eternal hell for his human weakness and it is
quite reasonable to give him every chance. Therefore, those who go to hell have
the chance of struggling upwards and acquiring merits later on or have the
chance of reaping the good merits that they had acquired previously. There are
no locks on the gates of hell. Hell is a temporary place and there is no reason
for those beings to suffer there forever. The
Buddha's teaching shows us that there are heavens and hells not only beyond this
world, but in this very world itself. Thus the Buddhist conception of heaven and
hell is very reasonable. For instance, the Buddha once said, "When the
average ignorant person makes an assertion to the effect that there is a Hell (patala)
under the ocean he is making a statement which is false and without basis. The
word 'Hell' is a term for painful bodily sensations." The
fire of hell in this world is hotter than that of the hell of the beyond-worlds.
There is no fire equal to anger, lust or greed and ignorance. People can burn
the entire world with any of these fires of passions. From a Buddhist point of
view, the easiest way to define hells and heavens is that wherever there is more
suffering, either in this world or any other plane, that place is a rea hell to
those who suffer. And where there is more pleasure, either in this world or any
other plane, that place is a real heaven to those who enjoy life there. However,
as the human realm is a mixture of both pain and happiness, men will experience
both pain and happiness and will be able to realise the nature of life. The
wise man makes his heaven here and now, while the foolish man creates his own
hell here and now. o
o o Can the First Cause be Known?It
is rather difficult for us to uuderstand how the world came into existence
without a first cause. But it is very much more difficult to understand how that
first cause came into existence at the beginning. According
to the Buddha, it is inconceivable to find a first cause for life. For in common
experience, the cause becomes the effect and the effect becomes the cause. In
the circle of cause and effect, a first cause is incomprehensible. With regard
to the ultimate origin of life, the Buddha declares, "Without cognizable
end is this recurrent wandering in samsara (cycle of birth and death). Beings
are obstructed by ignorance and fettered by craving A first beginning of these
beings is not to be perceived." This life-stream flows on infinitium, as
long as it is fed by the muddy waters of ignorance and craving. When these two
are cut off, only then does the life-stream cease to flow, only then does
rebirth come to an end. It
is difficult to conceive an end of space. It is difficult to conceive an eternal
duration of what we call time. But it is more impossible to conceive time when
there is no time. Likewise, it is rather difficult for us to understand how this
world into existence without a first cause. And
it is more difficult to understand how that first cause came into existence at
the beginning. For if the first cause can exist though uncreated, there is no
reason why the other phenomena of the universe must not exist without having
also been created. As
to the question how all beings came into existence without a first cause, the
Buddhist reply is that there is no answer because the question itself is merely
a product of man's limited comprehension. If we can understand the nature of
time and relativity, we must see that there could not have been any beginning.
It can only be pointed out that all the usual answers to the question are
fundamentally defective. If it is assumed that in order to exist a thing must
have had a creator who existed before it, it follows logically that the creator
himself must have had a creator, and so on back to infinity. On
the other hand, if the creator could exist without a prior cause in the form of
another creator, the whole argument fails to the ground. The theory of a creator
does not solve any problems; it only complicates the existing ones. Thus
Buddhism does not pay much attention to theories about the origin of the world.
Whether the world was created by a God or it came into existence by itself makes
little difference to Buddhists. Whether the world is finite or infinite also
makes little difference to Buddhists. Instead of following this line of
theoretical speculation, Buddhism advises people to work hard to find their own
salvation. o
o o Origin of the World"There
is no reason to suppose that the world had a beginning at all. The idea that
things must have a beginning is really due to the poverty of our
imagination." There
are three schools of thought regarding the origin of the world: The
first school of thought claims that this world came into existence by nature and
that nature is not an intelligent force. However, nature works on its own accord
and goes on changing everything in this world. The
Second school of thought says that the world was created by an Almighty God who
is responsible for everything. The
third school of thought says that the beginning of this world and of the life is
inconceivable since they have neither beginning nor end. Buddhism is in
accordance with this third school of thought. Bertrand Russel supports this
school of thought when he says, "There is no reason to suppose that the
world had a beginning at all. The idea that things must have a beginning is
really due to the poverty of our imagination." Modern science says that
some 2000 million years ago, the newly cooled earth was lifeless, and that life
originated in the ocean. Buddhism never claimed that the world, sun, moon,
stars, wind, water, days and night's were created by a Buddha or by a Buddhist
God. Buddhists believe that the world was not created once upon a time, but that
the world has been created millions of times every fraction of a second and will
continue to do so by itself and will break away by itself. H.
G. Wells, the world famous historian, says "It is universally recognised
that the universe in which we live is to all appearance, existed for an enormous
period of time and possibly for endless time.... But that the universe in which
we live, has existed only for six or seven thousand years may be regarded as an
altogether exploded idea. No life seems to have happened suddenly upon
earth." The
efforts made by many religions to explain the beginning and the end of the
universe are indeed ill-conceived. The position of religions which propound the
view that the universe was created by God in an exactly fixed year has become a
difficult one to maintain in the modern scientific world. Today
scientists, historians, astronomers, biologists, botanists, anthropologists and
great thinkers have all contributed to a vast new knowledge and discoveries
regarding the origin of the world. This latest discovery and knowledge is not at
all contradictory to the teachings of the Buddha. The
speculative explanations of the origin of the universe that are presented by
various religions are not acceptable to the modern scientist and intellectual.
The Buddha did not waste his time on this issue. Perhaps the reason for his
silence is that this question has no religious value. The explanation of the
origin of the universe is not the concern of religion. Such theorizing is not
necessary to live a righteous way of life and to shape our future life. However,
if one insists on studying this issue, then one must investigate the sciences of
astronomy, geology, biology and anthropology. These sciences can offer more
reliable and tested information on this subject than can be supplied by any
religion. "Infinite
is the sky, infinite is the number of beings, Infinite
are the worlds in the vast universe, Infinite
in wisdom the Buddha teaches these, Infinite
are the virtues of him who teaches these." (Sri
Ramachandra) o
o o Taken
from "What Buddhists Believe", Written
by Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda, Published
by Buddhist Missionary Society |
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on 09-06-06
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