God in Buddhism

God In Buddhism

Gautama Buddha did not endorse belief in a creator deity, refused to express any views on creation and stated that questions on the origin of the world are worthless. The non-adherence to the notion of an omnipotent creator deity or a prime mover is seen by many as a key distinction between Buddhism and other religions.

Rather, Buddhism emphasizes the system of causal relationships underlying the universe (pratitya samutpada) which constitute the natural order (dharma). No dependence of phenomena on a supernatural reality is asserted in order to explain the behaviour of matter. According to the doctrine of the Buddha a human being must study Nature (dhamma vicaya) in order to attain personal wisdom (prajna) regarding the nature of things (dharma). In Buddhism the sole aim of spiritual practice is the complete alleviation of stress in samsara, called nirvana.

Some teachers tell students beginning Buddhist meditation that the notion of divinity is not incompatible with Buddhism, and at least one Buddhist scholar has indicated that describing Buddhism as 'non-theistic' may be overly simplistic; but many traditional theist beliefs are considered to pose a hindrance to the attainment of nirvana, the highest goal of Buddhist practice.

Despite this apparent non-theism, Buddhists consider veneration of the Noble ones very important, although the two main traditions of Buddhism differ mildly in their reverential attitudes. While Theravada Buddhists view the Buddha as a human being who attained nirvana or Buddhahood, through human efforts, some Mahayana Buddhists consider him an embodiment of the cosmic Dharmakaya, born for the benefit of others. In addition, some Mahayana Buddhists worship their chief Bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara, and hope to embody him.

Buddhists accept the existence of beings in higher realms (see Buddhist cosmology), known as devas, but they, like humans, are said to be suffering in samsara, and are not necessarily wiser than us. In fact the Buddha is often portrayed as a teacher of the gods, and superior to them. Despite this there are believed to be enlightened devas.

Some variations of buddhism express a philosophical belief in an eternal Buddha: a representation of omnipresent enlightenment and a symbol of the true nature of the universe. The primordial aspect that interconnects every part of the universe is the clear light of the eternal Buddha,where everything timelessly arises and dissolves.