"5, There are six realms of existence in the Tibetan cosmology, one of which is the realm of the gods. For this reason, Buddhism is more accurately called nontheistic rather than atheistic. He strikes me not so much as an atheist, if by atheism we mean someone who adheres to the philosophical proposition that rational investigation has disproved the existence of divine being(s). Because of Buddhism's emphasis on resolving dilemmas through the enlightenment of the individual human being, rather than putting one's faith in a god or superhuman savior, Buddhism has been widely depicted as "atheistic" and the Buddha as an "atheist." Is Buddhism atheistic? Quoted by the Great Wisdom Center. This is a question that may be clarified and re-clarified and answered in different ways at different times as one's understanding of the teachings deepens. Was the Buddha an atheist? I think what it really falls down to is how you define things. Atheism is associated with a materialistic doctrine that knows nothing higher than this world. Buddhism is a path to "waking up," or becoming enlightened, to a reality that is not consciously perceived by most of us. Especially devotional is Pure Land Buddhism, a subdivision of Mahayana that began in China. The Buddha himself rejected metaphysical speculation as a matter of principle, and his teachings focused entirely on the practical ways to end suffering. Whether or not Buddhism is atheistic is a matter of perspective: Once extinction of concepts--Nirvana--is achieved, Tathata--suchness--is realized. It can be thought of as God or not. Buddhism is a non-theistic tradition, meaning that it does not involve a belief in God. “Buddhism.” While Buddhism does not argue that gods don’t exist, gods are seen as completely irrelevant to those who strive for enlightenment. In Buddhism, all doctrines are provisional and are judged by their skillfulness. Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions, Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions, Dhammananda Maha Thera, Venerable K. Sri. When you bow, you are bowing to yourself." It is by seeing through the delusion of ego that realization blooms. One school of Buddhist philosophy, Madhyamika, says that phenomena exist only in relation to other phenomena. The Buddha also plainly said that he was not a god, but was simply "awakened" to ultimate reality. Buddhism is a nontheistic religion that focuses on following the teachings of the Buddha and bodhisattvas to become free from suffering. The Encyclopedia Britannicaexplains, Pilgrims flock to stupas that are said to hold relics of the Buddha. Do Buddhists believe these creatures exist? The soul. My sense is The Buddha lived in a theological world. Thus, devotion is not a "corruption" of Buddhism, but an expression of it. Some strands of Buddhism (just as in Hinduism) are atheistic, and others are theistic. Buddhism, in itself, does not answer the question whether there is a deity, or deities, or not. There is no personal god or monotheistic creator God in Buddhism, as there is in Christianity, Judaism or Islam. The Buddha taught that the biggest barrier to realization is the notion that "I" am a permanent, integral, autonomous entity. | About Us | How to Cite | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Advertising Info. Who are you? Because God has no particular form and is outside of time, God, therefore, cannot be said to exist. That's an argument that many of us atheistic Buddhists can appreciate. Buddhist scholar Trevor Ling compares the theistic religion of Christianity to the atheistic one of Buddhism 10. How do you understand it? So many people today have assumed Buddha was an atheist and that buddhism is an atheistic religion. Pure Land Buddhists revere and call on the name of the Amitabha Buddha, who will grant them entrance to the paradisical "Pure Land" after death.3, As Buddhism spread into cultures with existing religious beliefs, it incorporated local deities and religious practices into the Buddhist system. For this reason, the Buddha taught his disciples to cultivate devotional and reverential habits of mind. Rather, the historical Buddha taught that believing in gods was not useful for those seeking to realize enlightenment. However, God is. If atheism is the absence of belief in a God or gods, then many Buddhists are, indeed, atheists. The Encyclopedia Britannica explains, While the contemplative elite may deny the real existence of gods and demons together with the rest of phenomenal existence, the majority of Buddhists from the earliest times in India, and in other countries where Buddhism has spread, have never neglected indigenous religious beliefs.8, List given in Walpola Rahula, The Heritage of the Bhikkhu (Grove Press, 1974), 137-138. The Sanskrit word for this is upaya, or "skillful means." Is Buddhism Atheistic? “The Buddha was an atheist.” Writer Allan Badiner made this bald pronouncement in the midst of a conversation that spanned the wee hours of a cloudless Burning Man night. For this reason, Buddhism is more accurately called nontheistic rather than atheistic. To what is the Buddhist devoted? ReligionFacts provides free, objective information on religion, world religions, comparative religion and religious topics. ↩, Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera, "Is Buddhism Atheistic?" However, in saying Buddhism is atheistic, the answer requires further elaboration as the word “atheism”, like the word “godless”, frequently carries a number of disparaging overtones or implications, which in no way apply to the Buddha’s teaching. The gods enjoy the fruits of good karma in a paradise until their karma runs out and they are reborn in a lower realm. In other words, God is unnecessary in Buddhism, as this is a practical religion and philosophy that emphasizes practical results over faith in beliefs or deities. It is often said, especially by Buddhists, that Buddhism is ‘atheistic’ or ‘nontheistic’. The focus of Buddhism is on the nature of mind. Buddhism is not, therefore, atheistic in the modern understanding which developed in the West as a reaction to theistic Christianity. Merely "believing in" enlightenment and nirvana is pointless. This shouldn’t be confused with nothingness; rather, it is an expression of the constant change throughout one’s experience. Usually, when we ask if something exists we are asking if it is "real," as opposed to being a fantasy. Most people think that learning is the key to self-development It’s how we were raised – when we were young, we studied algebra, read history, and memorized the names of elements on the periodic table. All Mythological Creatures, Great and Small, Buddhism: 11 Common Misunderstandings and Mistakes, The Buddhist Teachings of Self and No-Self, Nirvana and The Concept of Freedom in Buddhism. As a religion, Buddhism is neither monotheistic nor polytheistic. Rather, Buddhism affirms many forms of spirituality and belief in gods as means to elevate and improve worldly life. In Mahayana Buddhism, which is the dominant form of Buddhism in China, Tibet, Nepal, Japan and Korea, all phenomena are empty of intrinsic existence. Stupas were built to contain relics of the Buddha and pilgrimages were made to places where he had walked. For more discussion of this kind of devotion, see the essay "Devotion in Buddhism" by Nyanaponika Thera. I have addressed the question of whether Buddhism is a philosophy or a religion elsewhere, arguing that it is both philosophy and religion, and that the whole "philosophy versus religion" argument is unnecessary. Some in the West dismiss these devotional and worshipful aspects of Buddhism as corruptions of the original teachings of the Buddha. All rights reserved. Buddhist Atheism Buddhism is widely regarded as an atheistic religion.Buddhist scriptures either do not promote or actively reject the existence of a creator god, the existence of "lesser" gods who are the source of morality and that humans owe any duties to any gods. In fact, gods must be reborn as humans to attain enlightenment.6. Buddhism is often identified both by those within and without the tradition as atheistic. ↩, © 2004-2020 ReligionFacts. A man like Gautam Buddha does not answer questions, he answers questioners. For Jains, the aim in life is to purify the soul. Certainly,  Buddhism in practice has many of the same "literal versus allegorical" issues one finds in other religions. No gods, no beliefs, yet Buddhism encourages devotion. Most of the time, it's more accurate for Westerners to think of the iconographic devas and bodhisattvas as archetypes rather than as supernatural beings. I can state my opinion on the matter, and offer the answer I give when asked in a group. Soon the idea of past and future Buddhas developed, with Maitreya, the Buddha yet to come, being especially important. Shortly after the Buddha's death, a devotional element formed within Buddhism. It may not come as a surprise to you that this question doesn’t have a clear answer. Buddhanet.net (2004). Buddhism is essentially about living one's life so as to gain enlightenment; there may or may not be some gods or spirits around, but they're not of any real importance. There are theistic things within it, however to be theistic you have to “praise” these beings. The Buddha also plainly said that he was not a god, but was simply "awakened" to ultimate reality. They must be intimately experienced to be understood. Scholar of comparative religion, Moojan Momen, explains: Libraries have been filled with the answers to those questions. Many Buddhist followers bow to Gautama Buddha’s statue, but this is out of respect and gratitude rather than worship. ↩, "Pure Land." There are several opinions on the theistic status of Buddhism with the descriptions of Buddhism ranging from atheistic, non theistic to theistic. The Buddha himself rejected the idea of a creator god, and Buddhist philosophers have even argued that belief in an eternal god is nothing but a distraction for humans seeking enlightenment. The Buddhist situation is quite similar to that of Christianity. Does one need to believe in God or gods to follow his system? What concerns Buddhists is an understanding of how consciousness works, not only in theory but more importantly in practise. So that's atheistic, and that's worship of a better skill, that's worship of the international, that's worship of the spirit and skill in all issues, that's worship of the god in all issues... that's a captivating concept gadget. Is Buddhism atheistic? Buddhism is an atheistic and theistic religion. The prevailing view in a Buddhist text like The Holy Teaching of Vamalakirti is that the only ultimate is the Void. Buddhism is not about either believing or not believing in God or gods. As a philosophy, it is compatible with most if not all religions, or no religion. I have written ‘theistic and atheistic’ because Buddhism has divided in mainly two sects- Mahayana and Therwada. Secular Buddhism—sometimes also referred to as agnostic Buddhism, Buddhist agnosticism, ignostic Buddhism, atheistic Buddhism, pragmatic Buddhism, Buddhist atheism, or Buddhist secularism—is a broad term for a form of Buddhism based on humanist, skeptical, and agnostic values, valuing pragmatism and naturalism, eschewing beliefs in the supernatural or paranormal. Buddhism, in itself, is more of a philosophy than a religion. ↩, Jonathan Landaw, Buddhism for Dummies, 250. Landaw, Jonathan; Stephan Bodian; Gudrun Bühnemann. It's not just belief in gods that are irrelevant to Buddhism. But the nature of existence is something Buddhism looks at deeply and in a different way from the way people ordinarily understand "existence.". How can that be? Stella Duffy, a Nichiren Daishonin Buddhist of 25 years standing, states "I don't believe in God. Sitting in a vast tent where, during the day, scores of partygoers had washed off their dust and grime in a plexiglass chamber, we discussed prevailing notions of a Buddhist godhead and, conversely, our mutual embrace … Of course, devotion requires an object. What "exists"? This suchness is the unified reality of all that exists. Some schools of Buddhism are deeply devotional. The fundamental philosophy of Buddhism seems to deny the concept of a personal God, although it is controversial whether Buddhism denies an impersonal form of God. If Buddha was not a god, why bow to Buddha-figures? ↩, "Buddhism in China." Any doctrine or practice that enables realization is an upaya. Nontheistic religions are traditions of thought within a religious context—some otherwise aligned with theism, others not—in which nontheism informs religious beliefs or practices. In most schools of Buddhism, it is understood that enlightenment and nirvana cannot be conceptualized or explained with words. However, this is definitely something worth investigating for yourself. Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions, 102. Buddhist scholar Nyanaponika Thera1 suggested that conceptions of … An atheistic religion (or "spirituality for atheists" if you wish) is I'd say a fairly accurate summary of Buddhism theologically-speaking. ↩, "Tibetan Buddhism." Therefore, by itself, it is neither theistic nor atheistic. A similar form of functional … “Buddhism in China.” Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions, 102. Are these corruptions of the Buddha's teachings? So what's "real"? According to BuddhaNet, a major Buddhist website: There is no almighty God in Buddhism. She is the author of "Rethinking Religion" and has covered religion for The Guardian, Tricycle.org, and other outlets. Buddha Amithaba . It is a fact that Buddhism evolved and developed because of the complex nature evolving in Hinduism, but still despite some differences, these two sects have a lot of things in common. Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service, 2004). Often this is said in order to promote Buddhism as a sensible religious or spiritual alternative to the monotheistic religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam with which many Westerners have become disillusioned. While Buddhism is a tradition focused on spiritual liberation, it is not a theistic religion. One doctrine agreed upon by all branches of modern Buddhism is that "this world is not created and ruled by a God."1. In view of the above factors, scholars and Buddhists alike tend to describe Buddhism as atheistic in the sense that it denies an eternal creator God7, while recognizing its theistic and devotional elements. In reality, every religion, sect and cult believes it has the “right god,” and each could be deemed “atheistic” by another’s standard. Yet, throughout Asia, it is common to find people praying to the Buddha or to the many clearly mythical figures that populate Buddhist iconography. Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera, “Is Buddhism Atheistic?” Quoted by the Great Wisdom Center. My answer is that Buddhism is not inherently atheistic; it is apatheistic. Jonathan Landaw, Buddhism for Dummies, 250. In the Mahayana system, a variety of celestial Buddhas and bodhisattvas came to be revered and looked to for assistance on the path to enlightenment. Buddhists don't believe in God" 11. The Buddha's teachings and Theravada Buddhism are essentially atheistic, although neither deny the existence of gods. I was always told that Buddhism was an atheistic religion. ↩, "Buddhism." Followers of Buddhism may call upon these figures for blessing or protection. A screencast lecture on Buddhist doctrines and philosophies.. Lecture three of four lectures on Buddhism. For instance, in China, a popular boddhisatva became the female deity Kuan-yin, the giver of children.4, Tibetan Buddhist cosmology features a "vast number of divine beings... which are considered symbolic representations of the psychic life by the religiously sophisticated and accepted as realities by the common people. What did they mean? What's "fantasy"? And what is the self? The Buddha has condemned godlessness by which He meant the denial of worship and renunciation, the denial of moral and social obligations, and the denial of a religious life.He recognized most emphatically the existence of moral and spiritual values. Barbara O'Brien is a Zen Buddhist practitioner who studied at Zen Mountain Monastery. Buddhism is strictly not a religion in the context of being a faith and worship owing allegiance to a supernatural being.2. Whether the doctrine is factual or not is not the point. But, again, just believing in them is not the point. Some images and idols are also used by Buddhist meditation practitioners to aid in their practices. But the Buddha figure also represents enlightenment itself and the unconditioned true nature of all things. But Buddhism begins with the premise that the way we understand the phenomenal world is delusional to begin with The quest is to realize, or perceive, delusions as the delusions they are. Buddhism would be so much better, Harris wrote, if it could be cleansed of the "naive, petitionary, and superstitious" trappings of religion altogether. In the Zen monastery where I first learned about Buddhism, the monks liked to point to the Buddha representation on the altar and say, "That's you up there. Some medieval Christian mystics, such as the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing, argued that it is incorrect to say that God exists because existence amounts to taking a particular form within a space of time. One might bow just to show gratitude for the Buddha's life and practice. Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Religions, 462. Beliefs of any kind play a different role in Buddhism than in many other religions. I define a theistic religion to be one where you believe in … “. The choice is left to the practitioner. Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service, 2004). Another, called Yogachara, teaches that things exist only as processes of knowing and have no intrinsic reality. For example, Sam Harris, a self-identified atheist who has expressed admiration for Buddhism, has said Buddhism should be taken away from Buddhists. Where do you find the self? 53 percent of the total Buddhists are Mahayana Buddhists. Working with those questions is not a corruption of Buddhism; it is Buddhism. We are not associated with any religion or organization. Jainism. ↩, Tan Swee Eng, "A Basic Buddhism Guide." Buddhism is somewhat greater right this moment forward approximately this. In view of the above factors, scholars and Buddhists alike tend to describe Buddhism as atheistic in the sense that it denies an eternal creator God7, while recognizing its theistic and devotional elements. There is no one to hand out rewards or punishments on a supposedly Judgement Day. On the other hand, the Buddha did not explicitly rule out the existence of a God or gods. For example, a Buddhist might evoke the Bodhisattva of compassion in order to become more compassionate. The many mythological creatures and beings that populate Mahayana Buddhism art and literature are often called "gods" or "deities." Devotion is an upaya for breaking the bonds of ego. Even in the nondevotional schools, such as Theravada or Zen, there are rituals that involve bowing and offering food, flowers, and incense to a Buddha figure on an altar. One might say that in Buddhism, the big question is not whether gods exist, but what is the nature of existence? Understanding the difference requires looking deeply beneath the surface of Buddhist teaching and practice. Yet, throughout Asia, it is common to find people praying to the Buddha or to the many clearly mythical figures that populate Buddhist iconography. But what about the "naïve, petitionary, and superstitious" trappings that Harris spoke of? “Tibetan Buddhism.” Encyclopædia Britannica (Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service, 2004). They must clean it from all karma (past … While technically nontheistic the creedal subtext is in effect "i do not believe a deity created the universe", and so, is as such antitheistic. In Mahayana Buddhism, however, the universe is populated with celestial buddhas and bodhisattvas who are worshipped as gods and goddesses. This was the time when Buddhism arose out of the atheistic strands of Hinduism.