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| Buddha in Sarnath Museum (Dhammajak Mutra) Location:Sarnath Museum, India. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
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| Buddhism (Photo credit: shapour bahrami) |
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| Golden Buddha Statue of Gold Buddhism Religion (Photo credit: epSos.de) |
Gautama Buddha rejected
the existence of a creator
deity,[1][2] refused to endorse many views on
creation[3] and stated that questions on the
origin of the world are not ultimately useful for ending suffering.[4][5]
Buddhism, instead, emphasizes
the system of causal relationships underlying the universe (pratītyasamutpāda) which constitute the
natural order (dharma) and source of enlightenment. 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,[6][7] which is called nirvana.
Some teachers tell
students beginning Buddhist
meditation that the notion of divinity is not incompatible with Buddhism,[8] and at least one Buddhist scholar
has indicated that describing Buddhism as nontheistic may be overly
simplistic;[9] but many traditional theist beliefs
are considered to pose a hindrance to the attainment of nirvana,[10] the highest goal of Buddhist
practice.[11]
Despite this
apparent nontheism, Buddhists consider veneration of the worthy ones[12] very important,[13] 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,[14] some Mahayana Buddhists
consider him an embodiment of the cosmic Dharmakaya,
born for the benefit of others.[15] In addition, some Mahayana
Buddhists worship their chief Bodhisattva,
Avalokiteshvara,[16] and hope to embody him.[17]
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,[18] and are not necessarily wiser than
us. In fact, the Buddha is often portrayed as a teacher of the gods,[19] and superior to them.[20] Despite this there are believed to
be enlightened devas.[21]
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.[22][23][24]
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