Are Buddhists atheists?

[hordeprime]

From buddhanet.net's Buddhism.pdf:

QUESTION: Do Buddhists believe in a god?

ANSWER: No,we do not.There are several reasons for
this.The Buddha,like modern sociologists and psychologists,
believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have
their origins in fear.The Buddha says:

Gripped by fear people go to sacred mountains,sacred groves,sacred trees and shrines. Dp.188​

The pdf file then goes into many reasons for why the Buddha did not believe in God, all of which I am already familiar with as an atheist who reads a lot.

As I read through this pdf file on Buddhism, and as I read more and more about Buddhism the more I find it in line with all the basic reasoning of atheists. I have come to the belief that all non-denominal atheists are just people who have stumbled upon much of the teachings of the Buddha entirely on their own. When I read this pdf file, its like I'm reading about myself. And perhaps the Buddha is acurately described as the first great atheist philosopher.

In the Dalai Lama's book on tape: Live In A Better Way, the DL describes various tenets of Buddhist philosophy such as an eternal universe that implies no ultimate Creator, and the compatibility of Buddhism with evolution. The pdf file offers the humanistic credo: "We don't believe in a god because we believe in humanity." These notions are also in line with most atheist philosophers.

So my ultimate question is: Are Buddhists atheists?

Now, "atheist" sometimes had negative connotations. To me atheist just means not believing in an Omnipotent, Omniscient, Creator of the Universe God. Therefore, this pdf file tells me that Buddhists are atheists, in the loosest sense of the word. Is this correct? Do Buddhists dislike the word "atheist?"

What about polytheistic deities and other supernatural entities? Where do Buddhists stand on the issue of God? Does the word have any meaning? Have you read the Buddhanet.net pdf file? What did you think?

Rate this statement:

All Buddhists are atheists. But not all atheists are Buddhists.

Thanks for all the opinions.

 

[Faithful nonbeliever]

I've been looking into this also. It seems that most buddhists are usually some sort of agnostic or maybe deists. From what I've read, Buddha taught that preoccupying oneself with thoughts of a creator is basically useless. We cannot know, therefore we should spend our time bettering ourselves for the good of our people, not worrying about heaven and hell. I must admit, it would be alot easier to tell people that I was buddhist, than to say I'm an atheist. Why is that anyways?

 

[Richard]

The answer to your question hordeprime is yes. Buddist is just another subform of Athesist its as simple as that !

 

[Wayfarer]

The answer to your question hordeprime is yes. Buddist is just another subform of Athesist its as simple as that !

What exactly is a "Buddist"?

 

[Richard]

Well one who follows after Budda is considered a buddist

 

[markie]

I've been looking into this also. It seems that most buddhists are usually some sort of agnostic or maybe deists. From what I've read, Buddha taught that preoccupying oneself with thoughts of a creator is basically useless. We cannot know, therefore we should spend our time bettering ourselves for the good of our people, not worrying about heaven and hell. I must admit, it would be alot easier to tell people that I was buddhist, than to say I'm an atheist. Why is that anyways?

There is really no such thing as an atheist. If you say there is no God, you make yourself a god. Do Buddhists not believe in a higher power of any kind? How do they explain the beginning of life?

 

[Dr. Bob]

The answer to your question hordeprime is yes. Buddist is just another subform of Athesist its as simple as that !

Well one who follows after Budda is considered a buddist

Wow...let's try to be serious for a second.

While the answer is yes (that Buddhists are atheists), I wouldn't consider Buddhism a "sect" of atheism or the classification of Buddhists as atheists as simple. Since there is no organization to atheism like there is for Buddhism, it is impossible for Buddhism to be a sect of atheism. There is doctrine to Buddhism while there is no doctrine to atheism. In other words, one atheist can be different from another atheist in almost every respect except for the disbelief in a superior force; Buddhists have their own rituals, symbols, etc. To make it even more complicated, not all Buddhists believe that there is no superior force. There is a small branch of Buddhism (approx. 15-20% of Buddhists) that consider Buddha to be a God and savior. So in response to your statement that you want rated I have to give it a 0. Not all Buddhists are atheists and not all atheists are Buddhists

What exactly is a "Buddist"?

That's a good question. You can read their religious texts here: htt p://w ww.ishwar .com/buddhism/holy_dhammapada/ (delete the spaces between t-p, w-w, and r-.)

Or if you want a brief outline of Buddhism you can go here: seasite.niu.e du/crossroads/cooler/Cooler-%20Buddhism%20and%20Pagan%20webpage.html (delet space between e-d)

And if you want to watch what I think is a good movie about Buddhism, watch Little Buddha (featuring Keanu Reeves as Buddha ).

 

[Faithful nonbeliever]

There is really no such thing as an atheist. If you say there is no God, you make yourself a god. Do Buddhists not believe in a higher power of any kind? How do they explain the beginning of life?

Sorry pal, wrong answer. There are atheists whether you believe it or not. And your being unreasonable thinking we promote ourselves as gods, simply because we don't believe the same bedtime stories as you.
Buddhists evidently aren't trying to explain away our origins. Its not necessary to explain life's orgins in order to have substance. Their teachings are about life, not dreamland. Which is respectable. Maybe you should give it a try.

 

[bmoynihan]

I think it depends on how you define 'God'!

If 'God' is an external being that is all powerful and who created the earth then no buddhists do not believe that (well most!)

If you call 'god' an entity that binds the universe together, of what we are all part of, then I do beleive in this idea of 'god'.

The Buddha spoke about everything being linked, about us all being part of a matrix, I suppose this matrix could be called 'god'!

 

[Zen_Woof]

Greetings!

First, there's no reason for this discussion to ignite into hostilities. It's a question, not a condemnation of those who aren't Buddhist or atheist. The term "atheist" seems to punch a lot of buttons for people, when in truth, it just means those who do not believe in God. But then, the term "Christian" gets a lot of non-Christians riled up too ...

The Buddha advised his followers not to distract themselves from their practice by addressing issues like the origin of the world or God. That isn't what Buddhism is about. Buddhism is about awakening to the true nature of reality. The belief is that our beliefs are just delusions created by our mind to suit our ego needs. These delusions lead to further delusion. As Buddhists, we attempt to peel back the delusions and see things as they truely are -- to determine what is truly real and what is just a creation of our mind (or ego).

But Buddha did not exclude the possibility of God. It might be more accurate to say that Buddhists are nontheists rather than atheists.

Hope this helps!
ZW

 

[Eudaimonist]

Rate this statement:

All Buddhists are atheists. But not all atheists are Buddhists.

Before you declare all Buddhists atheist, you might want to look in to all the varieties of Buddhism that exist. Especially check out Pure Land Buddhism's Amitabha. It may be debatable whether or not Amitabha is a divine being, at least in the Western sense, but he has much of that feel.

 

[Fiendishjester]

Theravadins and most Westerners who study Buddhism believe that Buddha was an atheist, although there is not a large amount of proof for that statement. Buddha himself did not concern himself with the idea of God. Buddhism can and does work without the idea of a Creator God.

Most Buddhists are atheists, in the sense that they do not believe in a separate, all-powerful Creator being. However, there are other concepts that can be thought of as a God, for example, Ri (Japanese, the first principle of Soto Zen), or the Mind of the Yogacara school. However, these concepts are much closer to the Hindu concept of Brahman than any Western concept of God. Thus, it is best not to think of them as God.

 

[Arthra]

My own thinking is that Buddha was not an atheist nor should we regard Buddhists as atheists...

A better word that could define what teachings we have from the Buddha is agnosticism...There were at the time of the Buddha an entrenched Brahman caste that had a strangle hold on the spiritual life of the people... They controlled the sacrificial system and the beliefs of the people in the pantheon of deities and so on..

The Buddha's teaching attacked the Brahmin theology and sacrificial system, caste system simultaneously much in the same way that the Lord Jesus teachings opposed the Pharisees and entrenched ritual sacrifices in the Temple.


There were atheists at the time of Buddha and the Buddha would not align Himself with them. They were called "materialists" or Charvakins and they believed there was nothing more than this life and that all phenomenau was explained by atoms:

"The Charvaka system of thought believed neither in* God nor in the after life of man. Their doctrines are traced to an ancient scripture called the Charvaka Dharma probably written by an author of the name of Charvaka."

Source:

http://www.hinduwebsite.com/history/athiesm.htm

- Art

 

[Hydra009]

It might be more accurate to say that Buddhists are nontheists rather than atheists.

I agree.

 

[Eudaimonist]

There were atheists at the time of Buddha and the Buddha would not align Himself with them. They were called "materialists" or Charvakins and they believed there was nothing more than this life and that all phenomenau was explained by atoms

I wonder if he was put off by the ethics of the Charvakins. They never did seem to create much more than a hedonistic ethics. I think atheists can do a better job at that though.

 

[hordeprime]

The term "atheist" seems to punch a lot of buttons for people, when in truth, it just means those who do not believe in God.

Indeed.

I also see that my definition of atheist is much more liberal than other's.

This is all very informative though. Anyone else?

 

[Starcrystal]

I have heard Buddhists claim there is a god, and some who do not. Some Buddhist literature I've read speaks much about "God" and spirits, although they emphasise attainment of the divine through meditations and advancement through the various stages of development towards this goal

 

[Starcrystal]

In this universe, there is an infinite number of formless beings and devas and ghosts are only a small part of it. This is just natural. I believe that devas and ghosts are not illusive minds of the humans but they are real, yet posses `emptiness`. ~ Grand Master Sheng Yen Lu, True Buddha School.

He obviously beleives in something ethereal. I have also read where he beleives in and has met Jesus Christ.

 

[markie]

Sorry pal, wrong answer. There are atheists whether you believe it or not. And your being unreasonable thinking we promote ourselves as gods, simply because we don't believe the same bedtime stories as you.
Buddhists evidently aren't trying to explain away our origins. Its not necessary to explain life's orgins in order to have substance. Their teachings are about life, not dreamland. Which is respectable. Maybe you should give it a try.

I'm sorry if I offended you, I didn't mean you think of yourself as gods like we think of God. You just don't hold yourselves accountable to a higher power. As for Buddhists all I know about them is they follow the teachings of some guy who sits with his legs crossed and his arms folded inward and thinks a lot. I saw a statue of a Buddha when I was a kid. I don't know anything about them, from what I remember it's more of a philosophy than a religion. You say you don't believe the same bedtime stories we do, which one's do you believe?

 

[markie]

I agree.

Is that not the same thing as an agnostic?