On belief in "God"

Recently I had the good fortune to travel and visit with my mother.  My mother is a wonderful woman of good Methodist stock who has finally made peace, it seems, with

my Buddhist vocation.  Of late she has made inquiries into what Buddhist believe and what our organization is doing.

On this most recent visit she asked the “God” question: “Do Buddhists believe in God?”  This question is actually quite important and one that Buddhist should consider deeply.

First we must unpack the question a little.  The question would be better stated, “Do Buddhists believe in the Christian god?”  And the simple answer would be that generally Buddhists accept the existence of many gods, the Christian god being no exception.  But then you would have to explain that Buddhists don’t really think of gods as being particularly special, they are just one possible form of existence.  This usually does not sit well with Christians.

So the question now becomes something like, “Do Buddhists believe in the Christian god who is the only omnipotent, omniscient, eternal, creator being (person)?”  While we are trying to get our minds around this question it is important to remember that the question is coming out of a well-established Christian paradigm.  If the “God” question was not coming out of a Christian paradigm then the a different question might be asked, “What do Buddhists believe?”  This is a good question and creates an opening for dialogue.

The “God” question however is a question that puts us on the defensive.  It assumes a Christian paradigm that most definitely has a “God.”  We are immediately put in the position of defending our lack of belief in a Christian god and lack of adherence to the dominant Christian paradigm - reality.   We may answer by trying to redefine the Christian god so that it becomes something like “Pure Being” or like Lao Tzu’s “Tao” or the “Satchitanada” of Advaita Vedanta.  And while all of these are wonderful articulations of something beyond articulation, they are not really the Christian Creator god nor are they Buddhist.

For myself, I think the best way to answer is directly,  “No, Buddhists do not believe in God.”   Its honest and it is clear.

Buddhism has very good reasons for rejecting a supreme god.  One of the most compelling reasons, for me, is that the rejection of a supreme god changes the power dynamics at play in religion and society.  Instead of a religious hierarchy with all of the power concentrated in the apex (supreme god), the Buddha established a religious model in which power (responsibility) rest in each individual as part of a larger community (Sangha.)  The community (Sangha) is held together by rules of conduct (sila) and the teachings of the way to end suffering (Dharma.)

In the theistic model of religion obedience trumps everything. Obedience to a god absolves us of personal responsibility for our actions, individually and communally.  Our actions, moral or otherwise, are subservient to obedience to our god.

Buddhism is very different.  Correct action trumps orthodoxy (correct belief.) There are very definite things that should not be done because they create suffering and are unbeneficial.  And there are things that should be done because they alleviate suffering and are beneficial.   In Buddhism, as Dr Ambedkar points out, “Morality is Dharma and Dharma is Morality.”  This is a very radical message which I think often gets missed.  Our well being as a community and as individuals depends entirely upon our actions (karma.)  We can spend our time thinking about the dharma and trying to create a Pureland, which embodies the highest ideals of Buddhism or we can pursue the 3 poisons which create more suffering.  It is that simple.  The buck stops with us.   We can create a world that is a heaven or a hell. Our actions make a big difference and it is important that we do not give our power away to governments, gods, and gurus or to our own greed, hatred, and ignorance.

As Buddhist I think we should be proud of the fact that we are willing to take responsibility for our actions.  We don’t blame gods or devils.  It’s up to us.  Believing or not believing in a particular god may or may not be useful.  But if we look at the past track record of belief in a god, I am quite happy to say: “As a Buddhist I don’t believe in ‘God’.”

Paul

Comments

[Tom]

Paul,

I am troubled in ways that you have put your argument together. "Buddhism" is a big unwieldy thing and "Buddhists" a big community. I think that you are speaking for yourself in your post, and not for Buddhism generally.

The idea that in Buddhism a supreme god is rejected to affect a "power dynamic," bothers me. While I haven't done any polling of Buddhists on the topic, I would expect that such strategic thinking is rarely in play when Buddhists decide whether they believe in God or not. I suspect that most Buddhists are persuaded by evidence, not giving a damn about any "power dynamic."

I have to say, too, that it sounds like a Dr. Phil-ism to think in terms of "[giving] our power away." Many Buddhists may not object to that construction, but for me, rejecting the model of a battle of powers is central to what draws me in our religion.

[Gareth]

I can agree with some of your arguments, Paul, but like Tom I think that your conclusion that you do not believe in God, is a personal belief, and that other parts of your posts may be too.

I think that your comments regarding the question are well thought out and made - I find this question to be a difficult one to answer, for that reason. I found it so after rejecting Christianity, but before finding Buddhism.

In Straw Dogs Professor John Gray makes the point that atheism was invented at the same times as Christianity, there was no rejection of the Christian God, until the Christian God was declared the only god that exists.

Often we are asked to define ourselves in relation to something that doesn't fit at all in to our perception of the world. This is a very difficult thing to do.

If asked today I would say that I do not believe in the anthropomorphic personification of a god, but that I experience something more than an atheist world view.

You have raised a question that is often at the centre of the Buddhist Christian dialogue, and one that is most difficult to answer, Thank you.