Chapter 25 Chapter 23 How does the Buddha view the creator of the world—God

Blaming you Brahma for your injustice, you create worlds that cover up wrongs. —— "Jataka" In Pali, the equivalent of other religious creation gods is Issara (Sanskrit Isvara), Vishnu or Brahma. Buddha denied the existence of the eternal soul on many occasions, and only on a few occasions did he deny the Creator God.However, the Buddha never acknowledged the existence of a Creator God, whether it be a force or a being. Although it is said that the Buddha did not place a superhuman God above human beings, some scholars say that the Buddha maintained a characteristic silence on this particularly important contradiction.The following excerpts will unmistakably show the Buddha's views on the idea of ​​a Creator God.

In the "Angita", the Buddha stated three different thoughts that were popular at the time, one of which was: "Whether a person experiences happiness, pain, or neither pain nor pleasure, these are all created by God."(1) According to this view, we are made by the will of our Creator.Our fate is entirely in his hands.Our destiny is preordained by him, and the so-called free will he gives to his creatures is a complete lie. In the Nigan Sutra, the Buddha refuted this fatalistic view.He said: "Therefore, by the creation of Heaven, people have become murderers, thieves, unchaste, liars, slanders, evil speakers, greedy, vicious, and wrong-minded. Therefore, for those who are God has created men who have neither hope nor ability nor need to do this or not to do that.”(2)

In this sutra, the Buddha speaks of the Celestial Practitioners engaged in self-mortification, commenting: "Monks, if the joy and suffering experienced by sentient beings were created by God, then such Celestial Practitioners must have been created by the evil God. Created. Because, people have to suffer so horribly." The Sutra of Solidity (3) tells a humorous dialogue between an inquiring bhikkhu and the so-called creator.A monk, desiring to understand the end of material existence, approached Brahma King and asked: "My friend, where did the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind disappear without leaving any traces?" To this, Brahma replied: "A monk, I am Brahma, the king of Brahma, the most supreme, the supreme, the Lord, the victor. , the ruler, the father of all past and future beings."

Again the bhikkhu repeated his question, and once again Brahma gave the same dogmatic answer. When the bhikkhu asked this question for the third time, Brahma took him by the arm with one hand, pulled him aside, and said frankly: "Monks, the gods and humans here think this way: Brahma sees everything, knows everything, and perceives everything. But, monks, I don't know where the water, fire, and wind disappear here, and they no longer exist. So, monks, you leave the Buddha and think about everything. It is a sin to get the answer to this question elsewhere. Go back, monk, to the supplicant and ask him this question. Believe as the supplicant explains."

Tracing back to the beginning of the so-called creator Brahma, the Buddha said in the Ayyi Sutra (4): "Disciples, this being who is born for the first time (in the birth of a new world) thinks thus: 'I am Brahma, Brahma, Destroyer, All-seeing, All-giving, Lord of the world, Creator, Creator God, the Giver, my Lord, the Father of all beings now and in the future. All beings here are created by me. Why is this so? Because earlier I thought that other beings might also come into this world of life. It is the voice of my thoughts that such beings do appear.'” "These sentient beings who came after him also thought: 'This one who should offer must be Brahma, Brahma, the conqueror, the all-seeing, the giver, the lord of the world, the creator, the creator, the god, the giver. Giver, my lord, father of all present and future.'”

"Disciples, here, the first being to appear in this world lasts longer, has a more dignified appearance, and greater strength, but the beings born after him live for a shorter time, have an ordinary appearance, and are less powerful. Disciples, if a sentient being dies from another world and is reborn in this world, he may abandon his home life and become a monk. If he is a monk, he is diligent, diligent, pious, practical, and full of wisdom. The mind, remembering past lives, but remembering no earlier than this one, said: 'That is the revered Brahma, the conqueror, the all-seeing, the giver of all, the Lord of the world , the Creator, the Creator, the God, the Giver, my Lord, the Father of all living beings now and to be. From Him we are born, He is One, eternal. He shall exist forever and ever. But, by Him We are created into this world as impermanent, changing, indeterminate, transitory, doomed to perish.'”

"This is how everything was determined at the beginning. This is just like the traditional doctrine you proclaimed, that is, this is the work of Brahma, God." In the "Pandarajataka" (5) (543), the bodhisattva questioned the so-called divine justice of the Creator in this way: "Anyone who has eyes can see disease, Why did Brahma not shape the created man well? If his powers are boundless, Why does he seldom extend his blessing hand? Why did all the people he created suffer? Why does He not give them pleasure? Why are deceit, lies and ignorance so prevalent?

Why is hypocrisy so rampant? Truth and justice so declining? To blame you Brahma for injustice, Created a world that accommodates mistakes. " In the "Maha Bodhi Jataka" (6) (528), the Bodhisattva refuted the theory that everything is created by the Almighty, stating: "If there is a Almighty Lord, Dominate the joys and sorrows of all living beings, good and evil, This God is full of sin. Human beings can only act according to their will. " [Note] (1) "Zengzhibu", Part 1, p. 174; English translation of "Zengzhibu", Part 1, p. 158. (2) "Central Part", Part Two, One Hundred and First Classics, p. 222.

(3) "Chang Bu", the first chapter, the second classic, p. 221. (4) "The Long Department", the third volume, the twenty-fourth sutra, page 29; "The Teachings of the Buddha", the third volume, pages 26 and 27. (5) "Jataka Stories", Volume VI, p. 110. (6) Same as above. V, p. 122.