(The perfect shot by CK Hon)
Question:(unedited)
Does (do) God (Gods) exist? How about spirits?
My comment:
Hi D........,
Thank you for asking me. First we must define what we mean by "God". In terms of monistic theology "God" is supreme, the creator, the all powerful. Within this framework of belief of the creator god, it is then virtually impossible for a Buddhist to provide an "acceptable" answer to this question. This is because the questioner has already had a fixed preconceived belief system indoctrinated over a period of time, usually since childhood. It will be a spiritual shock to receive an answer from a Buddhist. The questioner will not accept an answer that is contrary to his belief system. The result will be catastrophic if he feels that some bigots are trying to insult or belittle his uncompromisable belief system. So, this is a very "dangerous" question!
However, since you ask a Buddhist in this Buddhist website, I will take a chance to put my neck out. Buddhists do not subscribe to the existence of a creator god who is all powerful.
There is another definition of "gods". These are the higher beings existing in different (higher) planes of existence. The Buddha revealed that there are other planes of existence which we can't see with our naked eyes. We can only see in 3 dimensions. What about 4th, 5th, and other dimensions? These beings generally referred to as "devas" in Buddhist terminology. There are good and bad devas. These devas have higher powers than us and can sometimes help or harm us. You may equate this as good and bad "angels". Within this definition, "spirits" fall into this category.
Does (do) God (Gods) exist? How about spirits?
My comment:
Hi D........,
Thank you for asking me. First we must define what we mean by "God". In terms of monistic theology "God" is supreme, the creator, the all powerful. Within this framework of belief of the creator god, it is then virtually impossible for a Buddhist to provide an "acceptable" answer to this question. This is because the questioner has already had a fixed preconceived belief system indoctrinated over a period of time, usually since childhood. It will be a spiritual shock to receive an answer from a Buddhist. The questioner will not accept an answer that is contrary to his belief system. The result will be catastrophic if he feels that some bigots are trying to insult or belittle his uncompromisable belief system. So, this is a very "dangerous" question!
However, since you ask a Buddhist in this Buddhist website, I will take a chance to put my neck out. Buddhists do not subscribe to the existence of a creator god who is all powerful.
There is another definition of "gods". These are the higher beings existing in different (higher) planes of existence. The Buddha revealed that there are other planes of existence which we can't see with our naked eyes. We can only see in 3 dimensions. What about 4th, 5th, and other dimensions? These beings generally referred to as "devas" in Buddhist terminology. There are good and bad devas. These devas have higher powers than us and can sometimes help or harm us. You may equate this as good and bad "angels". Within this definition, "spirits" fall into this category.
No comments:
Post a Comment