Buddhism and Atheism
by Alfred Bloom, Emeritus Professor,
University of Hawaii
It has been very
common in modern western circles to describe Buddhism as atheistic. This
view arose because Buddhism does not appeal to a creator god for the
universe or for the understanding human life.
In turn, Buddhists
adopted this definition by Christians in order to distinguish itself from
Christian belief. By creating insuperable differences between the religions
both created an impenetrable wall around their faith, ignoring the challenge
that accurate understanding might present to their views.
However, it is a
question whether Buddhism is truly atheistic. In Buddhist legends, the gods
of India play a great role. Brahma and Indra encourage the Buddha to share
the truth of his enlightenment with all people. In later mythic depictions
in Mahayana Sacred texts, the audiences attending the Buddha’s sermons
include hordes of deities of every type who listen and affirm the Buddha’s
message. In popular religion in every Asian country, the gods support
Buddhism and provide for the worldly needs of the people for health, wealth
and spiritual protection. The native Japanese gods were seen as
manifestations of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas to protect Japan even before
Buddhism officially arrived. In Japan virtually all temples had a shrine,
dedicated to a tutelary native god or Indian deity, to protect the sacred
area.
Buddhist teachings
taught that the gods, though powerful to aid beings in their worldly life,
were irrelevant for gaining enlightenment and spiritual development. No
amount of devotion or praying to a god will bring Buddhist enlightenment. In
fact, according to Buddhism, the gods themselves need to be enlightened.
The gods like every
other being must strive to achieve enlightenment. They are a dimension of
the 6 paths of existence through which sentient beings transmigrate until
they gain enlightenment and enter Nirvana. Any particular god became a god
because of his good karma. Though a god might have an extremely long life
compared to a human, it is determined by karma and will eventually come to
an end with the rebirth of the god into another life form. This
understanding differs from Indian views where the gods are always gods. In
Buddhism the gods are part of the worlds of form and desire and therefore
essentially finite. While they are in the position of gods, they can benefit
human life.
Consequently,
Buddhism believes that a god is not the highest level of spirituality. Entry
into bliss and freedom of Nirvana and emancipation from the world of
suffering and rebirth is gained only through undergoing Buddhist discipline.
Buddhism is not,
therefore, atheistic in the modern understanding which developed in the West
as a reaction to theistic Christianity. Rather, Buddhism affirms many forms
of spirituality and belief in gods as means to elevate and improve worldly
life. In its spread through Asia, it has been able to adapt to the various
native religious traditions to promote the spread of Buddhism.
In our modern and
contemporary context, Buddhism can coexist with Western beliefs in God
because it recognizes that such beliefs assist people in dealing with their
everyday needs. However, we can only achieve enlightenment when we
understand reality as it is, beyond all concepts and beliefs, and the nature
of our own minds which become attached to concepts and beliefs.
