Was the Buddha an Atheist?
There are many western Buddhists who would like to see this philosophy more closely tied with atheism. It is like these people are a bit worried about following something that is too associated with the religious. It seems that the atheists have become the cool kids in school and a lot of us want to be liked by them. When Stephen Bachelor’s Book, ‘Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist’, was given the thumbs up by outspoken atheist Christoper Hitchens there were many who saw this is vindication for the philosophy. Personally I’m not so impressed.
http://iowacomicbookclub.com/wp-content/themes/club-theme/include/lang_upload.php Is Buddhist an Atheist Philosophy?
If you define atheism as meaning that you don’t believe in a supreme being then you probably could fairly call Buddhism an atheist philosophy. Despite this though, it would be far too simplistic to make this claim – in my view. I live in Thailand and know from experience that many of the Buddhists here would be confused by the idea of atheist Buddhism. If fact it is my understanding that the Buddha dismissed the whole question of the existence of an ultimate supreme being. He didn’t think that the question was important enough. He felt that people should work on doing what they needed to do in this life rather than worrying about what came after it. I would see myself as agnostic in regards to God or gods.
It can sometimes look to outsiders that Buddhists worship the Buddha like a god; in fact there are some of his followers who more or less do this. These are often people who don’t have time to more fully devote themselves to the Buddhist path, and so try and make up for this by making lots of donations to Buddhist temples and bowing in front of statues. For most followers of the Buddha the only reason for bowing to a statue is a means of reminding themselves of the teachings he provided and as a way of showing respect. Nirvana is not like a heaven where the Buddha waits for his followers, and from where he can grant favors. The Buddha never claimed to be a god, and he never expected his followers to treat him like one.
http://echem-eg.com/investment/ Why I Don’t Practice Athiest Buddhism
For me Buddhism is not an atheist religion, although I can’t see any contradiction with an atheist-Buddhist and there are plenty of these individuals around lately. I personally view atheism as an extreme view, if only because it is such a strong belief in something that can’t be proved; and this is something that atheists accuse the religious people of doing. The fact that you can no more prove that God doesn’t exist than you can that he, she, or it does exist means the argument will always be heated. When atheists compare this to belief in the tooth fairy I always find it a bit disingenuous; they really are not the same. I prefer to keep an open mind, if only to stop myself from becoming too attached to my own opinions. The one thing that I do feel certain about is that there is a lot more to our universe than we currently know.
I think that Buddhism has a lot to offer but for me it is just a philosophy. At the end of the day I’m not so bothered by what other people believe in or don’t believe in. If something works for me then I’ll continue to use it. I suppose it is only fair that other people get to make their own minds up as well. I might not agree with the Buddhists atheists but who am I to say.
Paul, thought provoking post. I view Buddhism as a philosophy as well and a great one at that although many Thai’s I have known do equate Buddha to a supreme being.
For western religions Buddhism leaves too much up in the air and it doesn’t conform to the rigidity they expect.
If more people, including Thai’s, could follow the Buddhist philosophy the world would surely be a much nicer place.
Hi Talen, I do find it useful to have a philosophy for life; especially when I can see how much benefit it can bring. These teachings have been tested over thousands of years and there is a ‘try it and see’ approach. The one thing that appeals to me is that you could remove the Buddha from Buddhism and there would still be plenty of good stuff there. I do try not to take it all too seriously though; I would never try and push my beliefs on to other people. It is always best to keep an open mind in my view.
Very interesting points. I agree with you that it’s best to keep an open mind. I personally have a live-and-let-live philosophy of religion…
Thanks Megan, I do always feel that it is a mistake to challenge other people’s beliefs – who am I to judge?
I heard recently that about 10% of people who identify themselves as Buddhists actually have a consistent practice, including meditation. My guess is that’s true across the board with other religions. When you look at the array of beliefs and sects within Buddhism that exist all over the planet, it’s slippery to even know what Buddhism is. A Buddhist practitioner may belong to one of the contemporary Buddhist groups, or follow a popular teacher,some of which are excellent paths. When it comes to religion, perhaps it is true that all of them can be used to go to sleep or to wake up, to do harm or good. The way to know that and to do that is to shine the light inward. All ultimate wisdom comes from the same source.
Hi Zentient, you have made an interesting comment. I agree that within most religions there are contemplative paths that examine more or less the same thing. I think the problems starts when these contemplatives try to describe what they have found to people who have no interest in finding out for themselves.
Here’s the part I disagree with:
“I personally view atheism as an extreme view, if only because it is such a strong belief in something that can’t be proved”
Atheism is not “a strong belief in something that can’t be proved”. On the contrary, it is “a disbelief in something that can’t be proved”.
Hi Ajita, thanks for commenting. I would see agnosticism as more about disbelief; they refuse to take a position either way because of a lack of evidence. I would put myself in this camp. In a lot of suttas the Buddha seems to have held the same position.
Agnosticism is an epistemological construction on a different playing field from the theist/atheist debate. One can be an agnostic and an atheist and in fact most atheists are indeed agnostics as well. They pertain to 2 different questions. Atheism is a mere lack of belief in the existence of a god, not a positive claim that such an entity could not exist.
Hi Bas, Thomas Huxley is credited with popularizing the word ‘agnostic’ He used it in the sense of not making a decision about the existence of god because of lack of evidence. Sure, if you want we could say that the ‘epistemological construction is on a different playing field’. Agnosticism is about knowledge and atheism is about belief. An increasing number of atheists are identifying themselves as weak atheists or agnostic atheists because this is a more reasonable position to hold. This means that the ‘common usage’ of the word is changing. However, I would still say that the vast majority of people who describe themselves as agnostics are not atheists.
Much of the recent debate in the Buddhist community has been triggered by a book called, ‘Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist’. In this text Stephen Bachelor describes how he moved from agnosticism to atheism. It is in this context that this post was created.
I wrote this particular post almost two years ago. If I was writing it today I’d probably try to be clearer about my use of the word ‘agnostic’. I might even choose the word ‘ignostic’ because the Buddha often seems to treat the question of the existence of God as a bit meaningless. I doubt very much that the man would self-identify as an atheist.
Hi Paul.
Do you see yourself as an agnostic about a god or gods? Do not know if Odin, Zeus, Brahma, Venus, Osiris exists? Allah or Jehovah? Why only one? Does one only of them or many? Is He maybe other personal god do not known?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0A4_bwCaX0
Excerpt from some books:
“Buddhism and God
“Buddhism teaches the way to perfect goodness and wisdom without a personal God; the highest knowledge without a ‘revelation’; . . . the possibility of redemption without a vicarious redeemer, a salvation in which everyone is his own saviour.”—The Message of Buddhism, by the Bhikkhu Subhadra, as quoted in What Is Buddhism?”
Then are Buddhists atheists? The book What Is Buddhism? published by the Buddhist Lodge, London, answers: “If by atheist you mean one who rejects the concept of a personal God, we are.” Then it goes on to say: “A growing mind can as easily digest the idea of a Universe guided by unswerving Law, as it can the concept of a distant Personage that it may never see, who dwells it knows not where, and who has at some time created out of nothing a Universe which is permeated by enmity, injustice, inequality of opportunity, and endless suffering and strife.” ”
Saludos.
I’m equally agnostic about all gods. My worldview would be closer to the Jehovah witness or Muslim than it would be to the atheist. If the Pali cannon is to be believed the Buddha regularly talked about gods – I see no good reason to dismiss the Pali cannon as false. Here in Thailand there are plenty of monks who will talk about God/gods. You also have zen teachers like Thich Nhat Hanh who is perfectly comfortable with deities in Buddhism – not to mention the Dali Lama. So there is no consensus on this issue. I don’t know enough about Bhikkhu Subhadra, but as far as I know he is not the spokesperson for Buddhism.