The Buddha's Perspective on "God"

If there is an omnipotent, omnibenevolent, omniscient and omnipresent 'creator' of all, all of 'his creation' should be similar to 'him'. As this is not so, this 'creator' does not exist.

- Stonepeace


The Buddha argued, 'If Brahma ['creator God', if he exists] is venerable, victorious, invincible and the father of them all from whom we are born; if that Brahma is permanent, constant, imperishable, unalterable and eternal, then why are we, whom Brahma has created, impermanent, alterable, unstable and ephemeral?'

No theist has any convincing reply to that.

The Buddha made another argument.

He said, 'If God is omnipotent and the absolute cause of creation, a man should not have a will to do anything. Nor would he have any resolve to try anything. If it is so, why did God create us at all?'

There is no convincing reply to the Buddha's argument.

The Buddha put up also an ethical argument.

He said, 'If God is propitious and gracious, why do men become killers, thieves, adulterers, liars, backbiters, babblers, greedy, malicious and wicked? Is it possible in the presence of a good, kind and propitious God?'

The Buddha put up another irrefutable argument.

He said, 'If there is a great creator who is also just and kind, why are there so many instances of injustice?'

Lord Buddha said, 'Could he, who has eyes, tolerate such an awful plight? Why does Brahma not ameliorate his creation? If he is almighty and cannot by stopped by anyone, why does he not use his hands to perform propitious deeds? Why is his creation suffering as it is? Why does falsehood prevail over truth? I consider your God unjust, who created this world only to shelter injustice.'

The Buddha said, 'If an almighty God permeates all the creatures and makes them happy or unhappy, and makes them do right or wrong, then such a God is also tainted with sin; and either man is not under God's command or God is not just and good, or God is blind.'…

The Buddha came out with an argument, which proved fatal for theism.

It comes under his theory of Dependent Origination, which argues: 'The prime question is not whether there is a God or not. The prime question is whether God created the world or not."

'The actual question is how the creator created the world. If we could correctly answer how the world was created, we could justify the doctrine of God's existence to some extent…'

'The important question is whether a God created something out of something or out of nothing. It is not possible to believe that something was created out of nothing.'

The Buddha also said, 'If God created something out of something, then that something out of which something new was created has been in existence before he created anything. Therefore, God cannot be called the creator of that something which existed before him.'

The Buddha argued that 'If something has been created by somebody out of something before God created anything, then he cannot be said to be the First Cause of creation.'

It was this last argument of the Buddha, which was absolutely fatal for the belief in God.It was an incontrovertible argument, and still is.

- Extracted from "Why Am I An Atheist? by Dr. Dharmakirti"

The Widow's Mite

Today is Easter - Happy Easter to everybody.

Easter is a good time to reflect on Sunday School stories.

One in particular, The Widow's Mite, tells of a widow who donates two small coins (a mite being the least valuable coin available at the time), which was everything she had to her name.

Another woman, who is very rich, gives only a small portion of their own wealth. And she goes around boasting about how generous she was to all her friends and family.

Who do you think is more generous, in the eyes of God, and have acquired more merits?


The traditional interpretation of the morality tale is that the value of a gift is not accounted by how much is given, but by how much is kept back.

And whether one makes a song and dance about the "act of generosity".

FaceBook Parenting

Children today are so spoiled by their parents today.

If you think that by sheltering them from the realities of life, you are being a good parent, you are dead wrong. In fact, you are killing your children!!

How?

You are slowly killing your children by not equipping them with the necessary life skills to live independently. You are showing them the path to a miserable life by not letting them face adversity and teaching them an attitude of entitlement, that everything that they want, they can get without having to work for it.

You are killing your children by not showing them what actual life is about, with all the mundane things like doing laundry, housework, cooking and other day-to-day things that you need to do. There is no genie that just shows up and everything is done!!

Many famous people have died young because they have not been taught to live with adversity, to face the realities of life, the ugly side of daily living. It is because of this that many of them become deluded and try to run away from it and turn to crack and other drugs to mask the sufferings.

A little hard work and a adversity will not kill anyone. It is a challenge to develop the skills necessary to live a more fulfilled life.

God will not give you a challenge that He does not think that you can overcome and learn from it.

So, parents - think about how you are slowly killing your children with your indulgence, stupidity and laziness.

I applaud the courage of the father above, who knows what are the important things in life.

Who You Are Born To Be

"That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him. Where is the master who could have taught Shakespeare? Where is the master who could have instructed Franklin, or Washington, or Bacon, or Newton? . . . Shakespeare will never be made by the study of Shakespeare. Do that which is assigned you, and you cannot hope too much or dare too much."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson


Each of us are born with gifts, talents and special skills that makes each of us uniquely human and an individual.

However, many people go through life, merely existing and letting the mundane activities totally take over their days.

Days turn into months, months turn into years and all of a sudden, we look back and found that, alas, we have not lived our lives fully.

It takes courage for each of us to discover these special gifts and talents that God has given us. It needs the silence in our soul to listen to the tiny voice, whispering that we are destined for greater things. It takes awareness to be bold and pursue our destiny.

Therefore, take the time to be aware of your calling.

And when you find your calling, go forth and serve humanity with consciousness, compassion and humility.

Your Action Reflects On God

His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans,
and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of
college.

He is brilliant. Kind of profound and very, very bright. He became a
Christian while attending college.

Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative
church. They want to develop a ministry to the students but are not sure how
to go about it.

One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his
T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so Bill starts
down the aisle looking for a seat.

The church is completely packed and he can't find a seat. By now, people are
really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything.

Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes
there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet.

By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.
About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the
church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill.

Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece
suit. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with
a cane and, as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to
themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going to do.

How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some
college kid on the floor? It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy.
The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All
eyes are focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The minister
can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do.
And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great
difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships with
him so he won't be alone.

Everyone chokes up with emotion.

When the minister gains control, he says , "What I'm about to preach, you
will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget."
"Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever
read!"

The Four Essential Freedoms

“In the future days, which we seek to make sure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression, everywhere in the world.

The second is the freedom of every person to worship God in his own way, everywhere in the world.

The third is freedom from want...

The fourth is freedom from fear.”

- Franklin D Roosevelt

What If God Was One Of Us?

How would you treat God if He exists in every innocent children out there in the world?

An Old Irish Blessing

For all those friends that I have left behind, here is a special blessing for them :-

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

A Beautiful Day

Just a simple picture of God's work to get you through the day.

Looking at how beautiful the clouds are, you believe that life is great...

How Can I Serve?

Everyday, we are always so involved in our daily lifes, routines, challenges and problems that we just filled up the hours in our day with a lot of activities and events. At the end of the day, we feel exhausted and think, "What did I do today? What did I achieved today?"

Often, the answer would be "Not much." You were just so busy filling up the hours that you are awake with work, studies, chit-chat and other busy activities.

And so, slowly, the days turn into months and the months turn into years. And pretty soon, you will reach a time when you hit some life stage like your 40th or 50th birthday and you look back and wondered what you have done with your life.

Then, you are hit with a deep fear of not having lived the life that you have dreamed of when you were young. Where were the big dreams that you wanted for yourself? The things that you wanted to achieve for yourself?

Maybe it is to build a great home for your family. Maybe it is to do something for your community. Maybe it is to discover a new invention. Or to build a business that will provide for your family's financial independence? Or to change the world in your own small ways?

But, often we looked back with regret that we did not do anything like that. We did not live the dreams that we dreamed of when we were young? Why? Because life gets in the way....

However, perhaps it is time for you to Awaken to all that you can be. Perhaps, it is time for you to live outside of yourself. Instead of wanting and needing endlessly, perhaps you should ask : -

"How can I serve? How can I be used for a higher good? What can I be to do good for the world? God, how do you want to use me to achieve greatness for my fellow human beings?"

Once you send out your intentions to the Universe, the Ultimate Consciousness or God (however you may conceive Him to be), be opened and receptive of an answer. For an answer will certainly come when you have sent out your cry for being of service to the world. Just wait patiently, hopefully and reverently.

And when the Ultimate Consciousness answers, be courageous and take action. Plunge right in with no doubt in your heart. No hesitations or reservations and self-doubt.

This is the right thing for you - the Ultimate Consciousness will not give you a task that it does not know that you are ready for. It will know that it has prepared you for this responsibility. All your past experiences, skills and strengths have prepared you for this - so, have no fear. Just take action and Do It.

I am sure that many of the great people of today has gone through the same process. From Oprah Winfrey to Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. All of them has asked : -

"How May I Serve? What Can I Do For the Benefit of Mankind?"

Therefore, ask yourself the same question and go forth to serve.... And discover your courageous self in the process.

Being Awakened and Being Enlightened

There are people who use the terms "Being Awakened" and "Being Enlightened" interchangeably. Do the two terms mean the same thing?

No, it certainly does not.

"Being Awakened" is just one of the very initial stages of "Being Enlightened". You become "Awakened" when you realized that there is more than what you are in this life.

You know in the core of your soul that you are not defined by the physical boundaries of your life - the identity, the possessions, the people around you. You find that you are not attached to anything; you know that everything is transient, nothing last forever.

Everything dies, everything decays, everything changes. Nothing is permanent.

You increasingly know that you are not the "You" defined by your name, your title and your status in life.

You find that life is meaningless - it is more than about searching for happiness, accumulating riches and power and chasing the illusions of the "I" and the ego.

Having "Awakened", you feel more connected to the "Spirit", the "Supreme Being" or "God". You begin the search for this connection through being more mindful of who you really are and how you "fit" in the scheme of things.

Many people do this through the established religions of the world, trying to form a relationship with this "Being", "God" or however you defined It. Some people go on a spiritual quest, searching for answers by making pilgrimages to the holy places, studying under some mystic gurus or meditation.

But the Truth is always within you. The Truth is everywhere - from the trees, the flowers to all living sentient beings that exist in this world. There is no need to make any special pilgrimages - the "Buddha" is within you.

The Buddhas said "All of you are Buddhas". This is a powerful statement as it states that all of us WILL be enlightened, just that we are so deluded that we do not realize our own true buddha-nature. All of us will eventually become buddhas...

When you realize your own buddha-nature, you become a Buddha, the Enlightened One. When you are enlightened, there are no longer any boundaries or constraints. Space, time and physical limitations no longer exist to you. You can be everywhere and nowhere, in the past, present and future. You can appear in any physical form that you want. You become omnipresent, omniscient and all-powerful. You are everything and nothing.

So, being "Awakened" and being "Enlightened" is really two very different stages. Awakening is just the start of a long journey towards enlightenment.

By being "Awakened", you find that you will live a more meaningful life, knowing that this life too is transient, that you are on the road towards total enlightenment. Therefore, this knowledge gives you very hopeful purpose in your everyday life - to live life with meaning, with purpose and ultimately with love...