Do Buddhists Believe in God?

Nirvana

Liked that Sunset analogy and the lack of communication bit, esteemed Zenmonk Genryu!

Really like this thread, have been following. Thought I'd finally put a word in.

One of my favorite bedside books is a Japanese Buddhist book put out by Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai --Society for the Promotion of Buddhism (English on the left-hand page, Japanese on the right). It has basic Buddhist texts, but I've often wondered if it was influenced by Christianity, because the Buddha is presented in a very Christian way. Is there a deistic trend in some popular Japanese Buddhism?

"Do not think that the compassion of the Buddha is only for the present life; it is a manifestation of the timeless compassion of the eternal Buddha that has been operative since unknown time, when mankind went astray due to ignorance." -P 30 (Sounds theistic to me, an entity with great benign powers welling from timeless eternity.)

Also all this talk about "saving all people" throughout the book --reminds me of Jesus.

Can anyone, will anybody, weigh in on this book for me? Maybe it's just me, having grown up Catholic, but it's Christianity-plus to me.

sharpiegirl

I too often find Christian thought in Buddhist text that I read. My mother is a Catholic..and she and I will have conversations about this...she is having a hard time accepting the fact that I have been more influenced by Buddha than Jesus. Many of the fundamentals are similar...I like how Buddhism is quite individual...rather than 'follow the leader'.

zenmonk_genryu

There are several Catholic priests and nuns, as well as lay people who are active in the Christian Zen movement, and are authorised Zen teachers. It might be worth getting hold of a book like 'Zen gifts to Christians', by Father Robert Kennedy SJ, that may help put your mother at ease.

Brigid

Here's another, from the perspective of a Roman Catholic nun:

"Zen Contemplation: A Bridge of Living Water". By Elaine MacInnes.

zenmonk_genryu

Interview with Sister Elaine

Brigid

I met her.

zenmonk_genryu

And...? C'mon you can't just leave it there you know.

Brigid

O.K. She gave a talk about her life and studies in Japan and how she now teaches prisoners how to meditate. She called me a fellow seeker and I found that she was as tough as a bag of old nails. (That's a compliment). Her work with prisoners was inspiring and resonates with me. I have a thing about creating the circumstances for failure and then being locked up for rising to the challenge. I've already had a lot of experience with Catholic nuns and other than her studies and practice in Japan, she struck me as quite similar in thought and manner to the many nuns I've already met or under whom I've studied. But she was quite lovely and, as I've said, I liked her work with prisoners. That's all.

federica

Brigid wrote:

O.K. She gave a talk about her life and studies in Japan and how she now teaches prisoners how to meditate. She called me a fellow seeker

and I found that she was as tough as a bag of old nails. (That's a compliment).

Her work with prisoners was inspiring and resonates with me. I have a thing about creating the circumstances for failure and then being locked up for rising to the challenge. I've already had a lot of experience with Catholic nuns and other than her studies and practice in Japan, she struck me as quite similar in thought and manner to the many nuns I've already met or under whom I've studied. But she was quite lovely and, as I've said, I liked her work with prisoners. That's all.

I don't feel so bad now, as Nick called me 'a tough old Bird'...!!
....almost as good as
'She scrubs up nicely'....!!
Sorry....
Back on Topic....

I tried to volunteer here to do the same for young offenders in a remand centre, by going in and teaching them Qi Gong, but the authorities didn't want to play ball....

I shall perhaps try something similar if, as and when I return to the UK... they are more receptive there...
Not that I am in any way trying to draw favourable comparison with Sister Elaine, just saying I'd like to do similar.....

sharpiegirl

Rev Genryu.. I agree, there are those in the ministry that are 'Buddhist-like' (for a lack of a better term). I teach at a private Catholic school and the principal here is an example. Her demeanor and personality are beautiful.
Secondly, she sent us to a two day conference called, PEACE Begins With Me- Empowering Children to be Peacemakers. The two authors (one a Catholic nun) use a program referred to as H.O.P.E (The Holistic Orientation for Peace Education).
Each lesson begins with the teacher and children in a centering and prayer time. All of which are focused on air, breathing, nature and inner harmony. It is a beautiful program and I have found that benefits tremendous in my class. I started something called, "peace-Light". I explained that we all have a peacelight and it is up to us to make sure that it is 'burning bright'. This helps the younger ones recognize 'conscience' and the effect of their actions on others around them (karma).
Other exercises that Sister will do, such as the beginning of the school year, are very buddhist like...but in her mind, Jesus-like.

Nirvana

For Christians, Jesus Christ is the "Icon" of God. That is heterodox Judaism, since it breaks the commandment not to make any "graven Image."

My Question: How can somebody who grew up loving Jesus just STOP?

I will always love Jesus, and through Him, that "thing called God," whatever that is. I find myself of two minds. Though certainly opposed to the mentality that there's this "power" that will set things right, since I believe that to be a fairy tale, I still believe in a God in the Vedantic sense of a Supreme Being whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere.

Yet, at heart, I am a Buddhist.

Do I have real problems? (You have no obligation to be nice if you respond.)

MANY THANKS,

Nirvana (Curious Worker Bee)


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buddhafoot

Nirvana,

To me... I see a crossroad coming down between your Buddhism and Christianity. I'm not going to say anymore because you may find a way to do without having to think about what I've said.

If you find some way that allow the two to co-exist within you - then what the hell do you need an opinion from me? Just smack me upside the head and tell me to "shut it".

Best of luck, my friend.

-bf

Xrayman

Okay,
Nirvy, heres my 2 cents worth.

i think you may wish to be called a Christian Buddhist-nothing wrong with holding two philosophies. Although your priest may object....

Love Jesus and believe and test the validity of your beliefs in Buddha-it's really as simple as that.

I was raised a Christian, my wife a Catholic-yet we both practise a Buddhist approach to many things-she prays for help from her father (her dad-in heaven) and GOD, while I pray to Buddha's leading light.. whats wrong with that?

Don't give up loving Jesus/God/Holy sprit to persue Buddhist exploits-the two are not mutally exclusive.

love and I hope this helps!

zenmonk_genryu

Xrayman wrote:

Okay,
Nirvy, heres my 2 cents worth.

i think you may wish to be called a Christian Buddhist-nothing wrong with holding two philosophies. Although your priest may object....

Very true, but then Buddhism is not philosophy, it's something you do rather than believe in.

MartinofNorwich

Nirvana

I don’t suppose this helps but, perhaps like you, I’ve spent most of my life trying hard to believe in something I tried to call “God”. And I loved the way you put it: “A Supreme Being whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere”.

But I can’t get my head round what “God” would be. Isn’t “God” just a word, a label? Isn’t “being” the same? The more I try to think of something that is both “everywhere” and whose end is “nowhere”, the less meaning the concept I’m trying to imagine has, the more it resembles “nothing”.

If the Buddha’s teaching is to “let go”, I sometimes wonder if one of the things I need to “let go” of are the creeds I’ve attempted to believe in and the labels I’ve applied to things which I can’t get my head round. It may even be that the experience of those who have awakened is always the same, though always unique, but that each labels or communicates it differently according to their own language / upbringing so that to someone like me who is not awakened what is the same may sound different?

Or maybe I’m just confused. But I take comfort in Zenmonk G’s comment that Buddhism is something one “does”. So I’m trying to "do" it.

Martin.

refractorist

I grew up in a very Christian household and all of my family are still fervently fundamentalist Christians. But as I got old I stopped believing in god and rejected my Christianity. Then after I started practicing Buddhism I sort of went back to Christianity and realized that not only are all the ethical teachings the same but Jesus was a pretty swell guy. Even though I no longer believe he is the son of god I think he had a lot of great things to say and (if the gospels are to be believed) lived a life full of love and compassion.

As well I found talking about Buddhism using the language of Christianity to be a great way to relate to my family. Like:

The supreme teachers, the precious Jesus and Buddha,
The supreme refuges, the holy precious Gospel and Dharma,
The supreme guides, the precious Church and Sangha.

Keith

Brigid

Keith, my parents are both Catholic and I've had to do the same thing. You explained it very well. One of the things my parents don't understand is what Genryu explained; Buddhism is not something you believe, it's something you do. They practice their religion in a passive way, listening to masses and interacting only when appropriate, taking communion etc. But it's completely based on belief, not process. My doctor, who has helped me so much with my back injury, is a very smart guy. I was talking about my sense of existential claustorphobia, and he reminded me to stop thinking of myself as a being and try thinking of myself as a process. I live in a very small farming community and he's the only one here I can talk to about these things. Apart from you guys, I mean. The idea of process has really helped me. I can understand it and it helps me to relax my mind. And I'm thinking, I could be wrong, but I'm thinking that relaxation of my mind is what I need to get me going in the right direction.

federica

Somebody had a signature as 'work in progress'... I have even referred to myself as that.
We are not the same being we were yesterday... Tomorrow too, we shall be different... Neither better, nor worse, necessarily. Just different.
The important thing is to focus on what we are at the moment, and to develop that.

sharpiegirl

I could not just 'give up' loving Jesus! Regardless of faith, there is documentation that such a man existed and died for us...what a perfect act of loving-kindness!

I like the way it was worded by Rev. Genryu: Buddhism is something you do!
I also like knowing that one could be considered Christian-Buddhist! I haven't stopped attending Mass bit I have applied Buddhist teachings to my every day life. I haven't been happier!:cheer:

I will continue to learn more abot Buddha and who knows what will happen...

I like Keith's blending of the language too!! Thanks Keit!

Nirvana

Martin of Norwich wrote:

I don’t suppose this helps but, perhaps like you, I’ve spent most of my life trying hard to believe in something I tried to call “God”. And I loved the way you put it: “A Supreme Being whose center is everywhere and whose circumference is nowhere”.

That was Voltaire who said that, "God is a circle whose center is everywhere and circumference nowhere." However, unlike Martin, I always found belief in God and Jesus and Mary easy. What was hard for me were all the strange Calvinistic or super-Calvinistic notions that seemed the opposite of liberating. These notions were often of a nasty or threatening bent, and I distrusted them. To me, OVERSIMPLIFICATION of the Christian religion was a Falsification of it.

Martin of Norwich wrote:

But I can’t get my head round what “God” would be. Isn’t “God” just a word, a label? Isn’t “being” the same? The more I try to think of something that is both “everywhere” and whose end is “nowhere”, the less meaning the concept I’m trying to imagine has, the more it resembles “nothing”.

If the Buddha’s teaching is to “let go”, I sometimes wonder if one of the things I need to “let go” of are the creeds I’ve attempted to believe in and the labels I’ve applied to things which I can’t get my head round. It may even be that the experience of those who have awakened is always the same, though always unique, but that each labels or communicates it differently according to their own language / upbringing so that to someone like me who is not awakened what is the same may sound different?

Or maybe I’m just confused. But I take comfort in Zenmonk G’s comment that Buddhism is something one “does”. So I’m trying to "do" it.

We all have our own mental constructs and cognitive nuances, but the only significant difference betweem Martin and me that I can find in what Martin writes is the need to "let go" of the Creeds (I don't know about letting go of all my former labels.) For me, that is no problem. I take the creeds and other creed-like hymns AS HYMNS ONLY. If I recite them in a liturgical setting, I REALLY mean them whilst I recite them, but I mean them as poetry, as words pointing even beyond the things being sung of. In other words, the creeds are true at a certain level, but not at a higher level of truth.

:wavey: Thanks, everyone for your replies. Yea, and Buddhafoot, I'm been moving away from the church for a long time, while still trying to be a friend of the churches. Holy Communion, the Resurrection, &c don't mean very much to me anymore FOR PHILOSOPHICAL REASONS. However, I will always love Jesus, as Teacher and as the Incarnation (thinking of the Holy Infant & Christmas.), as Anglicanism (which has informed my adult years) has a marked incarnational approach to Christianity

I believe a Buddhist can be very respectful to people that hold fast to the Idea of God and would be able to engage in constructive dialogue with God-believers. Furthermore, a Buddhist could be able to use theistic language, but would more than likely try to focus on more practical things in his own personal faith than on the unprovable theological issues.

---

BAGGAGE is something we all have, especially the Treasure of our memories, many of them very beautiful and very dear.

Simonthepilgrim

Nirvana wrote:

..............................

---

BAGGAGE is something we all have, especially the Treasure of our memories, many of them very beautiful and very dear.

I make a difference between baggage and luggage. Luggage we pack ourselves, baggage we accrete from others.

federica

It doesn't matter what you call it, or from whence it came... you're still carrying it...

The point is -

How you carry it.....

Brigid

"The point is -

How you carry it....."

Aint that the truth though.

Jason

All,

The Weight of Mountains



Jason

Nirvana

Simonthepilgrim wrote:

I make a difference between baggage and luggage. Luggage we pack ourselves, baggage we accrete from others.

NICE CULTURAL EXCHANGE HERE, Esteemed Pilgrim!

In the USA you buy Luggage in a store, whereas Baggage is what you carry with you in your travels. We have LUGGAGE sections in department stores, sometimes next to MEN SWEAR.:winkc:

On the matter of luggage, though, I do not feel as though I "packed" my own memories... No matter in which manner they're instilled in me, most of them are real treasures. --Especially if these memories link me to other people, I should be happy indeed. WHY should I separate myself from my Christian brethren?

REAL EVIL is that which separates us from one another; REAL BEATITUDE is what makes us want to share ourselves, our fortunes, and our hopes with one another.

And, back to my point in my response to MARTIN OF NORWICH, I do not believe a Buddhist is necessarily prohibited from using Theistic concepts interiorly from time to time. N.B. I am not claiming that it's desirable in itself to have this baggage, just that one's being aware THAT he or she does carry it is not necessarily out of keeping with right view.

I believe a Buddhist should be very respectful to people that hold fast to the Idea of God and would be able to engage in constructive dialogue with God-believers. And, I repeat, that furthermore, a Buddhist could be able to use theistic language, but would more than likely try to focus on more practical things in his own personal faith than on the unprovable theological issues.
----

MBolden

Heheheheheh, most of the folks I know down that Valley Creek meditation center are Christian, them folks go there to do yoga and breath in and breath out. I asked if any of them are Buddhist, about half a dozen bald headed folks reply with a yes. What do you know, these folks are former Christian who I think are presently alienated with Christianity. My opinion is that I think they are fooled by a religion that promise them heaven but took them for a ride in materialistic hell, heheheheheh, so I think they 'hate' god now and join Buddhism.

I told them you can not find god in this pile of flesh or the suffering world, god is immaterial like the Divine Light. I told them to go re read the Gospel of Thomas and look at Jesus as the Light bringer to us sinners. I think Christianity go down after some doped up Christian preached the resurrection of the flesh. I do not think that is right. I talk to them former Christian and they told me that Buddhism teaches no-soul, what, I said. They Nirvana is when you die, you become nothing, what, I said. I answered them folks that my Buddhist teacher said that there is a version of the so call Buddhist 'god' and what you know, he said it is the Light mentioned in the Avatamsake Sutra. I be damn, heheheheheh, now I know I can be both Buddhist and Christian. Those old boys down that Valley Creek road are certainly mistaken, that is just my 2 cents.

Hellelujah
M Bolden

federica

heheheheheheheheh....

You can be a Christian and uphold Buddhist values, but you can't be a Buddhist and believe in an omnipotent Deity. Not to my mind anyway....

heheheheheheheheh..... :wtf:

Brian

M Bolden has been banned for signing up under multiple account names. NamThien2006 and m Bolden are the same person, and obviously this user's fake "kentucky type" is a complete joke.

federica

"heheheheheheh"....

Right you are.

Simonthepilgrim

federica wrote:

heheheheheheheheh....

You can be a Christian and uphold Buddhist values, but you can't be a Buddhist and believe in an omnipotent Deity. Not to my mind anyway....

heheheheheheheheh..... :wtf:

I love your optimistic naivety, Fede! People can believe anything! Afetr all, there are people who believe that we are at war to free some people somewhere. Believing in an omnipotent deity (or an impotent one for that matter) is no great stretch for people who believe what they read in newspapers or hear from pulpit, hustings and podium. Alas! Babylon the Great is fallen!

federica

Simonthepilgrim wrote:

Alas! Babylon the Great is fallen!

Naaaaah!! Now where did you read that - ?? !! ??:tongue2:

Simonthepilgrim

federica wrote:

Naaaaah!! Now where did you read that - ?? !! ??:tongue2:

You're right: I've had occasion to dip into John's Trip or the Book of Revelation recently. Do you think that GBII and his cohorts are trying to "immanentize the eschaton"?

buddhafoot

I was wondering why you were being so.... catty, freddie.

I saw you start off a post with "heheheheheheheheheh" and thought, "Wow!, she's being a total biatch!"

-bf

federica

Now u c why.....

all my words carry great and deep meaning oh Buddhacat......
all words have purpose, all shallowness depth, all height lowliness, all bulls**t roses....
besides, it's fun to heheheheheheheheheh.... it entails two keys in rapid succession, and says so much.....



I'll shut up now.


I'm getting carried away.

Or maybe....






I should be.

Brigid

M.Bolden, a.k.a. NamThien's last post creeped me out a bit. I kinda wish I hadn't read it. I feel a little queasy. Thanks for banning him, Brian.

Brigid

Jason

Fede,

See, I told you that he reminded me of someone familiar. I can smell b.s. a mile away. It's sad that people cannot simply be honest. Even if a person's views are a bit off the radar, I'm much more inclined to listen to them, and take them seriously, when the person offering those views is upfront. But, why humour someone who likes to play games by faking poor grammar and accents [poorly might I add]? I know I have no patience for such nonsense, and I'm glad you guys don't either.



Jason

Xrayman

I wish I was omni-potent.

Sorry.

Nirvana

You are all very perceptive in deciphering people, apparently... M Bolden came across to me as a young man with a sincere Cathar/Quaker/Thoreau-Emerson streak... I responded to his posts in kind on the thread Jesus and Buddha were teaching the same message. ..I, frankly, found Embolden refreshing, unlike his darker, more mischievous "side," NamThien2006.

Do you think I'm wacky, too? .. In October I took a tour of "Cathar country" in Languedoc and Catalunya, and I enjoyed so much talking to some of the locals about the old days and the old beliefs.

I think I'm gonna start a Michael Molinos thread, having to do with people who are/were spiritualist Christians. I think part of me will always be (nondogmatic) Christian, but that does not mean that I have to buy the whole package. How can I just throw away all my memories of what Jesus means and meant to me? We all pick and choose, and memory is very selective. I don't fit in to an Evangelical Christian Church, because I don't have any CLAIMS on or about Jesus, just recollections of things he said and did.

federica wrote:

You can be a Christian and uphold Buddhist values, but you can't be a Buddhist and believe in an omnipotent Deity. Not to my mind anyway....

I find myself agreeing to this, Federica, but, with Simon's input in mind, I find that I sometimes lapse into my old ways for minutes at a time. Call me inconsistent or demented, but it's like this... My father is an Episcopal priest, I have several friends, some priests, who are in the OCA (Russian Orthodox Church in America). And I love the Liturgy. And sometimes I go to church... Not just to support my father and friends, but because it's "going back home."

Now, please don't think that this means I'm not really aspiring towards a full understanding of and a fuller experience of the Buddhist experience and all that can entail. It's just that I have always had a keen sense of the Sacred, and know that to have a sacred experience is to have a re-visiting of an experience you've had before. In other words, I believe that all things are essentially spiritual and our quest is to find the divine in all; and that we cannot afford to turn our backs completely on that which has helped us along our way. My swami said perhaps it was my dharma to remain a Christian, but that I should follow my own bliss.

I have the Buddha in my heart, in my throat, and ringing in my ears.


With All Kind Regards to ALL,

Shalom,


Nirvana

---

Jason

Nirvana,

We like you just fine.

It makes no difference to me what you, or anyone else believes in. I definitely believe in everyone's freedom to choose what they wish to believe. What matters to me is how that belief is presented here. I only give people a hard time when I feel that they are being less than truthful, especially in reference to the Buddha's teachings. This is a Buddhist forum first and foremost. For example, if a person honestly feels that there is some permanent "self" in Buddhism, then they should give their reasons for believing such, except not in some poorly faked broken English, or an equally fake Kentucky accent [my uncle is from Kentuncky and I used to live there for God's sake.] Hell, I believe that I even know our good friend on E-Sangha as well, but I won't blow his cover there if it really is him...

Anyway, I personally love studying other religions. I don't think that there is anything wrong with exploring all of the possibilities out there. You name it, and I've looked into it. I have always been fascinated with the Bon Hommes, and their earlier Gnostic counterparts as a matter of fact. If I were ever to be [in the highly unlikey event] a Chrisitian, those would be the only two sects that I would even remotely seriously consider being a part of [too bad they were all wiped out...]. There are certainly many monastics that are worthy of respect and admiration. One doesn't have to be a "Buddhist" monk to have a good heart, and some wise words of wisdom to share. I just believe that it is only the "Buddhist" monks that can lead me to the end of suffering, and that is conviently what I am looking for.

In conclusion, I would like to say that you have always presented yourself respectfully, and even though I don't agree with all of your posts, I enjoy reading them. If NamThien2006/M_Bolden had done the same, I bet that he would still be here... or maybe he still is? In any case, I'm a bit jealous. I would have loved to take that tour as well. Perhaps you could share some of the details with us?

Peace be unto you.



Jason

Simonthepilgrim

Verdana,

I entirely relate to what you say: it is so close to my own position as to be deeply reassuring!

It was only in the last few years that I have really looked at my reasons for wanting to find common ground between the spiritual systems which attract me. Before that, I was only looking for commonality, against all the evidence presented for difference.

ECM

Hi everyone,
I have been away for a while, so I have missed many posts. So I was reading back posts, and found this thread. About God -- what is God? One of the books that influenced my thinking on this was Good Goats by the Linns. And the other was the Zen Teachings of Jesus, by Ken Leong. Great books reaching for liberation from views that are mired in culture, superstition, and old thinking. Sometimes we think we know what something means, but suddenly discover a whole new side, like jumping out of a box. God? The old man in the sky? I don't believe in it. God -- the light in the world, the glint in the otter's eye, the vibrancy of the mountains, a process in motion, the emptiness that fills the mind in meditation? We need new definitions of God.

federica

Christians may do, but Buddhists don't.

Nice to have you back ECM

zenmonk_genryu

Well said. What we need is no definition at all.

Bobby_Lanier

ECM wrote:

Hi everyone,
I have been away for a while, so I have missed many posts. So I was reading back posts, and found this thread. About God -- what is God? One of the books that influenced my thinking on this was Good Goats by the Linns. And the other was the Zen Teachings of Jesus, by Ken Leong. Great books reaching for liberation from views that are mired in culture, superstition, and old thinking. Sometimes we think we know what something means, but suddenly discover a whole new side, like jumping out of a box. God? The old man in the sky? I don't believe in it. God -- the light in the world, the glint in the otter's eye, the vibrancy of the mountains, a process in motion, the emptiness that fills the mind in meditation? We need new definitions of God.

I have found a huge difference between the God of the Old Testament and God or Theos of the New Testament. It seems like the God of the New Testament has changed from being an external nature god much like the gods of the ancient world to one of being a transcendent principle much like Tathagata in Buddhism. Although this remains a tentative assessment on my part, I can't help but see Christianity as a kind of Buddhist Judaism.

Presently, I am reading a book by Zacharias P. Thundy entitled Buddha and Christ: Nativity Stories and Indian Tradition, 1993. He points out many parallels between Christian and Buddhist/Hindu concepts which he finds embodied in both narratives. You may find the book interesting.

Love ya all,

Bobby

federica

This is why there is much to dispute the existence of Jesus Christ - definitely as one person (if at all) possibly as a composite of many people, and more probably as a personification of previous worshipped beings, mostly mythological. His story is preceded by very similar tales, and is more than likely a reworking of fables or allegorical and cautionary stories.

Will

Rosanne wrote:

Do Buddhists believe there is a God/Grand Creator?

Yes, we believe that there is a god who wrongly believes he is the Supreme Being.

He is called Mahabrahma in the following sutta. A bhikkhu is looking for the answer to a query among the lower devas or gods. They suggest that the Great Brahma will surely know the answer, so the bhikkhu deepens his meditation and asks the Great Brahma.

The pompous response of Great Brahma may have inspired the "Wizard" of Oz behind-the-curtain scene.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/digha/dn-11-tb0.html#bigbrahma

federica

Will wrote:

Yes, we believe that there is a god who wrongly believes he is the Supreme Being.

So in other words - no.

Brigid

Will wrote:

Yes, we believe that there is a god who wrongly believes he is the Supreme Being.

He is called Mahabrahma in the following sutta. A bhikkhu is looking for the answer to a query among the lower devas or gods. They suggest that the Great Brahma will surely know the answer, so the bhikkhu deepens his meditation and asks the Great Brahma.

The pompous response of Great Brahma may have inspired the "Wizard" of Oz behind-the-curtain scene.

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/canon/sutta/digha/dn-11-tb0.html#bigbrahma

When I came across this a few months ago I found it utterly fascinating. I'm glad you repeated it here, Will. I'm going to do a little more research into Mahabrahma and see where that takes me. It's so interesting.

Brigid

Will

federica wrote:

So in other words - no.

A plain Yes or No without explanation, is not what I meant.

Buddhists believe in (and some know) very powerful, very wise gods and the leader of them is considered by all the lower gods and much of the human race as the Creator & Supreme Being. The Creator figure is real and does exist and millions take refuge in him. Buddha and some sages in his lineage know this being.

However powerful & wise Mahabrahma is, he did not create the universe; he is not immortal, just very long-lived and he really cannot save his worshippers. He can grant blessings & boons, but he lacks the full wisdom, compassion & power of a Buddha.

So for those who believe in God, he is not a chimera; but he is still a deluded sentient being, a poor refuge and not what his worshippers think he is.

federica

But you're answering the question in a negative. The question asks whether Buddhists believe in a God, a grand creator. Given that Brahma is no such thing, even by his own admission, then the answer is no.