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Is Consciousness another word for God?

tbornottb?tbornottb?
edited March 2010 in Buddhism Basics
Many Buddhists believe that the universe started with consciousness and exists because of consciousness. If that it true, then is Consciousness another word for God?

Comments

  • JeffreyJeffrey Veteran
    edited March 2010
    Maybe to some people thats how it would seem. But the Christian bible would not be consistent with that conception. Most people in the west who believe in God are referring to those specific biblical beliefs.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    edited March 2010
    "Many Buddhists believe"....?

    Many more don't have a clue, and frankly, don't care to speculate.
    In fact the Buddha told us not to.
    He said it was enough to drive you nuts.
    So, it's not really important.
    Consciousness is exactly that. Consciousness.
    It's not god, or anything else, for that matter.
    It is what it is.
    Leave it at that.
    Why speculate, when there are so many more important and pressing things to consider?
  • BrotherBobBrotherBob
    edited March 2010
    No begining, all is dependent origination - consciousness and god are merely labels ascribed to imagined objects/phenomena.
  • NamelessRiverNamelessRiver Veteran
    edited March 2010
    Many Buddhists believe that the universe started with consciousness and exists because of consciousness.

    That is not a buddhist concept as far as I know. That is a misinterpretation of Yogacara tenets. We are discussing this on the Virus thread though.
  • RayfieldNeelRayfieldNeel
    edited March 2010
    I certainly don't hold that belief, and with every passing year I worry less and less about whether there is a God, or about knowing the history of the universe. :)

    Consciousness is a tricky word, even within Buddhism, IMO.
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited March 2010
    tb or not tb? wrote: »
    Many Buddhists believe that the universe started with consciousness and exists because of consciousness. If that it true, then is Consciousness another word for God?
    I would say definitely not. 'God' may be another word for consciousness but consciousness is definitely not another word for 'God'.

    Consciousness is something real whereas 'God' is a thought manufactured by the human mind.

    Consciousness is sense awareness. It is defined clearly in Buddhism & a very straightforward matter.

    :)
  • Fran45Fran45
    edited March 2010
    The term God has so many associations that it is probably not a useful one in Buddhism.
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited March 2010
    'God' is a sign of not discerning profound realities clearly.

    I can remember the first time my mind tasted deep peace and a sense of salvation in meditation.

    Afterwards, I looked to the mountain before me and whispered 'thank you god'.

    These words were just from childhood conditioning. 'God' came from the imagination.


    :)
  • tbornottb?tbornottb?
    edited March 2010
    Jeffrey wrote: »
    Maybe to some people thats how it would seem. But the Christian bible would not be consistent with that conception. Most people in the west who believe in God are referring to those specific biblical beliefs.

    Thanks for your answer. I wasn't limiting the definition of God to the Christian concept, I was leaving it open. But then, when the definition is left open, God can mean so may different things to so many different people that no two people are ever talking about quite the same thing. I think consciousness is a better word become it's more specific (even though I don't really understand it - I'll just have to keep practising meditation).
  • BrotherBobBrotherBob
    edited March 2010
    yup
  • tbornottb?tbornottb?
    edited March 2010
    federica wrote: »

    Why speculate, when there are so many more important and pressing things to consider?

    I think you're right....but sometimes I speculate anyway.
  • tbornottb?tbornottb?
    edited March 2010
    NamelessRiver wrote: »
    That is not a buddhist concept as far as I know. That is a misinterpretation of Yogacara tenets. We are discussing this on the Virus thread though.

    I was reading the virus thread, wishing I knew more about philosophy :)
  • tbornottb?tbornottb?
    edited March 2010
    Fran45 wrote: »
    The term God has so many associations that it is probably not a useful one in Buddhism.

    I agree. But I couldn't help thinking that if the universe started with consciousness and exists because of consciousness, then that sounds like God.
  • NamelessRiverNamelessRiver Veteran
    edited March 2010
    Consciousness is something real whereas 'God' is a thought manufactured by the human mind.
    'God' is a sign of not discerning profound realities clearly.

    I think these type of posts, along with the "Christians are this and that" posts are rather offensive and unnecessary.
  • BrotherBobBrotherBob
    edited March 2010
    Except, I imagine, the premise 'the universe started with consciousness' is an error.

    Our awareness/perception of what we've imagined and labelled 'the universe' started with conscious.
  • upekkaupekka Veteran
    edited March 2010
    consciousness is the tainted mind

    we have been trying hard to find a method or methods to clean it

    to get just the MIND back :)
  • RichardHRichardH Veteran
    edited March 2010
    When Buddhists have the urge to grasp an absolute, it is usually "Pure consciousness" or "pure awarenes" or something along those lines. In the popular culture Buddhism tends to be seen as having that view.
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited March 2010
    NamelessRiver wrote: »
    I think these type of posts, along with the "Christians are this and that" posts are rather offensive and unnecessary.
    Then you have something to work on if you take "offense" so easily.

    :)
  • upekkaupekka Veteran
    edited March 2010
    upekka wrote: »

    to get just the MIND back :)

    hmm..

    true, it is a poor expression

    well

    try to upgrad it

    Get rid of greed, hate and delusion within the mind

    or

    Let go of greed, hate and delusion

    or

    Let go of delusion     (then greed and hate will look after themselves)
  • StephenStephen
    edited March 2010
    tb or not tb? wrote: »
    Many Buddhists believe that the universe started with consciousness and exists because of consciousness. If that it true, then is Consciousness another word for God?
    The question of whether the universe "started"/began at all is not proper or helpful in pursuit of Nibbana. The Buddha said not to speculate on such questions as "Is there a God? Did He create the universe? Will the universe end?" .

    What's funny is that someone I know believes that the Christian "God" split his own consciousness up and that we are all a part of Him. Whatever I say, there's no way to disavow someone of a belief that can not be either proven nor disproved. So, best not to speculate or else we move from Buddhism to something else.
  • jinzangjinzang Veteran
    edited March 2010
    The usual distinction we make between inside (this is my body and is me) and outside (this is the rest of the world and is not me) is an error, not because all is consciousness, but because the we superimpose a sense of I where there is none. When this sense of I is overcome, I am told that the sense of awareness becomes coextensive with the world. This is the state of infinite consciousness mentioned as one of the levels of dhyana. When experiencing states like this, it is easy to fixate on them and think that one has seen the unity of mind, God, and the universe. But the truth lies beyond that, in fact, beyond any conceptual ideas of what you are or the universe is whatsoever. So, no, it is not the Buddhist view that consciousness is God or that consciousness creates the universe. These views are regarded as fixations.
  • pegembarapegembara Veteran
    edited March 2010
    The Conscious Universe: Where Buddhism and Physics Converge / B. Alan Wallace

    Physicists have long assumed that the universe is fundamentally composed of matter and energy and that life and consciousness are accidental byproducts of configurations of matter. But a growing number of distinguished physicists are now suggesting that consciousness may play a much more fundamental role in nature than scientists previously believed.

    In this lecture Alan Wallace will review some of the most provocative theories presented by such leading physicists as John Wheeler, Stephen Hawking, and Andre Linde that challenge many of the materialist assumptions based on outdated 19th-century physics. And he will discuss how these theories may relate to Buddhist theories and practices, including those of the Theravada, Mahayana, and Dzogchen traditions.

    http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma12/buchmed.html


    Why is there life in the first place?
    Why do life forms have similar sense organs, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin and nervous system?

    Is it the universe becoming aware of itself?

    Interesting and mind boggling questions. Is science going to provide answers?
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