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Heloo:
http://www.astronomy.net/forums/god/messages/12303.shtml......How do you resolve your thinking from the original teaching of the Buddha that there is no god?
Religions of the world vary in accordance with the differences of people. However, the origin of religion itself can be found in the feelings shared by all men. The most primitive form of religion was worship of a god or gods representing the forces which causes natural phenomena and in which most of religions today practices this kind of beliefs.
So long as nature changed fairly normally, man was able enjoy its creature power and benefits. However, when nature rhytm grew violent, man found nowhere to turn in order to escape calamity. Ancient poeples variouly regarded this as an expression of their god's anger or as the work of a diabolic, destructive god, who opposed their god their benevolent god.
Through continued speculation, amn postulated a chief god reigning over all gods who controlled natures individual phenomena. In many cases, the chief god was originally a god who had ruled a specific phenomenon. For example, in the Greek and Norse mythologies the chief gos was the first god of thunder.
The same is said of Yawheh in Judaism which both Christinity and Islam descended from it. Yawheh was originally the god of thunder and later became the chief god of for the Jews. Furthermore this God was eventually condedered to ne an absolute and transcendental God and finally the only God, denying the existence of any other gods. This led to the formation of cosmogonic myth that god's will and work created the universe and all existence in it.
Thus, whether it is one God or many, they are thought of as the controlling forces of nature and MAN. With the establishment of communnities some gods became symbols of the power or supremacy specified groups to streghten the groups authority.
In contrast with this, a Buddha is a person who has sent introspective wisdom into the depths of his Life and discovered the eternal truth therein. Buddha is man himself. Whereas god-oriented religions man can never be a. In Buddhism, teachings us that man can become a Buddha. Buddhism is the body of teaching which the ENLIGHTENED ONE expounds in order to enable all poeple to become Buddhas.
Buddhism teaches that Buddhahood is the Ultimate goal for man to attain; however, it does not deny or exclude the concept of "god" per se.
Characteristics of the Buddha is the wisdom which he realizes the ultimate truth of life and the universe. Buddhism describes "gods" as beneficial powers in social and natural suroundings which work to protect people, not as supernatural being controlling man, especially those practicing Buddhism correctly.Buddhism calls this power "good fortune".
Buddhism teaches that all life is interrelated. Through the concept of "dependent origination," Buddhism holds that nothing exists in isolation, independent of other life. The Japanese term for dependent origination is engi, literally "arising in relation." In other words, all beings and phenomena exist or occur only because of their relationship with other beings or phenomena. Everything in the world comes into existence in response to causes and conditions. Nothing can exist in absolute independence of other things or arise of their own accord.
Shakyamuni used the image of two bundles of reeds leaning against each other to explain dependent origination. He described how the two bundles of reeds can remain standing as long as they lean against each other. In the same way, because this exists, that exists, and because that exists, this exists. If one of the two bundles is removed, then the other will fall. Similarly, without this existence, that cannot exist, and without that existence, this cannot exist.
At its essence, this interconnectedness transcends passivity and is dynamic, holistic and generated from within. More specifically, Buddhism teaches that our lives are constantly a synergy of the internal causes within our own life (our personality, experiences, outlook on life and so on) and the external conditions and relations around us. Each individual existence contributes to creating the environment which sustains all other existences. All things, mutually supportive and related, form a living cosmos, a single living whole.
The Ultimate truth or true reality (true entity) of all phenomena is that each possesses latent potential (nature and power) and an openness to change (internal cause, relation, latent effect and manifest effect). Moreover, each is a self-consistent whole. Phenomena depend upon each other, are open to each other, yet remain consistent and unified. The "Expedient Means" (second) chapter of the Lotus Sutra restates the principle of the true entity of all phenomena as: "Phenomena are part of an abiding Law, / that the characteristics of the world are constantly abiding" (LS2, 41). The "characteristics of the world" (all phenomena) are the manifestation (true entity) of the abiding Mystic Law.
To speak of discovering the true entity "behind" phenomena might give the impression that the Law exists somewhere apart from the phenomena. This is definitely not the case. Phenomena and their true entity are always inseparable. The Buddha observes the true entity as it manifests through phenomena and correctly perceive that the true entity exists only as the phenomena. They certainly do not exist separately.
To illustrate, if phenomena, which are constantly changing, are likened to waves, then the true entity is comparable to the ocean. Waves are produced by the ocean, and wave crests consist of sea water. Conversely, there is no ocean that does not manifest as waves. The two are one in essence.
There is an old Chinese saying, "A single fallen leaf signals the arrival of autumn." Seeing a single leaf fall, we may know that autumn is here. We might call the falling leaf "all phenomena" and autumn their "true entity."
The autumn that we cannot see (true entity) reveals itself in the single falling leaf (all phenomena) that we do see. All phenomena are manifestations of the true entity. At the same time, the true entity is never manifested anywhere but in all phenomena.
Again, if the true entity is likened to the surface of a mirror, then phenomena would be comparable to the images appearing therein. The mirror reproduces all kinds of things as images. There is no mirror that does not reflect images as long as there is light. Conversely, there could be no reflected images without the mirror.
From the standpoint of life, "all phenomena" means individual lives, and "true entity" refers to the truth of life-which pervades the universe-that the Buddha perceives. The Buddha perceives the universal life in even the smallest living manifestation.
To put it another way, all living beings are entities of the Mystic Law to which the Buddha is enlightened, and the Buddha perceives that they are inherently endowed with the Buddha nature.
The vision that enables the Buddha to perceive the true entity that manifests in all phenomena is also the eye of compassion to save all people and enable them to become Buddhas.
Metaphorically speaking, perhaps we can explain this best in contemporary terms by saying that "all phenomena" refers to each individual existence of life, while their "true entity" constitutes one great cosmic life force. Each of these infinite number of lives, governed by "the cause and effect of the material and spiritual aspects of life," plays an infinitely diverse melody of life. It may seem superficially as if each plays its own random and independent melody, but that is only a partial view. In fact, the truth is that each of those melodies combines together to perform in a single great symphony called the Mystic Law. While each individual melody has its own internal consistency and is whole and complete in its own terms, each also is an indispensable part of the great symphony of cosmic life known as the Mystic Law.
Also, To the Buddhist, all things are "phenomena." All matter is nothing more than form, comprised of a union of its parts. For example, water has its own constituent elements, which under certain conditions combine to form a refreshing drink. It is now known that this view accords perfectly with the scientific fact that water is basically a combination of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom per molecule.
Buddhism explains that all forms are comprised of constituent elements, which, uniting, give rise to phenomena, and separating, cause the dissolution of phenomena. Moreover, these elements themselves prove on analysis to have no fixed or absolute existence. This, too, accords with the findings of modern science. It follows that ultimately no phenomena in the world can be perfectly grasped according to currently prevailing concepts of "existence." For example, the bonding which enables molecules, atoms or nuclei to "exist" is something which itself does not fit within the category of existence. This is what the concept of non-substantiality(ku or sunyata) means. All things are formed from elements that are ultimately non-substantial in nature and through bonding that is also non-substantial. These then appear as transient phenomena in the state of temporary existence (ke), or constant flux. However, non-substantiality and temporary existence are not contradictory concepts. The internal nature of a single phenomenon comes under the heading of ku, and its surface or visible aspects can be thought of as ke. All phenomena have the two aspects of non-substantiality and temporary existence. Even the most highly complex phenomenon of all, human life, is a temporary combination of basic elements which at their essence are in ku, the potential state that cannot be defined as either existence or nonexistence.
If one tries to grasp phenomena with just these two truths of non-substantiality and temporary existence, everything, including human life, appears transitory, with no absolute or fixed existence of its own. It seems that all the workings of the entire universe are mere happenstance. This presents a challenge to the prevailing perception of reality. According to the law of chance, it would be perfectly plausible for significant numbers of human beings to be born with three, four or even five arms. However, human beings have common qualities and characteristics unique to their species, which are clearly different from those of other living beings. The key to this selective differentiation is the concept of the Middle Way (chu)
The truth of the Middle Way is that all phenomena are characterized by both non-substantiality and temporary existence, yet are in essence neither. The Middle Way is the essence of continuity which is either manifest or latent. Together, temporary existence, non-substantiality and the Middle Way are called the three truths (santai), an effective means to understand accurately all phenomena in the universe.
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