Question asked by James
I am curious, did Buddha or anywhere in the scriptures mention the existence of God and Jesus in Christianity? Reason i ask the question is that i have read and seen many stories about 'satanist' or devil worshipers who at the time of sacrificing a human being so the devil can take their soul, have seen them be saved by an 'angel' or Jesus. Or upon calling Jesus's name have been saved. This leads me to believe if Jesus exist, then the devil must also, if their is a heaven then their must be a hell etc.
I think the bible says that Lucifer, (or the other names the devil goes by), rules this earth and the only way to be saved is through Jesus.
What are your thoughts?
Dear James,
Buddha has never talked about a creator God in the same way Christianity preaches. However, he did mention a type of existence in which we can take rebirth in, where we have absolute power and pleasure – the deva/god realm. However, this realm is not permanent and one who has taken rebirth there can still perish and take rebirth elsewhere as one is still bound by cyclic existence of death and rebirth.
Buddhists believe that for those who experience near death experience see an angel, Jesus Christ, Buddha, father, mother, loved one or God that comes at end of the tunnel is really a manifestation of our subtle mind. It is not real but a mental process that happens upon death and we are about to enter into the bardo or the intermediate state between death and rebirth. After that, it is our pulling karma that propels us to take our next rebirth.
Karma is the result of our actions and that is what creates all of the experiences we go through in this and future lives. The only way to save ourselves is to change our actions right now and to do this, we have to transform our mind. Hence, the Buddha gave detailed explanations and teachings of how to do this. There is no miracle quick fixes in Buddhism but there are very powerful and effective methods to purify karma and transform our mind.
I cannot comment on what some people perceive upon conducting certain rituals as the experience is uniquely their own but as human beings, we are prone to interpret what we see according to our views instead of what it really is. I hope this explanation helped you.
Thank you.