Question asked by Al
catholic , jews and other religions believe that God created the world, the first story of creation, he created the heavens and earth then God said Let there be light and there was light then separated light from darkness etc etc etc .So my question is do Buddhist believe in God .He created everything and every one including Buddhas and Buddha Shakyamuni etc. but I don't hear or see it talking about God. can you help why Tsem Rinpoche don't talk about God maybe im wrong
Dear Al,
Thank you for your question. Buddhists do not believe in a creator God, we do not believe in an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God as other religions do. This is because Buddhists consider all beings that are within existence to be bound by the law of karma, and as such full of emotions and delusions. Existence is cyclic, with no beginning or end, where as other religions believe that God created the universe, therefore it has a beginning. As such, Buddhists do not believe that such a God created the Buddhas, etc. The Buddha arose from his own realisation of the nature of existence, as can we all arise in that state. When we reach that state, known as enlightenment, we transcend existence itself. That is the reason why Tsem Rinpoche does not talk about God, because Buddhists do not believe in such a God, but rather the transformation of our own minds to reach enlightenment. I hope this helps. Thank you.