Buddha Believed In God

Buddha believed in God, the very same one in-fact which Christians, Muslims, and Judaists pray to every night. This statement is not as outrageous as it at first appears, and especially not after the true nature of God is revealed. Unfortunately for religion, it cannot show us the true nature of God, and unfortunately for us, this is something which we have to discover for ourselves. Buddha understood that a belief system hinders the path of self discovery, so he designed a philosophy which was not encumbered by one. The funny thing is, once we have learnt to let go of all our beliefs we eventually end up confirming the existence of God and its true nature, but now it is neither tied up nor weighed down by the ideals which we once imposed upon it.

Buddhist teachings do not deny(or confirm) the existence of God, but instead focus on emptiness. Everything else outside this emptiness is a mind created illusion. "Form is empty; emptiness is form," is a famous Buddhist mantra which illustrates that the Universe lacks inherent existence, and that it does not exist from its own side as 'Universe'. Essentially nothing would exist if you were not there to observe it. I am reading from the 'Heart of Wisdom' by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, and it reveals a blatant contradiction in Buddhist teachings. She writes, "In the case of rebirth as a human being, dependent-related birth refers to the the entry of a consciousness into a fertilised ovum in the mother's womb." Now remember, the Universe lacks inherent existence so if we discriminate using wisdom we realise that there's no such thing as birth, rebirth, human being, or fertilised ovum. This means there was no 'entry of a consciousness' because the consciousness was always there.

Consciousness cannot be negated using wisdom but through a process of internal reflection we are resolved to know only that it's there, and that it had to exist before everything else did. Consciousness is an all-encompassing empty awareness that we only ever have an idea about through experience. All this then reveals a profound truth about the Universe - it is devoid of inherent existence except for consciousness. Consciousness is the only thing to exist from its own side, regardless of whether a mind is present or not. Essentially then, Buddha has shown us that everything in the Universe is a mind created illusion, but fails to disclose that the only thing which is real is consciousness. Why? Because Buddha understood the religious implications of exposing consciousness as omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent; he undoubtedly thought it best to not mention it, and sold us the idea of reincarnation instead.

 Even though Buddha set the bar very high, some have attained enough wisdom to understand his deliberate mistake. The Zen school of Buddhism understands the overwhelming implications of the role of consciousness in our lives. Nothing would or could exist without consciousness. Consciousness is revealed as the Universe itself, and that this is the true nature of God. Zen Buddhists continue to dismiss the need for a belief in God, and exchange it for a more zealous relationship in the form of Divine Union or Samadhi. This is probably a good idea in comparison to other religous institutions which behold the importance of God, but fail to understand what it is.

Religions define God as the 'Three O's': Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Omnipotent; and about the only thing which can live up to this definition is the Universe itself. Maybe it's about time all religions gave up their incessant need to believe in God, and tried to develop a better understanding instead.