If God created everything, who created God ?

[phillm]

The Buddha gave thought to this question - these were his conclusions and it follows if God doesn't exist then he cannot have been created.

The Buddha on God

Seven reasons why the existence of God is unacceptable

On occasions, he expressed his opinions about creation and the role of God. When Ananthapindika, a wealthy young man, met the Buddha at a bamboo groove at Rajagriha, the Buddha made a few statements before him about the existence of God and the real cause behind the creation of beings in this world. Those views are summarized as below:

1. If God is indeed the creator of all living things, then all things here should submit to his power unquestioningly. Like the vessels produced by a potter, they should remain without any individuality of their own. If that is so, how can there be an opportunity for anyone to practice virtue?

2. If this world is indeed created by God, then there should be no sorrow or calamity or evil in this world and no need for the existence of the principle of karma since all deeds, both pure and impure, must come from Him.

3. If it is not so, then there must be some other cause besides God which is behind him, in which case He would not be self-existent.

4. It is not convincing that the Absolute has created us, because that which is absolute cannot be a cause. All things here arise from different causes. Then can we can say that the Absolute is the cause of all things alike? If the Absolute is pervading them, then certainly It is not their creator.

5. If we consider the Self as the maker, why did it not make things pleasant? Why and how should it create so much sorrow and suffering for itself?

6. It is neither God nor the self nor some causeless chance which creates us. It is our deeds which produce both good and bad results according to the law of causation.

7. We should therefore "abandon the heresy of worshipping God and of praying to him. We should stop all speculation and vain talk about such matters and practice good so that good may result from our good deeds.

For such reasons, the Buddha did not encourage speculation on the existence of Isvara, (God) among his disciples. He wanted them to confine themselves to what was within their field of awareness, that is, to understand the causes of suffering and work for their mitigation. For the same reason, he discouraged speculation upon the nature of Nirvana.

 

[NoXion]

Bet you won't find a lot of Buddhists arguing against making donations to the local monastery etc, though.

 

[JimW]

Bet you won't find a lot of Buddhists arguing against making donations to the local monastery etc, though.

There's a classic study by Gernet on this:

And third, this translation of Gernet's book is timely in that it forces our attention back to the mundane details of Buddhism. It is still the case that many of our students encounter Buddhism in a quick survey course, or in idealized popular accounts that focus on the "great tradition" of doctrine, famous monks, and imperial sponsorship, and this is still a problem. Buddhism was part of the lives of millions in China, many of whom would have known little of elite practices and opinions. To see the tradition as a whole, it is necessary to take into account powerful, wealthy monasteries that owned animals and slaves, that regulated the lives of serfs and rented out land, that spent enormous sums on construction, art, fabrics, and eventually appropriated vast tracts of farmland. Monasteries owned and maintained (but did not operate) mills and presses, and, at least at Dunhuang, it appears that they provided nearly the entire supply of flour and oil to the region. They served as inns, shops, and pawnbrokers, and they loaned out both cash and grain (at rates ranging from zero to 50 percent interest). They also cared for the sick, provided medicines, distributed food to the poor, and welcomed visitors. Individual monks made loans, bought property, and worried about who would inherit their possessions. Monks also interacted with laypersons when they accepted offerings, performed services for the dead, practiced medicine and divination, and attended festivals and the popular torch-lit public vegetarian feasts. Laypersons were no doubt also impressed by monks who performed magic, miracles, exorcisms, and self-mutilations.

From Project MUSE - Buddhism in Chinese Society: An Economic History from the Fifth to the Tenth Centuries (review)

 

[articul8]

Some people on this threat would do well to watch this

 

[krink]

spread it on your healthy snacks