On Sat, Feb 28, 2009 at 9:47 AM, Jim Devine
<jdevine03@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Shane Mage wrote:
>> Why not call yourself a Buddhist? That's what "religious atheists" are!!
Not all Buddhists are atheists, since Buddhism seems to mix well with
most deist religions.
but there is no creator god (at least not one i'm aware of, and i admit buddhism is not my specialty), but the buddhist cosmology does have affinities with samkhya-yoga and vedanta cosmologies and metaphysics. but the universe simply comes into being rather than being created as a deliberate act by an ordering divinity. that's generally required in a deist framework, since that's the main or even only thing god actually does in a deist framework, the rest being up to us.
(I've heard that the original Buddha is part of
the Hindu pantheon.)
the Buddha is understood at least by some as an avatar of Vishnu (along the lines of Krishna and Rama).
Pure Buddhism, of course, does not seem to
require any god or gods.
Buddhism doesn't just "not seem to require any god or gods;" it doesn't. How you think of bodhisattvas, of course, makes this tricky, but still, in general, in the study of religion, Buddhism is the atheistic religion. even the beings called gods are not immortal or eternal, and while bodhisattvas can help you out (if you're in one of those traditions), at the end of the day, it's you who achieves nirvana.
At least, as I understand it.
--
Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own
way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
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