Buddha - God or Man

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Key Concepts Three marks of existence Skandha · Cosmology · Dharma Samsara · Rebirth · Shunyata Pratitya-samutpada · Karma
Major Figures Gautama Buddha Buddha's Disciples · Family
Practices and Attainment Buddhahood · Bodhisattva Four Stages of Enlightenment Paramis · Meditation · Laity
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Schools of Buddhism Theravāda · Mahāyāna Vajrayāna · Early schools
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The status of Buddha in the oldest buddhist scriptures of the Pali Canon and the Agamas is that he is a man, a Bodhisattva, who in his final rebirth, becomes "perfected". Of course, even the oldest Pali Canon has his "miraculous" birth from the side of Queen Maya. In some later scriptures of the Mahayana, however, he is sometimes regarded in acosmic monistic terms as the highest being of the Universe (see God in Buddhism). All schools of Buddhism agree that becoming a Buddha is the highest possible accomplishment for any being. However, this state of existence should not be confused with the concept of God, as the general definition of the term "God" refers to one who rules and created the Universe, a view which Buddha says is "wrong view" as Buddha taught that the universe was not created by any being, and that all beings make their own choices (karma). The root cause for what seems like the creation of the universe in Buddhism is not God, but "avidya" or ignorance. Attainment of Buddhahood is the end of this ignorance.

1 General
2 Theravada Buddhism: Buddha was a man
3 Mahayana Buddhism
4 See also
5 References

[edit] General

All schools of Buddhism maintain that a Buddha is one who has accomplished the highest possible level of spiritual attainment through his awakening (bodhi). Hence, a Buddha's status was understood to transcend that of any god(s) mentioned in Buddhist scriptures. That the historical Buddha was considered to be superior to these god(s) is illustrated by the use of the common epithet "a teacher of both gods and humans".

Although the Buddha is often characterized as the "Teacher of gods and men", there is ambivalence regarding his precise nature. There is some discussion of the nature of the Buddha in the Dona-sutta, though its conclusions are ambivalent and liable to sectarian interpretation.

However, Buddhism makes it clear, that anyone can, with effort and determination, become one of the three kinds of Buddhas.

However, what is generally known as the "Supreme Being" generally ascribed as the "Creator, omnipotent, omniscient" being concept prevalent in most modern religions (Brahma or Vishnu, YHWH, Allah) is questioned thoroughly in Buddhism. We must also keep in mind that there are mystical schools in many traditions in which the notions of a separate God are not considered valid, and the monistic notions of achieving union with the supreme being are there as well.

In Buddhism, these are all considered a "confusion of ideas", "a thicket of views". That ordinary men and women have the ability for perfection is accepted by most schools of Buddhism. In Buddhism, perfection is the complete removal of avidya or ignorance.

[edit] Theravada Buddhism: Buddha was a man

Theravada Buddhism holds that Buddha was a man -- a perfected man. It believes that when a Buddha lives, he lives like a human with the greatest supernatural powers (Digha Nikaya 11: Kevatta Sutta), and when he dies, body and mind come to an end. A Buddha does not experience rebirth after death, but experiences the attainment of Parinibbana (the ultimate Nirvana). There is thus an end to the life-continuity of rebirths succeeding one-another (this is one of the meanings of samsara). More concretely, the body and mind of a Buddha are impermanent and changing, just like the body and mind of ordinary people. A Buddha does recognize the unchanging nature of the Dharma, which is an eternal principle, and an unconditioned and timeless phenomenon.

[edit] Mahayana Buddhism

In the Mahayana tradition, in the Lankavatara Sutra, the Buddha makes it clear that he is or has become what ignorant people address as "God" (Ishvara), and he is known by a myriad of names (see "God in Buddhism), including those of Ishvara, Buddha, Nirvana, Reality (bhutata), and Eternity; however, a person with true knowledge understands the Buddha's true nature as the One Tathagata behind all these names and sees him everywhere, and himself becomes perfected as he, the Buddha, is. (See Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra, Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi 1999, orig. 1930, pp.353-354, by Dr. D. T. Suzuki). The sutra also stresses that the Buddha understands all things to be nothing but what is perceived by the mind.

In other Mahayana sutras (e.g. the Tathagatagarbha sutras), the physical Buddha manifested on earth is taught by the Buddha to be a kind of docetic Buddhic projection from the eternal and infinite Buddha in the realm of Nirvana. The physically visible Buddha is a temporary nirmanakaya (manifested body) which issues from the essential, deathless, omnipresent Buddha, the Dharmakaya, and does not constitute the Buddha in his ultimate and highest nature.

See God as Manifestation of the Mind