When most people hear the word “religion”, they immediately think of revelation, miracles, immortality of the soul, and of course, God. Buddhism, however, sees these things as fruitless at best or pernicious delusions at worst. For instance, in the case of miracles, the Buddha on many occasions taught that while it was possible to attain miraculous powers through the practice of meditation, these were to be viewed as mere side effects and were certainly not to be cultivated as ends in and of themselves nor were they to be used to attract others to the Dharma. In the Kevaddha Sutta of the Digha Nikaya, for instance, a householder named Kevaddha came to the Buddha and suggested that if some of the monks would display miracles, then the people who lived in the area would have even more faith in the Buddha. “The Lord replied: ‘Kevaddha, this is not the way I teach Dhamma to the monks, by saying: “Go, monks, and perform superhuman feats and miracles for the white-clothed lay-people!’ ” (The Long Discourses of the Buddha, p. 175) The Buddha went on to explain that the display of miracles such as bodily transformations like flying or becoming invisible or mental powers like telepathy would only impress those who already believed while at the same time causing skeptics to dismiss the Dharma as a collection of cheap magic tricks. For that reason the Buddha says, “And that is why, Kevaddha, seeing the danger of such miracles, I dislike, reject and despise them.” (Ibid, p. 176) The Buddha then teaches Kavaddha that the only legitimate form of miracle is the miracle of instruction. “And what is the miracle of instruction? Here, Kevaddha, a monk gives instruction as follows: `Consider in this way, don’t consider in that, direct your mind this way, not that way, give up that, gain this and persevere in it.’ That, Kevaddha, is called the miracle of instruction.” (Ibid, p. 176)
In the Patika Sutta of the Digha Nikaya a monk named Sunakkhatta comes to the Buddha and announces that he is going to leave the Sangha. When asked why he is choosing to quit the following discourse occurs:
“Well, Lord, you have not performed any miracles.” “And did I ever say to you: ‘Come under my rule, Sunakkatta, and I will perform miracles for you?” “No, Lord.” “Or did you ever say to me: ‘Lord, I will be under your rule if you will perform miracles for me?” “No, Lord.” “Then it appears, Sunakkhatta, that I made no such promises, and you made no such conditions. Such being the case, you foolish man, who are you and what are you giving up?
“What do you think, Sunakkhatta? Whether miracles are performed or not – is it the purpose of my teaching Dhamma to lead whoever practices it to the total destruction of suffering?” “It is, Lord.” “So, Sunakkhatta, whether miracles are performed or not, the purpose of my teaching Dhamma is to lead whoever practices it to the total destruction of suffering. Then what purpose would the performance of miracles serve? Consider, you foolish man, how the fault is yours.” (Ibid, pp. 371-372)
In his book, Buddhism: It’s Essence and Development, Edward Conze sums up the Buddhist teaching in regard to miracles and psychic powers:
Although psychic abilities are inseparable from a certain stage of spiritual development, they are not in all cases beneficial to the character or the spirituality of the person in whom they manifest themselves. There is much danger in psychic manifestations: conceit may be further increased; one may search for the power and lose the kingdom and the glory; one may expose oneself to contact with forces which demoralize. On the whole, the attitude of the Buddhist church during the first millennium of its existence seems to have been that the occult and the psychic are all right as long as one does not take too much notice of them, and exhibits them as a kind of cheap stunt to the populace. One day the Buddha came across an ascetic who sat by the bank of a river, and who had practices austerities for 25 years. The Buddha asked him what he had got out of all his labor. The ascetic proudly replied that now at last he could cross the river by walking on the water. The Buddha tried to point out that this was little gain for so much labor, since for one penny the ferry would take him across. (pp. 84-5)
As for belief in an immortal soul or in God, these are also criticized as part of the problem and not part of the solution from the Buddhist point of view. The modern Theravadin scholar-monk, Dr. Walpola Rahula, states the Buddhist position in regard to God and the soul in the following blunt manner:
Two ideas are psychologically deep-rooted in man: self-protection and self-preservation. For self-protection man has created God, on whom he depends for his own protection, safety and security, just as a child depends on its parent. For self-preservation man has conceived the idea of an immortal Soul or Atman, which will live eternally. In his ignorance, weakness, fear and desire, man needs these two things to console himself. Hence, he clings to them deeply and fanatically. (What the Buddha Taught, p. 51)
Dr. Rahula’s approach may, in part, be a reaction to the arrogance of Western missionaries who assume that authentic religion must of necessity deal with the worship of God and the salvation of one’s immortal soul. His statement certainly makes it clear that from the Buddhist point of view these two concepts are actually forms of selfish clinging that must be discarded if one is to authentically practice the Buddha Dharma. Shakyamuni Buddha, however, was more tactful in his approach to the theistic brahmins of his day. Furthermore, it should be made clear that the Buddha did not dogmatically deny the existence of the soul or of God. The Buddha’s real concern was to liberate people from attachment and clinging, including the subtle forms of clinging that are involved in any kind of conceptual belief system.
A detailed discussion of the Buddhist teaching of selflessness will appear later in the article on the Human Condition. At this point, suffice it to say that the Buddha’s critique was against the Brahmanical concept of the Atman, the idea that there is a permanent True Self hidden beneath the appearance of the phenomenal self. The Buddha would show that not only was this illogical, it actually led to even greater self-concern and self-preoccupation, while at the same time leading people away from the reality of the true nature of phenomena and into the abstractions of an other-worldly transcendence. The Buddha is careful, however, to point out that there is a provisional or conventional self, which arises and ceases in accordance with causes and conditions. It is this “self” which will suffer or enjoy the effects of its own deeds. It is this “self” which alone can take responsibility for its actions. Finally, it is this “self” that must take up the eightfold path in order to gain insight into its own conditioned nature and thereby become free of selfhood.
God receives a little better treatment by the Buddha. Whereas the concept of the self or of an immortal soul is specifically denied by the doctrine of anatman or “no-self,” union with God is treated as a legitimate though lesser goal for those who are unable to transcend their theistic assumptions about the goal of the religious life. Once again, the God that is being referred to is the Brahma of the Vedas, who is viewed as eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, the creator of the world and morally perfect. Shakyamuni Buddha, however, teaches that this understanding of the nature of God may merely be a matter of perspective. He explains this in connection with his critique of those who believe that Brahma is eternal while all else is only transitory in theBrahmajala Sutta:
‘There are, monks, some ascetics and Brahmins who are partly Eternalists and partly Non-Eternalists, who proclaim the partial eternity and the partial non-eternity of the self and the world in four ways. On what grounds?
‘There comes a time, monks, sooner or later after a long period when this world contracts. At the time of contraction, beings are mostly born in the Abhassara Brahma world. And there they dwell, mind-made, feeding on delight, self-luminous, moving through the air, glorious – and they stay like that for a very long time.
‘But the time comes, sooner or later after a long period, when this world begins to expand. In this expanding world an empty palace of Brahma appears. And then one being, from exhaustion of his life-span or of his merits, falls from the Abhassara world and arises in the empty Brahma-palace. And there he dwells, mind-made, feeding on delight, self-luminous, moving through the air, glorious – and he stays like that for a very long time.
‘Then in this being who has been alone for so long there arises unrest, discontent and worry, and he thinks: “Oh, if only some other beings would come here!” And other beings, from exhaustion of their life-span or of their merits, fall from the Abhassara world and arise in the Brahma-palace as companions for this being. And there they dwell, mind-made, … and they stay like that for a very long time.
‘And then, monks, that being who first arose there thinks: “I am Brahma, the Great Brahma, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, the All-Powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be. These beings were created by me. How so? Because I first had this thought: ‘Oh, if only some other beings would come here!’ That was my wish, and then these beings came into existence!” But those beings who arose subsequently think: “This, friends, is Brahma, Great Brahma, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, the All-Powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be. How so? We have seen that he was here first, and that we arose after him.”
‘And this being that arose first is longer lived, more beautiful and more powerful than they are. And it may happen that some being falls from that realm and arises in this world. Having arisen in this world, he goes forth from the household life into homelessness. Having gone forth, he by means of effort, exertion, application, earnestness and right attention attains to such a degree of mental concentration that he thereby recalls his last existence, but recalls none before that. And he thinks: “That Brahma, … he made us, and he is permanent, stable, eternal, not subject to change, the same for ever and ever. But we who were created by that Brahma, we are impermanent, unstable, short-lived, fated to fall away, and we have come to this world.” This is the first case whereby some ascetics and Brahmins are partly Eternalists and partly Non-Eternalists. (The Long Discourses of the Buddha, pp. 75 – 77)
Now the Buddha may not actually have intended for this story to be taken literally. It may be that some of the Buddha’s teachings were actually a good-humored ways of making an important point, and in this case the joke is on Brahma. The point here is that if Brahma or God is conceived as a being among beings, then he will be subject to the same law of causation as all other beings. Even as the preeminent or first being among beings, God is still a part of the process and cannot be apart from it. All of God’s transcendent qualities, then, are simply ironic. They are simply false assumptions based upon a limited point of view. Of course, there are far subtler concepts of God that are not addressed by this story. What of God’s omnipresence, what of the God who is conceived of as the cosmic process itself or what of the God who is Being itself and not any particular being? These issues are addressed in the Upanishads, which discuss Brahman, the impersonal Godhead, rather than the straw-God who appears throughout the Buddha’s teachings as the haughty but deluded ruler of the heavens and creator of the world who in the end is simply a fellow disciple of the Buddha along with all mankind. However, even in the case of those subtler and more sophisticated concepts, one is still left clinging to concepts and the idea of some kind of entity who can be distinguished in some manner from ordinary phenomena. So, once again, one finds that God has been reduced to a being among beings.
As a being among beings who is also caught up in the round of birth and death, Brahma also must be considered in need of the Buddha’s instruction despite his pretensions. The Buddha illustrates this point in the Kevaddha Sutta to the aforementioned miracle-seeking layman Kavaddha by telling the story of a monk who wished to know where the four great elements of earth, air, fire and water cease without remainder. In the story the monk uses his power of mental concentration to travel to the various heavens in order to find someone who can answer his question. Eventually he is referred to the Great Brahma, who mysteriously appears preceded by a radiant light. Instead of answering the question, the Great Brahma tries to awe the monk into silence saying, “Monk, I am Brahma, Great Brahma, the Conqueror, the Unconquered, the All-Seeing, All-Powerful, the Lord, the Maker and Creator, the Ruler, Appointer and Orderer, Father of All That Have Been and Shall Be.” (Ibid, p. 178) The monk, undaunted, calls his bluff and insists on receiving an answer to his question. At that point, Brahma literally pulls the monk aside so that the other celestials will not overhear and admits the following:
“Monk, these devas believe that there is nothing Brahma does not see, there is nothing he does not know, there is nothing he is unaware of. That is why I did not speak in front of them. But, monk, I don’t know where the four great elements cease without remainder. And therefore, monk, you have acted wrongly, you have acted incorrectly by going beyond the Blessed Lord and going in search of an answer to the question elsewhere. Now, monk, you just go to the Blessed Lord and put this question to him, and whatever answer he gives, accept it.” (Ibid, pp. 178-179)
Upon taking his inquiry to the Buddha, the Buddha gently chides the monk for wasting his time by seeking answers in the heavenly realms and then informs him that there is a better way of asking his question.
“Where do earth, water, fire and air no footing find?
Where are long and short, small and great, fair and
foul – Where are `name-and-form’ wholly destroyed?
“And the answer is:
“Where consciousness is signless, boundless, all-luminous,
That’s where earth, water, fire and air find no footing,
There both long and short, small and great, fair and
foul – There `name-and-form’ are wholly destroyed.
With the cessation of consciousness this is all
destroyed.” (Ibid, pp. 179-180)
Brahma, then, is not merely the victim of delusion in this story but is actually portrayed as a deliberate charlatan who is aware of but hides his limitations. Once again, the conclusion is that miracles, heavenly journeys and dealings with God are fruitless and cannot compare with the insight of the Buddha. Once again, one wonders if this story were intended to poke fun at an actually existing God, or merely at the popular conception of God and those who claim to represent him.
In any case, the Buddha was also sharply critical of the brahmins and their Vedic learning who claimed to teach the way to union with Brahma. In the Tevijja Sutta the Buddha meets two young brahmins who are confused by the conflicting opinions in regard to the way to achieve union with Brahma. To resolve their doubts the brahmin Vasettha asks the Buddha his opinion in regard to the conflicting truth claims. The Buddha, however, gets Vasettha to admit that none of the supposed authorities or founders of the various traditions had any real knowledge of what they were talking about. Now it could be objected, both by Vedantists and other theists that the founders of the various God centered religions did, in fact, have personal contact with God. In the end, however, it must be admitted that even this is a matter of faith. In the final analysis, the theistic teachings are based on hearsay and are not themselves able to give direct knowledge of God.
‘So, Vasettha, not one of these Brahmins learned in the Three Vedas has seen Brahma face to face, nor has one of their teachers, or teacher’s teachers, nor even the ancestor seven generations back of one of their teachers. Nor could any of the early sages say: “We know and see when, how and where Brahma appears.” So what these Brahmins learned in the Three Vedas are saying is: “We teach this path to union with Brahma that we do not know or see, this is the only straight path, this is the direct path, the path of salvation that leads one who follows it to union with Brahma.” What do you think, Vasettha? Such being the case, does not what these Brahmins declare turn out to be ill-founded?’ `Yes indeed, Reverend Gautama.’
‘Well, Vasettha, when these Brahmins learned in the Three Vedas teach a path that they do not know or see, saying: “This is the only straight path…”, this cannot possibly be right. Just as a file of blind men go on, clinging to each other, and the first one sees nothing, the middle one sees nothing, and the last one sees nothing – so it is with the talk of the Brahmins learned in the Three Vedas; the first one sees nothing, the middle one sees nothing, the last one sees nothing. The talk of these Brahmins learned in the Three Vedas turns out to be laughable, mere words, empty and vain.’ (Ibid, pp. 188-189)
The Buddha then compares the learned brahmins to those who fall in love with a woman they have never seen, or to those who build a stairway for a palace that has not been built or to those who try to cross a river by calling out to the other bank in the hope that it will come over to them. With these similes, the Buddha points out to the young brahmins the foolishness of trying to achieve union with a God that no one has ever known or seen for themselves, or of trying to teach methods to attain something whose existence is only speculation or of trying to achieve transcendence through the mere chanting of mantras and supplications without trying to transform themselves so as to be worthy of the goal. The Buddha then teaches the young brahmins the value of purifying their minds, renouncing the householder’s life and the practice of the four divine abodes that were taught to the Kalamas. In this way, one may be united with Brahma at death by embodying the qualities of Brahma while living and thus becoming worthy of that goal.
The Buddha Dharma itself, however, is able to take those who follow it far beyond even the divine realms. For the Buddha had realized that even the divine states of being were phenomenal and subject to the same shortcomings as all other forms of phenomenal existence as we shall see in the following chapters. So, while union with God is looked upon as a worthy and attainable goal, it is not the final goal, for only the peace of nirvana can provide true peace according to the Buddha.