A soul is considered to be something at our core that is single, independent, and unchanging. It remains one of the most perplexing unexplained mysteries of the universe. 1) We are born and reborn again and again because we don't know the true nature of reality that there is no animal, person, self, he, she, or we. Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed from the doctrines of the Buddha, a teacher who lived in northern India between the mid-6th and mid-4th centuries BCE. Atheism in Buddhism, Jainism ... that can be reborn, they do not believe in a divine creator. Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed from the doctrines of the Buddha, a teacher who lived in northern India between the mid-6th and mid-4th centuries BCE. Buddhism and Jainism evince a shared belief in the existence of geographical regions beyond the parameters of Bharatavarsha, access to which could not be gained by ordinary human beings. But if we understand what dukkha is (first noble truth), where it comes from (second noble truth), have some confidence we can get rid of it (third noble truth), taking up the path to do so makes complete sense (fourth noble truth). The above question is unrelated to Buddhism, which concerns itself with how consciousness partakes in the origination of suffering. How can you determine the result of a load-balancing hashing algorithm (such as ECMP/LAG) for troubleshooting? There is no supreme force with some sort of independent agency. While Buddhism does not argue that gods don’t exist, gods are seen as completely irrelevant to those who strive for enlightenment. So in our particular case, the reason we, mankind, still exists is because the conditions to our existence, the 3 unwholesome roots of greed, hatred, and ignorance, still exist. Buddhism has played a central role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life of Asia, and, beginning in the 20th century, it spread to the West. Buddhism teachings state that the world is in a constant state of Samsara, meaning the continued repetition of birth and death. There’s no one who’s going to do it for us, no place we can hide out for safety. Another answer you could give, looking through the lense of the teachings of dependent origination, is that all our experiences are fundamentally caused by unawareness (or ignorance, avidya in Sanskrit). Also read this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/ir9p5t/the_big_picture_according_to_buddhism_and_how_it/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share. We don't have to practice it. As yet we don't have hard evidence that other universes exist. this not an anwser but my point of view. 54. Thanks for contributing an answer to Buddhism Stack Exchange! But don’t be fooled. 2500 years ago Buddha himself said, "I teach suffering, its origin, cessation and path. When the Big Bang occurred, equal parts of both should have been … ‘Religion’ is a broad term which today can include a range of beliefs including Christianity, Buddism, Islam and even the pursuit of other types of spirituality that aren’t associated with a belief about God. Because it is said that the cycle of life is suffering. Theravada Buddhism: The School of the Elders. are some subjects that prevent me from reaching the truth... then why the supreme lord/ universe created these sins in the first place? Depends on how one wants to slice and dice the realms: could be 3 (sense-desire, form, and formless), or 6 (hell, affliced spirits, animal, human, asuras, deva), or 31... Why are the 16 Unwise Reflections (“shall I exist in future” etc.) It’s not really fair or even meaningful to equate attachments and there forces to sin. Stack Exchange network consists of 176 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. But Buddhism does not teach there is no existence at all. The various schools of Buddhism understand nirvana in different ways, but they generally agree that nirvana is not a place. does not occur to one. Anatta represents all that exists outside the Self or other than the Self. The way Buddhism posits it that there are results/symptoms of ignorance. With the fast pace and high stress of modern life many people are becoming interested in the peaceful philosophy of Buddhism. It only takes a minute to sign up. are some subjects that prevent me from reaching the truth... then why the supreme lord/ universe created these sins in the first place? — In Propositional Logic. Theravada, the School of the Elders, is the oldest school of Buddhism. How do I properly tell Microtype that `newcomputermodern` is the same as `computer modern`? The Angry Buddhist. In this view, even to reflect on the question of whether one has or does not have a self leads to identification with a self, or perhaps an identification with nihilism. While Buddhism is a tradition focused on spiritual liberation, it is not a theistic religion. ... ceases to exist. Why is there free will? Due to this ignorance, by the process of dependent origination, the whole mass of suffering happens. Due to no God, your question has no basis to stand. Instead, there will only be mental & physical 'elements' (dhatu) rather than 'existence'. We simply are. Buddhism: An Introduction. It's encouraging to think we might be important workers helping some kind of Ultimate Glory Being, but there's no basis for such a belief. But when one Not knowing the 4 noble truths. This is unawareness of how things really are, of what we actually are. Nobody makes us. As a human being, I feel my body. So in our particular case, the reason we, mankind, still exists is because the conditions to our existence, the 3 unwholesome roots of greed, hatred, and ignorance, still exist. You should read up on the 4 noble truths first if you're learning Buddhism. I heard an interview with Rigdzin Shikpo awhile back where he told about asking that question of Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche. Buddhism encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on original teachings attributed to the Buddha and resulting interpreted philosophies. The religion of Buddhism has a very different approach to that of Catholicism, in which the main goal of followers of the Buddhist faith is to escape the suffering which exists in the world. This paper explains the Buddhist concept of suffering (dukkha) and its relation to the Christian problem of evil.Although there is no problem of evil in Buddhism, the Buddhist understanding of the origin and causes of suffering will help us to find new approaches to the problem of evil. IN the beginning, two chapters the teachings clearly say that there are some 7-8 maaras (or sins) that come in the form of lust, hunger, thirst, mocking the supreme, harming others, anger, ignorance of self, sloth, doubts and negative emotions are few sins I Can remember. Please share your views on this. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Why do electrons jump back after absorbing energy and moving to a higher energy level? So in a coconut shell if all the conditioned phenonminon were to uproot negative stimulus ..greed ..anger so forth then we would cease to exist, strange !! it's a quest. In Buddhist teaching, the reason Samsara exists is that people fixate on themselves and their experiences. But depending on what we're actually talking about, you could give a Buddhist reply: Whatever we experience as "ourselves" and "our environment" now, we experience because the causes and conditions for that are there. Why now do you assume 'a being'? The first gives rise to many ethical problems. [27] Buddhism is Not Controversial . Why is only intentional action considered as Karma, which gives rise to corresponding consequences? Essentially, Samsara is life on earth, filled with sorrow and pain. That's all I teach” (BBC, 2009). Let me explain.

The Buddhist doctrine of no-self is not a nihilistic denial of your reality, or that of your friends and relatives; instead, it is a middle way between such a nihilistic denial and a reification of the existence that you do have. We obtain oil through refinement, or we might say through purification, yet what we get was always there. 1) We are born and reborn again and again because we don't know the true nature of reality that there is no animal, person, self, he, she, or we. And as long as one has not completely uprooted them, s/he will continue to wander in Samsara's 6 realms of existence. And who's or what's purpose would it be, given that all existence has been sacrificed to achieve that purpose? The Buddha himself rejected the idea of a creator god, and Buddhist philosophers have even argued that belief in an eternal god is nothing but a distraction for humans seeking enlightenment. Why do we exist? Buddhism is famous for being the one major world religion with the most followers which is not a God based religion. How could God allow tragedy? Only Christianity offers satisfying answers for all of these important questions. The Buddha taught that humans suffer because we continually strive after things that do not give lasting happiness. https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/ir9p5t/the_big_picture_according_to_buddhism_and_how_it/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share, https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/search?q=why+do+we+exist&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all. And we only screw it up by skinning our own knees. Or, because Buddhists do not solicit for followers. Buddhism has played a central role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life of Asia, and, beginning in the 20th century, it spread to the West. I thought there is no "Me", I thought that the purpose of Buddhism was to let go of identity. A better question is: why should we exist? Buddhists Believe in Reincarnation. It’s just useless thinking. Would it break things to allow a Barbarian to cast spells in rage? Re: Why do we exist? Ex-cop in Breonna Taylor case accused of sex assault With about 470 million followers, scholars consider Buddhism one … We simply are. We have taken rebirth in samsaric bodies due to our karma and afflictions. In terms of 'physical life', this comes from the elements & from mother & father. However, the Buddha also said that anything we might say or imagine about nirvana would be wrong because it is utterly different from our ordinary existence. Three months later, on September 1st, the game was released and featured the line in full (shown below, right). Although there is no problem of evil in Buddhism, the Buddhist understanding of the origin and causes of suffering will help us to find new approaches to the problem of evil. The only way to transcend the state of relativity and experience the state of absoluteness, is to understand, grasp and experience the nature of dependent-origination. How do you decide when to stick up for yourself and when to let things go? The first one isn't good, the second one is. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. No more.• Again, the above question is unrelated to Buddhism. That's just an ego story. More specifically, I argue (1) that the concept of evil can be interpreted in terms of dukkha; (2) that the existence of suffering or dukkha is necessarily inevitable for finite beings, given the metaphysical structure of the world and … Ultimately, our experiences are directly or indirectly the fruit of our karmas, our intentional actions. He said there can't be any purpose because if there were, each moment would be prostituted to the next. But particle physicists are gaining more confidence in a result from an atom smashing experiment that could be a step toward providing an answer: We exist because the universe is full of matter and not the opposite, so-called antimatter. The typical answer is because he allows free will. Socrates says we know a particular truth and yet we accept the universal truth without any questions asked. occur to one. Why is there chaos and order? All beings strive to avoid pain, and to experience joy. God,souls and matter have existed for all eternity and will continue to exist for all eternity(in monistic schools,the soul merges with God during Salvation,but in this case,the soul was never non different from God anyway). Sin is a very Abrahamic concept that does not equate to the forces that keep us within suffering. Just like to know for balance of reality. You could equally have asked: Why do stones, and trees… the earth, the universe exist? And our existence is part of a long chain of creation which is probably infinite. With delusion of self, comes hate on things which creates unpleasant feelings. We are free, in a sort of fundamental sense. 2500 years ago Buddha himself said, "I teach suffering, its origin, cessation and path. It comes from ignorance and it causes a state of suffering and dissatisfaction. Which is perhaps why I fell into an acute depression at the age of 27, and didn't recover for several years. When to stick up for yourself and when to let go of identity your question has basis. & physical 'elements ' ( dhatu ) rather than 'existence ' 2009 ) who strive for enlightenment the next School... Strive for enlightenment go of identity that can be reborn, they do not solicit for followers not to... Continually strive after things that do not solicit for followers answer is he. Of Buddhism because we continually strive after things that do not believe in a divine creator state the... 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