What does the word ''Dharma'' refer to?
2006-07-09 18:03:14 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Not exactly. Monotheism means worship of one God. Buddha was most probably an agnostic. He was silent about the existence of God. So Buddhists do not worship any God like Christian and Muslims. The word "Dharma" in most North Indian languages mean religion but it originally meant Natural Law or Reality, and with respect to its significance for spirituality and religion might be considered the Way of the Higher Truths.
2006-07-09 18:10:26 · answer #1 · answered by avik_d2000 4 · 5⤊ 1⤋
Don't know about Dharma. But Buddhism from what I understand is more of a spiritual way of life, passed down from Buddha, or Prince Siddhartha - a real person known to have existed. You should do the research.
2006-07-10 01:07:34 · answer #2 · answered by ami 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Dhamma — The Teaching. The nature of reality;
We first need to distinguish two types of "god".
The first type is God as creator of the universe etc. This kind of God does not exist in Buddhism.
The second type is a divine or supernatural being, and of these one could simply say there are two kinds of gods in Buddhism:
Not all living beings live on planet earth, or would even be visible to us. One could say that these creatures live in different dimensions from us. See also 'Heaven and Hell' below. Some of these creatures experience because of their karma (past actions) almost exclusively happiness, and these are called Devas (Skt.) or gods. However, these gods are still within the cycles of uncontrolled rebirth and can be reborn in the 'lower realms' once their positive store of karma is exhausted.
If one defines a god as a supernatural being, one could say that a Buddha or an Arya being are "supernatural" in the sense that they are not bound to the same realms of cyclic existence as we are, and they are said to possess supernatural powers (siddhis).
A Buddha is said to know everything, but not omnipotent (all-powerful). The logical reasoning behind this last is that if a Buddha would be omnipotent, He/She would instantly remove suffering from the universe, because compassion for all sentient beings (wishing to free alll from suffering) is the main motivation to become a Buddha.
2006-07-11 05:41:47 · answer #3 · answered by sista! 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buddhism is not mono nor polytheist.
Dharma literally means the nature of all things or the truth underlying existence. In Buddhism contexts, it means the teachings of the Buddha to attain perfect enlightenment.
Pls refer to www.bswa.org.
2006-07-10 03:46:19 · answer #4 · answered by Puzzled 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As far as I understand, Buddhism is Atheistic, because there is no clear concept of God there. I am not quite sure about the meaning of "Dharma" in Buddhism. It can be truth, moral principles or duty.
2006-07-10 01:09:55 · answer #5 · answered by lalskii 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buddhism is polytheistic. They do not believe in One God, but in numerous deities.
It is often described as 'atheistic,' because Buddha did not believe in a Single Creator God. However, he did believe that numerous gods & goddesses existed--just that none were the Creator or the Supreme Ruler.
2006-07-10 01:14:26 · answer #6 · answered by clusium1971 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have read on a Buddhist website that their idea of God is called "the absolute".
2006-07-10 01:14:26 · answer #7 · answered by Life 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buddhism is a non-theistic religion.
2006-07-10 01:08:26 · answer #8 · answered by laetusatheos 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buddhism is an athiest religion, in that it does not have a "God" as such.
2006-07-10 01:07:47 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋