Do Buddhist believe in a GOD or an IDOL?

Answer 1

Buddhism is polytheistic. It has numerous deities.

Answer 2

Buddhists do not generally believe in God. Some do believe in Gods, but not a Supreme God like in most other religions.

Answer 3

"If a man could eliminate suffering by making offerings, paying homage and praying, there would be no one subject to suffering left in the world, because anyone at all can pay homage and pray. But since people are still subject to suffering while in the very act of making obeisances, paying homage and performing rites, this is clearly not the way to gain liberation."

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. 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.

Answer 4

Buddhists neither believe nor disbelieve in any higher power. Buddha is no god, he was a man and now he is dead and gone. When he reached Nirvana he severed himself from the Samara and ceased to exist, his soul was not reborn. He is not a god. He was also not fat, that is a Zen metaphor for happiness.

Answer 5

This is a really awesome website that would explain the whole religion: http://www.religioustolerance.org/buddhism.htm. It includes: "In its original forms, Buddhism did not teach of the existence of transcendent, immanent, or any other type of God, Gods, Goddess, and/or Goddesses. However, many Buddhists -- particularly in Japan -- do believe in a pantheon of deities."

Answer 6

Many diffrent Gods and Idols

Answer 7

"In its original forms, Buddhism did not teach of the existence of transcendent, immanent, or any other type of God, Gods, Goddess, and/or Goddesses. However, many Buddhists -- particularly in Japan -- do believe in a pantheon of deities."

Answer 8

it amazes one how we all have OPINIONS but so few facts.IN my "OPINION",buddhist just call the one GOD by a different name.If you say there is but one GOD how come YOU see GODS and gods everywhere???They worship buddha as "that"energy we call GOD,Doesn't that sound like a christian and their CROSS IDOL or the CULTISH worship of Mary???I am not critizing these methods of worship but rather the doing of them without proper understanding. The body of JESUS and buddha are idols unless you know they are literally one with GOD. I tell you they are with GOD, alive and well NOW.ONE SHOULD ALWAYS WORSHIP THE ONE GOD,CALL IT WHAT YOU WILL.

Answer 9

Buddhists follow a dead teacher.
They treat him as a god.

But there is only one God (Capital "G").
All other gods are not God.
Buddhism would therefore be properly classified as idol worship.

Answer 10

The Buddhists believe in a Idol.

Budda is still dead and his body worm food. His soul is in the heart of the earth (Ephesians 4:9).

Answer 11

Most Buddists are athiests... the buddah is just a symbol to them. Do Buddhist believe in god?

No. There are several reasons for this. The Buddha, like modern sociologists and psychologists, believed that religious ideas and especially the god idea have their origin in fear. The Buddha says:
"Gripped by fear men go to the sacred mountains,
sacred groves, sacred trees and shrines".

Primitive man found himself in a dangerous and hostile world, the fear of wild animals, of not being able to find enough food, of injury or disease, and of natural phenomena like thunder, lightning and volcanoes was constantly with him. Finding no security, he created the idea of gods in order to give him comfort in good times, courage in times of danger and consolation when things went wrong. To this day, you will notice that people become more religious at times of crises, you will hear them say that the belief in a god or gods gives them the strength they need to deal with life. You will hear them explain that they believe in a particular god because they prayed in time of need and their prayer was answered. All this seems to support the Buddha’s teaching that the god-idea is a response to fear and frustration. The Buddha taught us to try to understand our fears, to lessen our desires and to calmly and courageously accept the things we cannot change. He replaced fear, not with irrational belief but with rational understanding.
The second reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is because there does not seem to be any evidence to support this idea. There are numerous religions, all claiming that they alone have god’s words preserved in their holy book, that they alone understand god’s nature, that their god exists and that the gods of other religions do not. Some claim that god is masculine, some that she is feminine and others that it is neuter. They are all satisfied that there is ample evidence to prove the existence of their god but they laugh in disbelief at the evidence other religions use to prove the existence of another god. It is not surprising that with so many different religions spending so many centuries trying to prove the existence of their gods that still no real, concrete, substantial or irrefutable evidence has been found. Buddhists suspend judgement until such evidence is forthcoming.
The third reason the Buddha did not believe in a god is that the belief is not necessary. Some claim that the belief in a god is necessary in order to explain the origin on the universe. But this is not so. Science has very convincingly explained how the universe came into being without having to introduce the god-idea. Some claim that belief in god is necessary to have a happy, meaningful life. Again we can see that this is not so. There are millions of atheists and free-thinkers, not to mention many Buddhists, who live useful, happy and meaningful lives without belief in a god. Some claim that belief in god’s power is necessary because humans, being weak, do not have the strength to help themselves. Once again, the evidence indicates the opposite. One often hears of people who have overcome great disabilities and handicaps, enormous odds and difficulties, through their own inner resources, through their own efforts and without belief in a god. Some claim that god is necessary in order to give man salvation. But this argument only holds good if you accept the theological concept of salvation and Buddhists do not accept such a concept. Based on his own experience, the Buddha saw that each human being had the capacity to purify the mind, develop infinite love and compassion and perfect understanding. He shifted attention from the heavens to the heart and encouraged us to find solutions to our problems through self-understanding.
The whole problem with all of this is that the more one looks to himself, the miserable he becomes because within man dwells no good thing. ....just sin and misery....unless Christ dwells there... He fills the empty void.