How can a Buddhist be an Atheist?

Question

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Two of the answers from this post stated that they were Buddhists and Atheists. Could someone explain how one can be of a particular religion but not believe in any God?

Please vote for the response that best accurately answers this question.

Answer 1

They believe in the teachings of buddha.
They dont believe in a theist god.
Theist God implies a god that is all-powerful, benevolent, and will interfere with our lives every now and then. Nota deist god. Very different.

So thats your answer.

Anyway, for that matter, Buddhism is less a religion ("this is God. Pray to him") as a philosophy ("this is how to live your life to avoid getting karma.")

Answer 2

It's a small world indeed to the illiterate christian . Some Buddhist deify Buddha but the Theravada Buddhist definitely don't .A conservative branch of Buddhism that adheres to Pali scriptures and the nontheistic ideal of self-purification to nirvana and is dominant in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

Answer 3

Buddhism is a non-theistic religion, meaning the existence or non-existence of God or gods is not addressed and considered irrelevant to the Buddhist project of eliminating suffering.

Because of this, people who lack a belief in God or gods (atheists) can be Buddhists without any contradiction.

Answer 4

Menon and others have got it. Buddhism doesn't fundamentally have any gods. It is not a religion in the Judaic-Christian-etc form. It's a mind-training process. However it allows for followers or students at different levels of insight. So it has a suite of mental models of gurus with particular associations with specific mental states, such as compassion, loving kindness, and so on. So students can use these, along with images of the original Buddha, in meditation to empathize with particular attitudes or experiences. Similarly there is the "doctrine" of re-incarnation, which acts as a motivation for living well, or "creating good karma", and for pursuing insight through meditation (NOT medication!). As the teachings migrated, these principles were seen as "Gods and devils", and doctrine, by simple people unused to pure intellectual pursuit, who often piggy-bagged familiar deities etc (as happened with Christianity, too). And that was how they were often translated by ignorant Westerners accustomed to supernatural "Gods" etc. Thus Buddhism was often presented as nihilistic, a rejection of life as a "vale of tears" (Christians, again). This is totally misleading, in fact. As I know it, it is both a total embrace of life, and a discipline of letting go (including of one's guru). It is also a training in identifying potential illusions, avoiding delusions, observing one's self and others, and the world without preconceptions - and thereby hopefully acquiring real insight. So, for all its icons and symbols, it is fundamentally atheist. And all the better for it, say I. Try it, but choose your teacher carefully. Sadly there are many half-baked Westerners with inappropriate baggage.

Answer 5

first of all Buddhism is a non religious way of life

secondly Buddha was a real life human being, in other words that makes him not a god. So if Buddhists are believing in Buddha as their deity there's your atheism right there

Answer 6

Buddhism, in it's original form, is an atheist philosophy. Long after the Buddha had passed away and his teachings had spread through Asia, was he made a deity, and against his wishes at that.

Answer 7

there's no belief in a monotheistic god. i don't think buddhists are atheist tho. they believe in a absolute transcendental reality that is void of form, is all powerful, everywhere and impersonal.

Answer 8

They don't have a god. Thats why. Go learn about the religion. Religion doesn't require a god.

Answer 9

buddha isnt a god.

Answer 10

You cannot, your skepticism is warranted. People who say they are Buddhists and Atheists are really just generic followers of Eastern Philosophy. I think they think people will assume their smart at dinner parties.