What do Buddhists believe on how the universe got here?

Question

I don't think it's addressed, I've read probably 4 different books on Buddhism and never saw a thing about it.

Skalite,

Yes, it does matter, ever heard of curiosity?

Answer 1

Although the Buddha did not address the issue of how the universe "got here," that didn't stop Buddhist philosophers from developing an extensive cosmology that describes both the structure of the universe and its origin. The link below will give you more information on this topic than you probably want.

Very briefly, Buddhist cosmology describes the universe as cyclical -- sequential universes arise and disappear over very long periods of time ("mahakalpas" -- a period of 4 "kalpas"). Each universe arises from a "primordial wind" and disappears through a great fire that destroys the entire universe. Then the process begins again.

A kalpa is sometimes described like this: Imagine a solid block of granite one cubic mile in size. Every year a dove flies by the cube and brushes it lightly with its wing. A kalpa is how long it takes for the granite to erode away from the dove's action. A long time...

Again, the Buddha didn't teach any of this...

Answer 2

As an atheistic religion, it does not believe in a creator. It teaches a range of beliefs about origins: That creation occurs repeatedly throughout time. At the beginning of each kalpa (cycle) land forms, in darkness, on the surface of the water. Spiritual beings who populated the universe in the previous kalpa are reborn; one of them takes the form of a man and starts the human race. Unhappiness and misery reigns. This is the interval that we are experiencing today. Eventually, the universe dissolves; all living creatures return to the soul life, and the cycle repeats.
Lama Shenpen Hookham of Buddhism Connect writes: "The Buddhist view is that everything emanates from the Primordial expanse of Openness Clarity Sensitivity and is illusionlike- never really coming into existence, but the illusion is created by infinite intricate connections that are not anywhere and not in time. Time and space are part of the illusion that is emanating from that Primordial expanse - so it is all very mysterious. From the Buddhist perspective there is no problem with life on earth having evolved somehow - but evolution is not in itself a full story or full account of life on earth. It leaves quite basic questions left unanswered. In a way one might want to argue that Buddhism is closer to creationism because our world is created by awareness - the awareness of the beings that inhabit it. Evolution only gives a kind of history of how that illusion unfolds.

Answer 3

It's not addressed. It's considered a question irrelevant to the Buddhist project.

Answer 4

Buddhists are supposed to live in the present. Trying to understand how everything came about would be distracting from trying to attain enlightenment.

Answer 5

Great question...


Is it addressed in Buddhism at all?

Answer 6

Buddhists couldn't care less-they are more focused on maintaining a healthful and peaceful life NOW.Therefore they don't have the problem of having to argue with religious nuts about how we got here...cuz who cares really-we're here aren't we?

Answer 7

There are many different theories, and many different Buddhists will give you different answers on it.

Me? I have no idea, but I trust the Physicists on this one.

Answer 8

Existence is an illusion. That is all I know about that particular subject.

Answer 9

I believe that they believe that it was over there, but now it's over here.

Answer 10

They are smoking hash in Tibet...so they are "too peaceful dude" to care.

they don't know is also an acceptablel answer.