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A response I wrote to this conversation http://community.livejournal.com/buddhists/1593516.html?nc=52&style=mine
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buddhists
The original post had to do with the poster being surprised at how many people in the community seem NOT to believe in God, and asked about views on reincarnation.
One of the things I love most about (at least my understanding of) Buddhism is that it appears that it is COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT whether there is a god or God or gods. That is, whether an individual believes in some form of deity or not has no bearing on Buddhism. I have seen discussion that if there are gods, then they are stuck in samsara too, and the "goal" of buddhist practice is to reach nirvana and STOP reincarnating...ending the cycle. (Views of sects vary widely though, and I know other flavors of buddhism may well disagree on any of these things.)
I have always been agnostic on whether deity exists. The concept of deity and/or a pantheon is obviously comforting to many people. However, I have yet to see any evidence it is a necessary condition for anything. (I am thinking of Douglas Adams' proof of the non-existence of God: involving the Babel fish being so useful that it's a "dead giveaway" that God exists, proof denying faith, and God disappearing in a puff of logic ;-)
Again on reincarnation, I am totally agnostic. Maybe there is literal reincarnation. Maybe there isn't. I see no proof of it, nor do I see it as necessary to explain anything about the world. Why does it matter to you? Should you change your behavior depending on whether reincarnation is actually occurring? Well, I don't think so. I think that being the best you you can be is the highest form of activity whether you get to try again or get some kind of reward or are just done after this round.
in
buddhistsThe original post had to do with the poster being surprised at how many people in the community seem NOT to believe in God, and asked about views on reincarnation.
One of the things I love most about (at least my understanding of) Buddhism is that it appears that it is COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT whether there is a god or God or gods. That is, whether an individual believes in some form of deity or not has no bearing on Buddhism. I have seen discussion that if there are gods, then they are stuck in samsara too, and the "goal" of buddhist practice is to reach nirvana and STOP reincarnating...ending the cycle. (Views of sects vary widely though, and I know other flavors of buddhism may well disagree on any of these things.)
I have always been agnostic on whether deity exists. The concept of deity and/or a pantheon is obviously comforting to many people. However, I have yet to see any evidence it is a necessary condition for anything. (I am thinking of Douglas Adams' proof of the non-existence of God: involving the Babel fish being so useful that it's a "dead giveaway" that God exists, proof denying faith, and God disappearing in a puff of logic ;-)
Again on reincarnation, I am totally agnostic. Maybe there is literal reincarnation. Maybe there isn't. I see no proof of it, nor do I see it as necessary to explain anything about the world. Why does it matter to you? Should you change your behavior depending on whether reincarnation is actually occurring? Well, I don't think so. I think that being the best you you can be is the highest form of activity whether you get to try again or get some kind of reward or are just done after this round.
