Buddhism and the Gods
Buddhism and the Gods
Since earliest times, people have prayed to various gods. In the caves of our ancestors you can find idol statues, figurines and religious devotional objects.
It was always a matter of speaking to a "god". Praying has always been talking to a "higher authority".
In the course of the changeful history there were thousands of gods, often the deity even resembled each other, repeated the characters and characteristics (e.g. the different "sea gods").
Often armies faced each other in wars, the respective priests prayed for the victory of their troops.
Gods came and gods went, according to the spirit of the times and the taste of the people.
You can also pray to a "fish head" if you only believe in it.
Buddhism is completely different here. It is not about the search for a bringer of salvation, a figure from outside, but about the striving for "enlightenment" (according to Buddha, the solution for this lies within us).
No god, no person, no one can bring us this state, only we ourselves can search for it, within us, not outside.
THIS QUOTE SEEMS TO COME FROM THE HISTORICAL BUDDHA:
WHAT IS THE POINT OF PRAYING TO GODS? IS IT NOT FOOLISH TO BELIEVE THAT ANOTHER CAN BRING US BLISS OR MISERY?
WHEN YOU TALK TO GOD, YOU ARE RELIGIOUS. WHEN GOD TALKS TO YOU, YOU ARE INSANE.
- DR. GREGORY HOUSE - FICTIONAL DOCTOR IN A US TELEVISION SERIES
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