Single Idea 7600

[catalogued under 29. Religion / C. Spiritual Disciplines / 3. Buddhism]

Full Idea

The Buddha believed implicitly in the gods because they were part of his cultural baggage, but they were involved in the cycle of rebirth, and would eventually disappear; the ultimate reality of Nirvana was higher than the gods.

Gist of Idea

The Buddha believed the gods would eventually disappear, and Nirvana was much higher

Source

report of Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) (reports [c.540 BCE]) by Karen Armstrong - A History of God Ch.1

Book Reference

Armstrong,Karen: 'A History of God' [Mandarin 1993], p.42


A Reaction

We might connect this with Plato's Euthyphro question (Ideas 336 and 337), and the relationship between piety and morality on the one hand, and the gods on the other.

Related Ideas

Idea 336 Is what is pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because they love it? (the 'Euthyphro Question') [Plato]

Idea 337 It seems that the gods love things because they are pious, rather than making them pious by loving them [Plato]