乾县铁佛寺移动版

QUESTION: But so many people believe in some form of god, it must be true.

ANSWER: Not so. There was a time when everyone believed that the Earth was flat, but they were all wrong. The number of people who believe in an idea is no measure of the truth or falsehood of that idea. The only way we can tell whether an idea is true or not is by looking at the facts and examining the evidence.

QUESTION: Some people say that the evidence is everywhere. They say that the beauty of nature and the complexity of the human body are all evidence of a higher intelligence and a loving creator.

ANSWER: Unfortunately this idea breaks down as soon as you look at the other side of nature - leprosy bacteria, cancer cells, parasitic worms, blood-sucking insects and plague  rats.  Why  would  a  higher  intelligence  design  things  that  cause  so  much misery and suffering? Then stop to consider how many people die or are injured    in earthquakes, droughts, floods and tsunamis. If there really is a loving creator, why does he create such things or allow them to happen?

If I became a Buddhist I would be all alone in the universe.  People who believe in some god can always call upon him to help and protect them when they

have a crisis. I think this is a much more comforting belief.

People who believe in a god think that that they are being helped or protected. But actually they are not, because there is no god. The comfort and confidence they might feel has come from their belief, their mind, not from anything a deity has done for them. There is no evidence that people who believe in a god have less accidents, live longer, have lower rates of cancer, do better in the exams, are richer or are different in any other way from people who do not believe in a god. A jumbo jet can carry 600 passengers. If one crashes, as occasionally happens, all 600 people die, those who believe in a god and those who don’t. When the tsunami struck in 2004 it killed 230,000 people, and amongst the dead were Christians, Muslim, Hindus and others who believe in a god, and Buddhists who don’t.

All  of us  have  the  psychological  resources  and  the  intelligence  to  deal  with  the difficulties of life. We should try to develop and strengthen these resources rather than rely on pleasing but unfounded beliefs.

QUESTION: So if you Buddhists don’t believe in gods, what do you believe in?

ANSWER: We do not believe in a god because we believe in humanity. We believe that  each  human  being  is  precious  and  important,  that  all  have  the  potential  to develop into a Buddha – a perfected human being. We believe that human beings can outgrow ignorance and irrationality and see things as they really are. We believe that hatred, anger, spite and jealousy can be replaced by love, patience, generosity and kindness.

We believe that all this is within the grasp of each person if they make the effort, guided and supported by their fellow Buddhists and inspired by the example of the Buddha. As the Buddha says:

‘No one saves us but ourselves,

No one can and no one may.

We ourselves must walk the path,

But Buddhas clearly show the way.’ Dhp.165

4.   THE FIVE PRECEPTS

QUESTION:  Other  religions  derive their  ideas  of  right  and wrong from the commandments of their god or gods. You Buddhists don't believe in a god, so how do you know what is right and wrong? (责任编辑：admin)