Gotama explicitly says he is not a god.1 Those who know about him only through some later Buddhist traditions can be forgiven for finding this surprising, since some cultures show him being worshipped like a god, & some later doctrines have him living in a heaven. But the being described in the earliest texts makes no demand that anyone believe him to be supernatural (nor does he argue against the existence of gods). Why is this important? Gotama’s goal is to relieve the stress & suffering of the human condition (dukkha). Clinging to anything, including metaphysical ideas like a godhead (or an atheism that denies gods), will cause suffering in the long run, because we hope this idea of power & benevolence will shield us from our fear of death. Having been born human, Gotama tells us, he escaped the world of conditioned (& fearful) human experience by doing away with all clinging: to sensual pleasure, to becoming, & to ignorance (of the true nature of what we are). Through mental training, mindfulness, & perseverance, the clinging of human delusion (avijjā, ignorance) & the dukkha of being human can be left behind.
anatta • culture • dukkha • language • sacred
- Dona Sutta, AN 4.36 ↩