hence men and women only need look inward for deliverance. "Since Buddhism does not have a God, it cannot have somebody who is regarded as God's prophet or messiah."[16] Buddhism, then, is:
atheistic practically speaking,
agnostic, in that most Buddhists don't really care if a supreme God exists (irrespective of the polytheism of later Buddhism),and
anti-theistic in that belief in a supreme Creator God as in Christianity is something evil because it prohibits personal liberation.
We now turn to a discussion of Buddhist and Christian philosophy where these ideas and their implications are seen more fully.
Notes
For a description of these in more detail see Richard A. Gard (ed.), Buddhism (NY: George Braziller, Inc., 1961), pp. 106-167.
F.L. Woodward, trans., Some Sayings of the Buddha (NY: Oxford University Press, 1973), pp. 124-125.
Alexandria David-Neel, Buddhism Its Doctrines and Its Methods (NY: St. Martin's Press, 1977), p. 25; Charles Prebish, "Doctrines of Early Buddhists," in Buddhism: A Modern Perspective (ed.), Charles S. Prebish (University Park & London: Pennsylvania University Press, 1975), p. 30.
The Teaching of Buddha, p.88.
Ibid., rev., 1988, pp. 84-104.
See e.g., T.O. Ling, A Dictionary of Buddhism: A Guide to Thought and Tradition (NY: Charles Schribners' Sons, 1972), pp. 96-97.
Ibid., pp. 156-158.
Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary (Colombo, Ceylon: Frewin and Company, Ltd., 1972), pp. 105-107.
The Teaching of Buddha, p. 112.
J.N.D. Anderson (ed.), The World's Religions (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdman's Publishing Co., 1968), p. 124. See the Dhyayitamushti-sutra quoted in The History of Buddhist Thought, Edward J. Thomas, (London: Reutledge and Kegan Paul Ltd, 1975), p. 223.
Edward J. Thomas, The History of Buddhist Thought, p. 218. He cites, Sutta-Nipata 1119; Majjhima 121, 122 Samy. iv, 54; the two Prajnaparmita-hrdaya-sutras, etc.
Edward Conze et al. (eds.), Buddhist Texts Through the Ages (NY: Philosophical Libary, Inc., 1954), p. 212 citing Lankavatara Sutra, 90-96.
Ibid., pp. 215-216 citing Asanga Mahayanasamgraha II, 27, including Vasubandhu's comments.
TB, p. 86.
Hendrik Kraemer, The Christian Message in a Non-Christian World (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publ., 1977), pp. 174-175, 177.
Walt Anderson, Open Secrets, A Western Guide to Tibetan Buddhism (NY: Viking Press, 1979), p. 23.
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