Actually, Buddhism isn't really atheistic as in denying a creator God. More, "non theist" in the sense of not affirming a creator God. Not agnostic either.
(Phrase coined by Trungpa Rinpoche)
This expresses it rather well:
GOD LIKE REALMS AND BEINGS
Buddhists also often accept the possibility of "god like" beings of various sorts.
So there are many beliefs that Buddhists may have or traditions also. They believe in these much as we believe in other people, or animals, or birds - they think they are ordinary beings with rather refined capabilities. So again it's not a big deal as far as the Buddha's teachings are concerned, e.g. if you believe in black swans, or believe in the formless realms.
Especially, it arose in context of Indian ideas that later developed into modern Hinduism of many deities.
So - this is not a core part of Buddhism as such, you don't have to affirm belief in this to be a Buddhist - but part of the belief system of many Buddhists that they believe in devas and hell beings.
Also many believe in the "formless realms" - that it is possible for people who meditate or otherwise learn to enter various meditative states to take rebirth
According to the sutras, Buddha's teachers before he became enlightened taught him how to meditate to reach those formless states. And they thought they were teaching path to enlightenment. Which one can understand - if you learnt to enter such a state you might well think you have escaped Samsara permanently.
But Buddha says he saw that those states, though long lasting, and though you'd feel like all your problems were solved as long as you were in them - were dependent on conditions.
So if for instance you became proficient at entering such states for long periods when alive - and then you took rebirth in such a state when you died (so not restricted by the limitations of a physical body) you might be able to stay in it for billions of years or more. But eventually, even without a body, the conditions that took you to that formless state exhaust themselves, and you'd fall back into Samsara again.
Or rather, (for Buddhists who believe in the formless realms, all this section is for them) - you never left Samsara. Just on holiday. It is still dukkha - in the sense that it was not a solution to all your problems. Because it depended on conditions, it still had the potential for suffering to arise in the future - so that is also called dukkha. Even pure unbounded joy for a billion years is dukkha in this sense, even if you don't feel any disatisfaction at all and never reflect on it as dukkha.
That state of mind is quite "god-like" (or rather those states of mind as there are several formless realms, with different levels of subtlety of the meditation).
But not enlightenment. It is more like a "holiday from Samsara" - respite from your suffering but you haven't really escaped, at some point the hard nature of reality hits you and you fall from this - sort of ethereal billions of years trance like state back into suffering again, Buddhists believe (those who believe in these realms).
And the deva realms are also quite god-like also. Depends what you mean by a god.
I'm not sure if there is anything in the sutras about the belief in a creator God one way or another. If anyone knows more about this do say (the sutras are vast, thousands of pages, and only Buddhist scholars who devote their lives largely to their study have a reasonable understanding of them in totality).
But there are may other questions that the Buddha just remained silent on.
It may be partly covered by the four imponderables, the fourth of which is speculation on the origin of the universe.
Acinteyya
The unanswered questions also seem relevant. The unanswered questions
NON THEIST
(Phrase coined by Trungpa Rinpoche)
This expresses it rather well:
"One of the essential teachings that Trungpa propagated in America is that of “nontheism,” which he considered an aspect of egolessness. Reduced to its pith, nontheism is the teaching that intervention of ultimate reality, whether called God or by some other name, is not the source of salvation for us beings of the temporal world. Rather, we must make our own salvation, helpedperhaps by more realized beings, such as Christ or Buddha or saints or the guru, but basically alone, reliant on our own wit and grit. No God or external Power will intervene for us, or condemn us.
"The consequences of rejecting or accepting the principle of salvation-through-God are far-reaching. For example: the power of sin and guilt may be much less for a Buddhist, who does not accept such salvation. And the power of prayer and self-surrender may be greatly enhanced for a Christian, who does. In general, Buddhists do not use the name God to describe the ultimate. But I believe it is important that this not be seen as a denial of Christians’ experience or belief. For practical purposes, nontheism is better understood as a method rather than as a creed.
"Nontheism is not a dictionary word but a word Trungpa created to express the Buddhist viewpoint. It is quite different from atheism; Buddhism neither denies nor asserts the existence of God. Nor is nontheism agnosticism, meaning the belief that it is not possible to know ultimate truths. Buddhism asserts that it is possible to know the ultimate through direct meditative perception. (Albeit not through intellect and logic; all “proofs of God” are held to be fallacious.) Nontheism is simply the Buddhist teaching that salvationism might eventually lead to spiritual obstacles: perhaps resentment towards God—or doubt towards one’s own worthiness—in the face of strong adversity. Perhaps, more subtly, it may be a tendency to see “someone else” as responsible for the general well-being of oneself and the world. And from there might arise a whole subconscious system of helplessness, entitlement and blame."
from: A Nontheist's Journey By Rob Lee, writing about Trungpa Rinpoche's ideas
GOD LIKE REALMS AND BEINGS
Buddhists also often accept the possibility of "god like" beings of various sorts.
So there are many beliefs that Buddhists may have or traditions also. They believe in these much as we believe in other people, or animals, or birds - they think they are ordinary beings with rather refined capabilities. So again it's not a big deal as far as the Buddha's teachings are concerned, e.g. if you believe in black swans, or believe in the formless realms.
Especially, it arose in context of Indian ideas that later developed into modern Hinduism of many deities.
So - this is not a core part of Buddhism as such, you don't have to affirm belief in this to be a Buddhist - but part of the belief system of many Buddhists that they believe in devas and hell beings.
FORMLESS REALMS
Also many believe in the "formless realms" - that it is possible for people who meditate or otherwise learn to enter various meditative states to take rebirth
- Without any body at all.
- In a realm of pure thought
- which also has no location in space
- In a state where you have no problems at all, not a cloud on the horizon.
According to the sutras, Buddha's teachers before he became enlightened taught him how to meditate to reach those formless states. And they thought they were teaching path to enlightenment. Which one can understand - if you learnt to enter such a state you might well think you have escaped Samsara permanently.
But Buddha says he saw that those states, though long lasting, and though you'd feel like all your problems were solved as long as you were in them - were dependent on conditions.
LIKE A "HOLIDAY FROM SAMSARA" - OR RATHER, IN SAMSARA
So if for instance you became proficient at entering such states for long periods when alive - and then you took rebirth in such a state when you died (so not restricted by the limitations of a physical body) you might be able to stay in it for billions of years or more. But eventually, even without a body, the conditions that took you to that formless state exhaust themselves, and you'd fall back into Samsara again.
Or rather, (for Buddhists who believe in the formless realms, all this section is for them) - you never left Samsara. Just on holiday. It is still dukkha - in the sense that it was not a solution to all your problems. Because it depended on conditions, it still had the potential for suffering to arise in the future - so that is also called dukkha. Even pure unbounded joy for a billion years is dukkha in this sense, even if you don't feel any disatisfaction at all and never reflect on it as dukkha.
That state of mind is quite "god-like" (or rather those states of mind as there are several formless realms, with different levels of subtlety of the meditation).
But not enlightenment. It is more like a "holiday from Samsara" - respite from your suffering but you haven't really escaped, at some point the hard nature of reality hits you and you fall from this - sort of ethereal billions of years trance like state back into suffering again, Buddhists believe (those who believe in these realms).
And the deva realms are also quite god-like also. Depends what you mean by a god.
SUTRA TEXTS
I'm not sure if there is anything in the sutras about the belief in a creator God one way or another. If anyone knows more about this do say (the sutras are vast, thousands of pages, and only Buddhist scholars who devote their lives largely to their study have a reasonable understanding of them in totality).
But there are may other questions that the Buddha just remained silent on.
It may be partly covered by the four imponderables, the fourth of which is speculation on the origin of the universe.
Acinteyya
The unanswered questions also seem relevant. The unanswered questions
About the Author
Robert Walker
Writer of articles on Mars and Space issues - Software Developer of Tune Smithy, Bounce Metronome etc.Studied at Wolfson College, Oxford
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