Of course the Buddha and classical Indian Buddhists acknowledged the existence
of a multiplicity of gods. Should we then think of Buddhism as polytheistic, in the
same sense in which many forms of Hinduism are polytheistic?5 Perhaps we might if
we wanted Buddhism to fit under a nice tidy definition of 'religion' that required
some form of theism. B ut this would be somewhat beside the point as far as
Buddhism is concerned. The gods that ancient Indian Buddhists believed in were
(like the gods of ancient Greece and all the rest of pre-Christian Europe) finite beings,
rather like human beings, only longer-lived and more powerful. More importantly,
they play no role whatever in the quest for nirvana. Perhaps worship and sacrifice to
the right gods might win one various mundane benefits, such as timely rainfall to
make the crops grow, or the health of one's loved ones. But the gods cannot bestow
nirvana on us. Indeed the fact that they also undergo rebirth (they may live extremely
long lives, but they are still impermanent) is taken to show that they are no more
enlightened than we humans are. Even an enlightened human being like a Buddha or
an arhat (someone who has attained nirvana by following the teachings of the
Buddha) cannot bestow nirvana on others. That is something that one can only attain
for oneself; enlightened beings can only help others by giving them pointers along the
way. And the point, for Buddhism, is to attain nirvana, to bring suffering to an end. So
for this spiritual tradition, the question whether there are any gods turns out to be
largely irrelevant.
Of course the Buddha and classical Indian Buddhists acknowledged the existenceof a multiplicity of gods. Should we then think of Buddhism as polytheistic, in thesame sense in which many forms of Hinduism are polytheistic?5 Perhaps we might ifwe wanted Buddhism to fit under a nice tidy definition of 'religion' that requiredsome form of theism. B ut this would be somewhat beside the point as far asBuddhism is concerned. The gods that ancient Indian Buddhists believed in were(like the gods of ancient Greece and all the rest of pre-Christian Europe) finite beings,rather like human beings, only longer-lived and more powerful. More importantly,they play no role whatever in the quest for nirvana. Perhaps worship and sacrifice tothe right gods might win one various mundane benefits, such as timely rainfall tomake the crops grow, or the health of one's loved ones. But the gods cannot bestownirvana on us. Indeed the fact that they also undergo rebirth (they may live extremelylong lives, but they are still impermanent) is taken to show that they are no moreenlightened than we humans are. Even an enlightened human being like a Buddha oran arhat (someone who has attained nirvana by following the teachings of theBuddha) cannot bestow nirvana on others. That is something that one can only attainfor oneself; enlightened beings can only help others by giving them pointers along theway. And the point, for Buddhism, is to attain nirvana, to bring suffering to an end. Sofor this spiritual tradition, the question whether there are any gods turns out to belargely irrelevant.
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