I'm a student learning about cultural diversity, and the moment we are discussing religions namely buddhism. I was wondering do budists pray to a god, like the christian faith?, and do they actually recognise jesus etc?
sorry if it sounds a silly question , but if you dont know , ya dont know. Always ask.
The Buddhist faith, like the Christian, has "many mansions". It is not one great monolithic structure that has remained constant since the Buddha first taught approx 2500 years ago. Yet, as far as I know, no Buddhist would actually recognise a supreme creator God, transcendent to the universe, in the same sense as Christianity.
Theravada recognises a "not-born, a not-brought-to-being, a not-made, a not-conditioned", yet its orientation is "Buddha's can only point the way, each has to walk the path themselves". Reverence towards the Buddha - as teacher,
not Savior - would be encouraged, however.
Mahayana - as a development, to put it simply, and avoiding controversy! - transforms the Buddha from historical teacher, into a cosmic principle. This "cosmic principle", when understood as the Dharmakaya, has been described by certain Buddhist thinkers, as "the cosmic mind"........as
karuna (love/compassion)........as
bodhi (intelligence). Yet the Dharmakaya is not understood as being transcendent to the universe, but as the ultimate reality that underlies all particular phenomena. In some developments of the Mahayana, this "cosmic principle" (or Dharmakaya) has been personified as Amida - and indeed is prayed to and venerated, even understood as "saviour". Many - but not all!! - see this as some form of degeneration of "pure Buddhism"...............but lets not get into the in-fighting among our Buddhist friends!
The ideal of Theravada is the Arhat, who follows the Buddha's teaching to the point of attaining nirvana. The ideal of the Mahayana is the Bodhisattva, who seeks salvation not for themselves alone, but for all, and forsakes entry into nirvana until all are able to enter. Jesus is often recognised as a bodhisattva under this particular aspect.
Hopefully this has been of some help.
