Origin of the World
"There is no reason to suppose that the world had
a beginning at all. The idea that things must have a beginning is really
due to the poverty of our imagination."
There are three schools of thought regarding the origin of the world:
The first school of thought claims that this world came into existence by nature and that nature is not an intelligent force. However, nature works on its own accord and goes on changing everything in this world.
The Second school of thought says that the world was created by an Almighty God who is responsible for everything.
The third school of thought says that the beginning of this world and of the life is inconceivable since they have neither beginning nor end.
Buddhism is in accordance with this third school of thought. Bertrand Russel supports this school of thought when he says, "There is no reason to suppose that the world had a beginning at all. The idea that things must have a beginning is really due to the poverty of our imagination."
Modern science says that some 2000 million years ago, the newly cooled earth was lifeless, and that life originated in the ocean. Buddhism never claimed that the world, sun, moon, stars, wind, water, days and night's were created by a Buddha or by a Buddhist God. Buddhists believe that the world was not created once upon a time, but that the world has been created millions of times every fraction of a second and will continue to do so by itself and will break away by itself.
H. G. Wells, the world famous historian, says "It is universally recognised that the universe in which we live is to all appearance, existed for an enormous period of time and possibly for endless time.... But that the universe in which we live, has existed only for six or seven thousand years may be regarded as an altogether exploded idea. No life seems to have happened suddenly upon earth."
The efforts made by many religions to explain the beginning and the end of the universe are indeed ill-conceived. The position of religions which propound the view that the universe was created by God in an exactly fixed year has become a difficult one to maintain in the modern scientific world.
Today scientists, historians, astronomers, biologists, botanists, anthropologists and great thinkers have all contributed to a vast new knowledge and discoveries regarding the origin of the world. This latest discovery and knowledge is not at all contradictory to the teachings of the Buddha.
The speculative explanations of the origin of the universe that are presented by various religions are not acceptable to the modern scientist and intellectual. The Buddha did not waste his time on this issue.
Perhaps the reason for his silence is that this question has no religious value. The explanation of the origin of the universe is not the concern of religion. Such theorizing is not necessary to live a righteous way of life and to shape our future life.
However, if one insists on studying this issue, then one must investigate the sciences of astronomy, geology, biology and anthropology. These sciences can offer more reliable and tested information on this subject than can be supplied by any religion.
"Infinite is the sky, infinite is the number of beings,
Infinite are the worlds in the vast universe, Infinite in wisdom the Buddha
teaches these, Infinite are the virtues of him who teaches these."
By Ven. K. Sri Dhammananda