"Net of Views" on the Universe

Buddhism is neither atheistic nor agnostic. It is non-theistic (it does not rely on gods or a God to explain the world). It does not propose the existence of either a creator or an omnipotent being. That being said, many Buddhists would be surprised to find how many JudeoChristian and Islamic theologies are rooted in Buddhist teachings. Buddhism is a wisdom-tradition, not a faith-based religion. It is difficult but possible for an individual to understand the universe directly without dogma or holding views. The Buddha was responding to ancient statements and spoke of how many views of the universe were arrived at (Brahmajala Sutra).

Eighteen beliefs about the past
In the second part of the "Net of All Embracing Views" (Brahmajala Sutra), the Buddha explains the major beliefs of ascetics in the ancient world. He begins by saying, "Monks, there are other things which are very deep (profound), very hard to understand, very difficult to perceive, so sublime and sacred, unreached by means of thought, so subtle that they are only to be understood and experienced by the wise. Those things were perceived clearly, seen clearly, and were discarded by the Tathagata. And it is by this act based on the truth that people praise and revere the Tathagatha. What are those things?"

Eternalistic belief
Eternalism is described in the sutra as the belief based on the past that holds that the universe (world or world-system, loka) and the soul or self (atta) are eternal as a "rock mountain or strong-fastened pole." The world does not create new beings and therefore the beings are living in an unending cycle of death and rebirth, differing only in name, location, and time. These kinds of beliefs have four origins:

1. Ascetics and brahmins who have reached a high level of meditation (jhana), due to this achievement were able to remember from one to tens of thousands of past lives.
2. Ascetics and brahmins who have reached the spiritual achievements which provided them access to memories of one to ten iterations of the Earth's formation, evolution, and destruction.
3. Ascetics and brahmins who have managed to recall the Earth's evolutionary process from ten to forty times. (The aforementioned ascetics and brahmins recalled their name, family, heirs, food, joy and sadness, then death and rebirth in these past lives. Based on these recollections, they concluded that the universe and the self (atman, ego or "soul") must be eternal).
4. Ascetics and brahmins who rely on logic and inference came to the conclusion that the self and universe are eternal. (The Buddha said that there are 18 types of eternalistic beliefs, all based on one of these four origins. The followers of these beliefs defended and clung to their faiths and did not give credence to other belief systems).

Semi-eternalistic belief
The semi-eternalistic belief is described as a belief based on the past, where a dualistic notion is asserted: There are things that are eternal and things that are not. There are four ways these beliefs become faiths, wherein a believer refuses to acknowledge other beliefs:

The Buddha tells a story about a time when the Earth had not yet formed. The sentient beings in space at this time normally lived in a realm called Abhassara -- in radiant light, nourished by celestial joy. There then came a time when the Earth was in the process of forming yet still unhabitable. One of these beings from the Abhassara realm died (due to the exhaustion of its sustaining karma) and was reborn in a higher realm called the Brahma Realm [which has among other things no sexual dimorphism] and lived alone in the mansion (palace, platform, or vimana, "spacecraft") there. Living alone for so long, this being grew distressed and longed for a companion.

It then uttered, "O, let it be that another being may come here and accompany me." At the same time of the utterance, a being in the Abhassara Realm died (due to the exhaustion of its karma) and was also reborn in the Brahma Realm. But in many ways was similar in features.

Seeing this happen, the Brahma being thought, "I am Brahma, MahāBrahmā, the Almighty, Omniscient, the Lord of All, Creator, Master af all creatures. I am the soure of all life, Father of everything that exists or will ever come to exist! These creatures are my creations. How can I conclude this? Because just as I was thinking, "Let it be that another being may come here and accompany me," then my wish made that being come into existence!"

Beings who came later thought the same thing. They worshipped and revered this first Brahma (MahaBrahma) because, "He was here even before I existed! Surely this mighty being is the Lord and Creator of All!" In the Brahma Realm, the first being (on account of its superior karma accumulated in the past) had superior and more radiant features than subsequent beings.

So a probability existed that a later being passed from the Brahma Realm and was reborn as a human being (at least an earthly one). This human abandoned worldly affairs and became an ascetic. By devoted practice, this being achieved the power to remember a past life. Recalling it, the conclusion was arrived at that creatures are non-eternal, with limited lifespans, vulnerable to change, whereas Brahma is eternal, ageless, and changeless.

The second semi-eternalistic belief comes from ascetics who were once Khiddapadosika "gods" (exalted devas, "light beings"), celestial creatures who were too busy to experience desire-based joy and fun, wo forgot to take their nutriments and therefore died. As they were reborn as ascetics and achieved the ability to remember their past lives, they came to a conclusion analogous to the "Fall from Grace":

"If only we were not so greedy and overzealous in our previous life, if only we had been able to control ourselves, we would not have suffered death. Now that we had made this error, we have to suffer this mortal life." Here they concluded that the gods were eternal and others were not.

The third semi-eternalistic belief came from the Manopadosika gods. These were the gods who always envied the other gods. This illness of mind caused their death. In the same cycle, they were reborn as ascetic Manopadosika gods, achieved the ability to remember their past life, and came to the conclusion, "Had we not been envious, we would have stayed strong and intelligent. We would never have died or fallen forever from the realm of gods."

The fourth semi-eternalistic belief is based on logic and reflection. The people who embraced this belief concluded their faith based on their thoughts and logics as follow: "Here is what is called (atta) of eyes, nose, tongue, and our physical body, which are always changed. But, there is also atta of mind: the state of mind, awareness of 'atta', which is eternal."

All of the followers of these beliefs defended and clung to their faith and didn't believe in other faiths.

The Universe
The beliefs on the universe is based on the speculation about the infinite or the limited nature of the universe. There are four ways these beliefs were expressed:

1. The universe is infinite.
2. The universe is limited.
3. The universe is horizontally limited but vertically infinite.
4. The universe is neither infinite or limited, nor not infinite or limited.

The source of these beliefs came about for two reasons. One, the frame of mind which formed these beliefs came from the object of focus of meditation. The object taken up by the ascetics who managed to reach a deep level of meditation [jhana] then came to the conclusion that the world is infinite (if they used infinity as the object of meditation) or limited (if they imagined the object of their focus to be limited).

Two, the people who used thought and logic (hammering out their conclusions by mere reasoning) concluded that the world must be neither infinite nor limited but also neither not infinite nor not limited.

All of the followers of these beliefs defended and clung to their faith and didn't believe in other faiths. More>>