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The Buddhist Refusal of Theism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2024

Matthew T. Kapstein
Matthew T. Kapstein*
Affiliation:
Directeur d'Étudesd, EPHE, Paris Numata Professor of Buddhist Studies, The University of Chicago

Abstract

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Early Buddhism was not interested in questions about existence and the nature of God, considering these unimportant in relation to the question of the release from earthly suffering which is at the heart of Buddhist soteriology. Later Buddhist thought considered theism incompatible with Buddhist doctrine, but at the same time Buddhism developed a dimension of devotion that resembled theistic faith. Conscious of their different religious heritage, Buddhist thinkers in more recent times have nevertheless embraced dialogue with monotheistic religions, emphasizing their common ethical preoccupations, while retaining the non-theistic viewpoint of traditional Buddhism.

Type
Research Article
Information
Diogenes , Volume 52 , Issue 1 , February 2005 , pp. 61 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © ICPHS 2005

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