Reality (4) God and the Universe

At the end of my introductory Buddhism, I would like to think about the relation of God and Buddhism. Many Buddhist scholars think that Buddhism is atheism. But in my case it can never be so simple for me to solve the problem between God and Buddhism. Because looking at Christianity the problem of God is so important and there are so many theories to solve the problem. And so I think that I should be very careful in thinking about the problem of God.

At the same time when we think about the Universe, it is also not so easy to understand it. For example, when we think about the Solar System, I usually wonder why those big heavenly bodies can be maintained in space. Our scientific knowledge has developed so much, and we can know the facts that everything in the universe has gravity. But when we think about what is the reason, why there is such a miraculous fact of gravity, it is not so easy to find the cause of existent gravity. Therefore it is necessary for us to think that the world, where we are just living now, is some times very mystical and miraculous in spite of our expectation.

And at the same time it is necessary for us to accept that the world (or the universe, I use the words interchangably) is regulated by some kind of order. It is necessary for us to confirm that the world is just governed by the Rule of the Universe. It is also a kind of systematized world, which is governed by a kind of the Universal Rule.

But the world is an area, where some kind of blind energy is full,too. Therefore we have to think that the world might be a kind of blind and mysterious space, and so it is necessary for the world to be regulated by some criteria. For whom is it possible to regulate such a blind world? And when I think about such a problem, it is impossible for me to find anoher being other than human beings to regulate such a kind of blind energy, which does not have any ability to regulate itself. I think that if human beings are not extremely diligent to regulate the blind energy to the true direction, it might be difficult for us to maintain the world in even as good a condition as it is in today. In such situations I think that human beings are working rather well to maintain the international relations among many independent countries, and organizing rather good economical systems in almost all countries in the world.

But in such a situation I think that the most serious problem in the world, might be the contradictory situation between Idealism and Materialism. Religious people are yearning for something spiritual following their Idealistic philosophy, and they disdain the material value. But people, who are standing on the basis of Materialism and do not recognize spiritual value at all, are very diligent to get the economical value, and laugh at the Idealistic viewpoint so much. However, if there were so unfortunate facts that people, who are belonging to the same societies, have completely opposite opinions having enormously hostile attitudes, is it possible for them to harmonize in a common adequate attitudes to the same problems? I think that it might be impossible for human beings to maitain the peaceful situations between the Idealistic front and the Materialistic front at all.

Therefore in such a situations if we permit to maintain the coexistence of two completely opposite philosophies, that is, Idealism and Materialism, the World can never be identified or unified at all. I think that it is completely impossible for human beings to have only one identified peaceful world at all if these two philosophies continue to fight one another. And in such situations there is a serious problem, that is, the Problem of God. Everyone knows well how strong the religious people's love God. If there were no solution in maintenance of God, how would it be possible for religious people to leave the Idealistic thoughts. There is possibility that they never leave the belief in Idealism. But if we consider the Materialistic hate against God, the hate is strong so much in the case of Materialists, and so it might be completely impossible for Materialists to accept the belief in God. And in such situations, if we do not solve the so difficult problem of God, it might be almost impossible for human beings to realize the belief in Reality at all.

Then how shall we think about God? As far as the modern scientific knowledge teaches us, it is said that the Universe is always expanding at every moment. If we accept the idea that the Universe is always expanding endlessly, it is very difficult for us to suppose the existence of another Universe other than this Universe at all. And in such situations, we have to think that God might exist inside the Universe. But in that case we can never permit that God is a part of the Universe. Because we should think that God is all, God is everywhere, God is almighty, and God is the Absolute.

Thinking like that I am afraid that God has been thought of as something much smaller than the actual fact. And I think that we should consider the Revolutionary Recovery of God sincerely. In such situations I thing that we should accept the idea that "God is the Universe, the Universe is God." God can never be smaller than the Universe, but at the same time God can never be bigger than the Unuverse. Therefore "God is the Universe, the Universe is God." And then the Fusion between God and the Universe is called Reality.

And when we sitting in Zazen, we can sit in God, we can sit in the Universe, we can sit in act, and we can sit in Reality. Therefore we can sit in Reality.

Now I have finished my introductory explanations of Buddhist Philosophy, and so I would like to begin to write about Zazen itself in the next theem.
(The End of the Introductory Buddhism)