Expert: Joe McSorley - 10/16/2008

Question
Buddhism does not believe in God?  

Does Buddhism stress how to obtain wealth?  I mean I want to become a billionaire.  

How do I live a contented and peaceful life?
How do I avoid death completely?
How do I avoid calamity completely?

Answer
Dear Henry,
 Here are the answers to your questions:

  Buddhism does not believe in God?  

Buddhism is considered non-theistic, it does not address the idea of a god one way or the other with the assumption being that it does not believe in a god.



Does Buddhism stress how to obtain wealth?  I mean I want to become a billionaire.  

Buddhism teaches that attachment to worldly things, like wealth, beauty, etc.  are what creates problems for us because all of these things are temporary.  We think that if we fulfill our desires we will be happy but that is not the case.  What we desire is seldom what can bring true fulfillness.


How do I live a contented and peaceful life?

In Buddhism to ‘see things as they are’ and to lose the ego self is the way to do this.  The question immediately arises ‘ who is it that wants a peaceful life”?  You have to know who you are to be happy and contented.  When you really know who you are, beyond mind and body, then you will be at peace.

How do I avoid death completely?

The only way to overcome death is by dying.  You would not be alive is you could not die, they are not separate from one another.  The idea of eternal life is not an Eastern idea at all.  To become unborn, to realize your true nature before the birth of the one you call Henry, overcomes birth and death.

How do I avoid calamity completely?

You can’t but if you are the universe then calamity is also opportunity and recreation.  The individual self cannot escape calamity, thus the first Noble Truth, "Life is Suffering".

  Take care,
         Joe