Expert: Bodhicitta - 3/13/2006

Question
In Hinduism hindus praise the god Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Murugan, Krishnan, and they claim that these gods are almighty and forever.In Christianity and Islam people says that their God or Allah is almighty and forever. But in Buddhism Buddhists says that heaven is just one part of the karmic wheel and someday gods will also leave the heavens and be reborned as humans or even animals. Does this means that people with other religions are "lost"? Does this mean that they are like...lost religions? Will the almighty gods other religons followers praise someday leave heaven and be reborned again as humans or other living beings?

Answer
Hi Lee,
<<In Hinduism hindus praise the god Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Murugan, Krishnan, and they claim that these gods are almighty and forever.In Christianity and Islam people says that their God or Allah is almighty and forever. But in Buddhism Buddhists says that heaven is just one part of the karmic wheel and someday gods will also leave the heavens and be reborned as humans or even animals. Does this means that people with other religions are "lost"? Does this mean that they are like...lost religions? Will the almighty gods other religons followers praise someday leave heaven and be reborned again as humans or other living beings?>>

Many Buddhists would agree with your view on this.It is
said that Gods and all Samsaric beings are caught in
cyclic existence. A God would live for a vast
period of time but could end up being reborn as a human,
maybe deliberately or maybe through the force of karma.

But I think it is dangerous to jump to conclusions
too readily about other people's spiritual path.
I would say that it would be impossible to be certain
without really knowing people's minds and what their
experience what they are upto.

Buddhist teachings warn us about denegrating and judging other people's spiritual traditions when we have no
realisation of our own tradition.

Many Buddhist teachers also caution people from switching
from one religion to another too readily.

Buddhism is a path of experience. You can only really work with your own experience and make steps in that direction.
If your practice leads away from ego and towards awakening
then it is Buddhist. It could be that some Hindu schools
are really very little different from Buddhism for example.
How could you really know without really entering
and finding out?

I believe we should really gain experience of our own spiritual tradition and not try to superficially judge one tradition against another too readily

Bodhicitta