Buddhism suffering and the problem of evil pdf

The problem of pain is the modern atheists main objection to believing in god. Evil as a characteristic is contrary to buddhism the act of sorting humanity into good and evil carries a terrible trap. Indeed, there have been many books written to defend the existence of god and the goodness of god. For evil to pose this problem for belief in god, evil itself must be real. Nirvana, release from samsara, can be achieved by following the noble eightfold path. Evil, suffering, and religion by brian hebblethwaite. Buckley remarked recently that the aboriginal source of religion is ignorance and terror, and the model on which the imagination fashions its creations is the.

The existence of evil and suffering is a significant problem for religious people who have tried to understand and explain their prescence. A moral comparison between christianity and buddhism. Karma theory of buddhism, hinduism and jainism is not static, but dynamic wherein livings beings with intent or. It is an obscuration of the mind, or essence of a person, or, if you will, the soul. Different religions, however, have different attitudes to evil and suffering, which can either cause them a problem, or alternatively remove problems connected with the existence of evil. Karma, rebirth, and the problem of evil request pdf. The starting point for the christian understanding of suffering is the messianic selfunderstanding of jesus himself. In addition, we will examine several theodicies, which are attempts to explain why god permits evil. Buddhism is a religion pretty centrally concerned with suffering. Grief, pain, disappointment, heartache, heartbreak, trials, and. I shall argue that the buddhists, on the whole, did not have this problem and often did not use the doctrine of karma in order to justify suffering. Such arguments for solving the problem of evil are called theodicies, a name invented by leibniz 1.

The problem of evil or, as it is more often referred to, the cause of human suffering is perhaps one of the most debated questions in the history of the philosophy of religion. The existential problem of evil and redemptive suffering. Grief, pain, disappointment, heartache, heartbreak, trials, and tribulations often occur in our lives. When other people are thought to be evil, it becomes possible to justify doing them harm. Christian worldview perspective on the problem of evil. More specifically, i argue 1 that the concept of evil can be interpreted in terms of dukkha. In the case of buddhism, human suffering causes buddhists to have faith towards a new stage, called enlightenment, where all suffering no longer exists. Evil and suffering every religion has its own way of explaining human suffering and the concept of evil. Problem of evil project all suffering is the result of our freewill your project circle. For example, blindness is not a separate entity, but is merely a lack or privation of sight. Buddhism teaches that there is no personal self, and therefore also no personal other selves. I have sympathy for people who lose their faith, but any faith lost in suffering.

The problem of evil and suffering the christian post. How could an infinitely good god who is infinitely powerful allow so much evil on earth. As he faces evil and suffering, he may lose his faith. Buddhism and catholicism both have suffering, but from different causes and have different ways to cease suffering. Echoing feuerbach, holbach, and freud all in one breath, michael j. Buddha s next logical step describes the cause or source of the problem. Buddhism starts with the problem of evil, suffering or dukkha, as its first statement of faith in the four noble truths. After exploring these options stoicism, buddhism, and. Many people immediately respond to the problem of evil, as stated above, by saying that the problem with the argument is that it ignores free well. The logical problem of evil argues that the existence of any evil is inconsistent with the existence of god, while the evidential problem of evil argues that gods existence is inconsistent with pointless or gratuitous evil. He conquered the author of evil, satan, and his permanent rebellion against the creator. Buddhism views on suffering why does suffering exist. The opposite of suffering in buddhist epistemology. One is encouraged to explore what suffering is, the various forms it comes in and their.

This paper explains the buddhist concept of suffering dukkha and its relation to the christian problem of evil. Some writers claim the problem of evil and suffering actually is the source of humanitys varied religious impulses. It never really stops studying the suffering of oneself and that of other people. I have thought a lot about the problem of pain this lent. Buddhism and the problem of evil this paper explains the buddhist concept of suffering dukkha and its relation to the.

Suffering is a normal part of life, but the nature of suffering is determined by how one responds to it. But there is a serious question about whether atheism can account for the objective reality of the evil that motivates the problem of evil in the first place. It is to answer the question of why a good god permits the manifestation of evil, thus resolving the issue of the problem of evil. This is a precopyedited, authorproduced pdf of an article accepted for. The problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with. To be sure, western theology also makes use of a retributive explanation of evil in which an individuals suffering is. Every religion has its own way of explaining human suffering and the concept of evil. This paper explains the buddhist concept of suffering and its relation to the christian problem of evil. Suffering is a disturbance or irritation of the mindstream. For buddhists, understanding the causes of suffering and rejecting evil is part of the. But christ has made suffering the firmest basis of the definitive good, namely the good of eternal salvation. The buddha concedes evil or suffering as an observation of the world.

Thus, suffering, within most normative jewish texts, is not a problem of being. The existential problem of evil the experience of pointless evil nthe persistent, deep gutwrenching experience of seemingly pointless evil has often supported a disbelief in god. Although there is no problem of evil in buddhism, the buddhist understanding of the origin and causes of suffering will help us to find. Although there is no problem of evil in buddhism, the buddhist understanding of. Eastern religions, with buddhism as supreme case, tend to emphasize the aspect of suffering and the practical task of alleviating it, whereas monotheistic religions of the west, christianity being the prime instance, worry most about the plague of. While there are many aspects of the problem of evil such as human suffering, animal pain, natural calamities, etc. The problem of evil and human suffering by edward p. Thus the augustinian theodicist would argue that the problem of evil and suffering is void because god did not create evil. Resurrection and the problem of pain padre peregrino. Karma, rebirth, and the problem of evil department. Thus, the problem of evil is ultimately one of perspective.

Buddhism hinduism islam atheist john hick you are going to explore a response to the problem of evil. Suffering exists and has its roots in desire or dislocation. A version of the problem of evil appears in the ancient brahma sutras, probably composed between 200 bce and 200 ce, a foundational text of the vedanta tradition of hinduism. In this chapter we will tackle several of the main problems of evil confronting the theist, including logical and evidential ones. If you need a good god to account for evil, then you cant disprove that good god with evil. Karma is at once the simplest of concepts and the most. The basic idea here is that at least many kinds of evil are not the result of gods actions, but of the free actions of human beings. Some theodicies also address the evidential problem of evil by attempting to make the existence of an allknowing, allpowerful and allgood or omnibenevolent god consistent with the existence of evil or. The uniquely christian response to the problem of suffering. A nominal christian often discovers in suffering that his faith has been in his church, denomination, or family tradition, but not christ. Introduction the problems of evil and human suffering always have been complex. Two of the central indian traditions, hinduism and buddhism, have their. In catholicism, suffering comes from the original sin from adam and eve.

A temptation to power and selfexaltation lay in the late jewish promise of the coming of the messiahson of man. The doctrine of karma, as elaborated in the hindu, buddhist, and jain. Buddhism is a system that is centered on the problem of suffering, because it is based on buddhas answer to this problem. By his suffering on the cross, christ reached the very roots of evil, of sin and death.

Although there is no problem of evil in buddhism, the buddhist understanding of the origin and causes of suffering will help us to find new approaches to the problem of evil. In buddhism, suffering is inevitable and present throughout samsara. Buddhism concedes that suffering or evil is what life is made of. The theist is not alone in needing to provide an account of evil and suffering, however. Christianity christianity the problem of suffering. Religions free fulltext evil and human suffering in. The problem of evil and suffering a worldview analysis. To bring our thoughts full circle, the problem for buddhism is not evil, but desire. The doctrine of karma, as elaborated in the hindu, buddhist, and jain religious traditions, offers. These form a central focus of the religion, its practice and its philosophy. For buddhists, understanding the causes of suffering and rejecting evil is part of the route to enlightenment. Hebblethwaite, a lecturer in divinity at cambridge, discusses how the problem of evil has been perceived and handled in the various world religions. A thesis submitted for the degree of doctor of philosophy by diane.

Suffering and the problem of evil the key to understanding the existence of suffering and evil in hinduism is the central concept of karma. To friends and family who have been supportive in so many. The key buddhist teaching called the four noble truths, is the essence of buddha s philosophies and outlines four stages of suffering. Request pdf karma, rebirth, and the problem of evil the doctrine of karma.