Who made the Earth?
Answer:by: Venerable Nicolas Thanissaro
In Buddhism we believe that the world might not have been created at
all. The world and universe we live in may come into being, exist for a
certain period of time then break down in a naturally occurring cycle
which happens repeatedly over the aeons. Thus the emergence of the
universe in Buddhism relates more to scientific theories (such as that
of Gott and Li) than that of creator gods found in other religions. The
Buddha didn't talk directly about the origins of the universe because
for most people this is a question which leads people to waste time
speculating rather than encouraging people to practise Buddhist
virtues. However, the Buddha did mention in passing about the origins
of mankind in the Agga~n~na Sutta (there is a translation at www.buddhistinformation.com/ida_b_wells_memorial_sutra_library/agganna_sutta.htm).
In fact the driving force in the origin of the universe according to
the Agga~n~na Sutta is the craving of semi-divine beings that were the
precursors of ancient man. Thus it is impurities in the mind of man and
not the action of a creator god which according to Buddhists originated
the universe.
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