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What is the Buddhism creation story?

This is for a project. My friend and I are researching different creation theories and doing a
"compare/contrast" thing. We are so stuck on this theory! We honestly ...show more
Best AnswerAsker's Choice

Humble One answered 4 years ago

The reason why you can not find the writing about the origin of the world in buddhism is that :
Buddhism emphasizes practices over beliefs. It is true that right practices are important in
Buddhism, and the faith really centers on correct understanding of human nature and ultimate
reality. The Buddha, after all, was called the "Enlightened One." After he became enlightened, he

taught that the way to eliminate suffering begins with understanding the true nature of the world.
However, the Buddha considered knowledge important only insofar as it remains practical.
He rejected speculation about such matters as God, the nature of the universe, and the afterlife,
urging his followers to focus instead on the Four Noble Truths by which they can free themselves
from suffering.
In a famous story, a man called Malunkyaputta approached the Buddha and demanded that the
Buddha explain the origin of the universe before he would become a disciple of the Buddha.
Then the Buddha said that he would not go into a discussion of the origin of the Universe. To
him, gaining knowledge about such matters was a waste of time because a man's immediate
problem was his own suffering and his task was to liberate himself from the present state of
affairs. To illustrate this, the Buddha related the parable of a man who was shot by a poisoned
arrow. This foolish man refused to have the arrow removed until he was told who shot the arrow,
what he looks like, the kind of wood the arrow was made of and so on. The Buddha said that
before the man could learn such information, he would be dead. Similarly, our immediate task is
to be enlightened, not to speculate about the metaphysical. Thus, the Buddha's teachings centre
around mankind and emphasises the methods by which he can liberate himself.
Inspite of that, in the Aganna Sutta, for the consideration of the need to explain to two brahmins,
Bharadvaja and Vasettha (who left their family and caste to become monks and are insulted and
maligned by their own caste for their intention to become member of Sangha), that caste and
lineage can not be compared to the achievement of morality practice and the Dhamma, as anyone
from the four castes can become a monk and reached the state of Arahant, we can find the
Buddha explained about the beginning of the Earth, and the birth of social order and its structure,
including the castes.
The Buddha described the universe being destroyed and then re-evolving into its present form
over a period of countless millions of years. The first life formed on the surface of the water and
again, over countless millions of years evolved from simple into complex organisms. Eventually,
the universe is again destroyed and another arises in its place. All these processes are without
beginning or end, and are set in motion by natural causes. Our present universe merely occupies
one slot in this beginning-less and endless sequence of time. This has to be understood well and
emphasized in your project.
See : http://www.urbandharma.org/pdf/AggannaSu...