Introduction:
Below is a conversation we had with someone who holds a different view on the topic of religion. This piece does not aim to determine who is right or wrong, nor to attack or judge religious differences. It simply hopes to offer you some additional perspectives on this topic.
THEY:
The potential to know right from wrong already exists within you — it is the inner ruler given to you by the Creator. A book is merely a key to open the treasure of awareness that the Creator has already placed in the soul of each human being. What I mean is, the perception of right and wrong comes from within you, not from outside (the book).
WE:
According to the perspective of Early Buddhism, this distinction between right and wrong is called “Consciousness” (Thức), meaning the experiences you have accumulated over countless lifetimes. This “Consciousness” arises from “Form” (Sắc) — that is, appearances — not from a Creator giving it to you.
The universal law in the Buddhist worldview:
Form 1 → Feeling 1 → Perception 1 → Mental Formation 1 → Consciousness 1 → Form 2
You see a seed (Form 1), you eat it and find it sweet (Feeling 1), you recognize its sweetness compared to other bitter seeds you’ve eaten (Perception 1), you act again by eating it (Formation 1), and from this you gain experience — next time you see that seed, you immediately know it is sweet (Consciousness 1).
So what creates “Form”? It is “Consciousness” that creates “Form”.
You think of the sweet seed, crave its taste, and want to experience that sweet feeling again. So you spend effort planting a new tree to get that seed (Form 2). You hope the new seed will be just like the one you had before, hoping Form 2 will resemble Form 1. But that is impossible, because Form is impermanent — always decaying, always changing — just like the saying: “You cannot bathe in the same river twice.”
And in the end, what you’ve spent all your effort cultivating — hoping it would bring you happiness — ends up bringing you suffering, simply because it’s not what you hoped for.
Form and Consciousness are a pair of dualities constantly transforming, generating this impermanent world (like how the Taoist philosophy says: Taiji gives rise to Yin and Yang).
And if you view the Creator as Taiji who gave rise to this duality, then the Creator is more like a state of Eternal Stability rather than a concrete being with a separate Consciousness — and in that state, all are equal, with no one possessing the power to assign fate or impose a ruler of right and wrong onto another.
THEY:
The essence of Buddhism is to abandon the dust of the world and seek self-liberation. It sounds nice, but if you already know the truth of the Creator, then it’s actually quite naïve — merely a way to lure people, turning them into cowards who run away and evade their responsibilities toward their families. I’m not even talking about “society,” because that word itself is a deceptive term used to fool the masses. Anyone who loudly claims they’re serving society while abandoning their family is nothing more than a fraud — an agent of Satan. It is Satan who wants to destroy the family, for only then can it brainwash the children. A good family leads to a good society. The Savior gave us family to bring happiness and love, not so that we abandon our wives and children to go off chasing vague ideals. To pursue Enlightenment while abandoning your parents, family, wife, and children — then go on to teach others to do the same — is a contradiction of natural morality. They call it “letting go of worldly dust,” another fancy term, but the core issue remains unchanged. No matter how great the Buddha was, he was still bound by the laws of nature — a human being made of flesh and blood, who also had parents, a wife, and children, yet left it all behind in pursuit of Enlightenment.
So I ask you: after the Buddha found what he was seeking, then what? Was that thing he “found” more precious than one’s parents, wife, and children? Or was it just for his own pleasure? And after that pleasure, then what? Chasing ever-higher vibrational frequencies of bliss until he died alone? Or do you think that after enough seeking, the Buddha became fully enlightened, gained supernatural powers, could call the wind and summon rain, live forever, become a deity — or even become the Creator?
This is the result of that saying: “a lie repeated a thousand times becomes the truth.” Maybe someone imagined too much and failed to see the fundamental laws of nature? That’s why the Savior strictly forbids idol worship — because excessive imagination causes people to forget the happiness right beside them, and chase after some endless void. In the end, they turn into ashes like everyone else anyway.
WE:
So what is the essence of Buddhism? It is the search for a way out of impermanence, in order to return to permanence. At its core, it is to escape all suffering and return to eternal happiness.
Someone who is labeled a coward for fleeing family responsibilities may simply be someone who refuses to invest their energy in something impermanent, and instead wants to invest in something that is lasting. Parents, spouses, children — here today, gone tomorrow. Happy today, hateful tomorrow. They are all subject to the law of impermanence, which means constant change. As an investor, would you rather invest in something that fades quickly, or in something that endures through time?
“Society” is a ridiculous concept. Only family is the true purpose of life. But isn’t family itself a miniature version of society? Perhaps we are all just wearing different garments of illusion, mocking others for their clothing while failing to realize that these are all garments worn by the ego to differentiate itself from others.
The ego is nothing more than a bag full of seeds of consciousness, and the bag mistakenly believes it is a singular self. You are not the bag. You are not the seeds. You are not anything at all.
When the Buddha reached a certain level of attainment, He could easily manifest miraculous powers. But He placed no importance on them, because they were not His final goal. Even as a human, He could not escape the natural law of aging and death. So why did He practice? To ensure that, in this very life, His mind was always peaceful and joyful — and that there would be no more future lives after this one.
THEY:
If Buddhism is truly good, then shouldn’t everyone in the world follow it? Should we eliminate desire, greed, anger, and delusion from all 7 billion people? Should everyone retreat into their own corner, stop caring about worldly affairs, avoid families so there’s nothing to abandon, no sex, no responsibilities — and whenever they feel upset, just mumble “eliminate desire” to make it go away?
And then what? Who will go out for alms? If everyone lets go, who’s left? If someone starves and resorts to robbery or violence, are we supposed to forgive them all? That would be a lawless, unnatural society. Buddhism only survives because there’s a natural society running alongside it to support it. What if everyone became monks, nuns, or lay practitioners without families — what would happen then?
WE:
Will the world be destroyed if everyone becomes a monk? This world existed long before humans appeared, and it still would exist without them. Humans cannot alter the law of formation–existence–decay–emptiness. Each person can only escape this cycle on their own — no one can do it for them, and no one can do it on behalf of another.
So if everyone went into monastic life, who would offer food to the monks? A true practitioner’s greed would shrink to the bare minimum — just enough to sustain life. At that point, no one would be greedy enough to chop down trees to build palaces, so fruit trees would flourish, and food would no longer need to be provided. True meditation practitioners don’t demand vegetarian or non-vegetarian food — they just need enough to live and continue practicing. If a region had no fruit, they could eat insects, for example. So if everyone were to practice, it would be a blessing for the whole world — not something to worry about.
But that is extremely unlikely, because greed is one of the most addictive poisons — how many people truly have the will and strength to overcome its countless forms? And yet those who succeed — the strongest ones — are the ones being called weak? In reality, once they become truly strong, they no longer care what others say.
THEY:
Buddhists believe in reincarnation, karma, the next life, and endless rebirths. But the question is: who oversees all that reincarnation? Who enforces the karmic consequences? Who ensures that you turn from a human into an animal, and vice versa? If you’re an animal, do you get “upgraded” into another animal after death — like a worm becoming a cow, or a cockroach becoming a lion? There are thousands of questions like this, but no one seems to have answers. Is everything just pushed onto the Buddha? If the Buddha didn’t create all this, how did He gain such authority after death? Before He was born, and after He died, in what form did the Buddha exist? And who decided the Buddha would be born into a particular family?
WE:
A person’s destiny is determined by themselves. Once you’re within the cycle of dualistic reincarnation, you’re swept along by the law of cause and effect within that system. Every cause yields a result, and every result contains a new cause. You ask, who governs this cycle of rebirth? Does a tree need someone to oversee its fruit? Or does it naturally function through the law of causality?
And if you believe the Creator truly made the world and determines its fate, then you’ve misunderstood — that “Creator” is just the first-born Brahma, not someone who created you. You can read this in the Pali Canon / Digha Nikāya / Brahmajāla Sutta / Second Recitation.
You apply force A to your bicycle, and it takes you to point A. In this life, the momentum of your consciousness creates a force A, and the wheel of samsara takes you to point A in your next life. Similarly, force B leads to point B. Point A may be the realm of devas, and point B may be a cow. So no one — not even the Buddha — decides where you’re born or what your destiny is, except for yourself. No one rides the bicycle for you. No one’s standing at the intersection directing traffic. Everyone self-navigates according to their awareness. If I want to go to road C, and you do too, then we meet at road C — but no one forced you to go there.
Back then, disciples would often ask what happens to the Buddha after death. The Buddha usually remained silent and advised them not to get entangled in questions people think are important — about the world, oceans, kings, etc. — because those questions are irrelevant to liberation and only obstruct the path. Once you’ve reached the goal, the answers will come on their own, but by then you no longer need them.
If you read the Pali Canon, you’ll find your own answer about what the Buddha was before and after death. Before entering samsara, the Buddha was in a state of Eternal Stability. After entering Nirvana, He returns to that same Eternal Stability. During samsara, He experienced countless ups and downs according to the karmic cycle — just like everyone else, unaffected by any external power. The Buddha only determined whether to apply force A or B to the wheel — not which family He would be born into.
So how are the two states of Eternal Stability — before and after samsara — different? The latter is described as:
“Birth is finished, the holy life has been lived, the task is done, and there is no more coming back to this world.”
(Quoted from the Pali Canon / Majjhima Nikāya / MN 37 – The Shorter Discourse on the Ending of Craving)
THEY:
Let me add something about the Buddha’s teachings. Let’s not talk about right or wrong just yet — and more importantly, are those teachings really from the Buddha’s own mouth? Or were they perhaps spoken by someone who loved Him so much that they tried to glorify their idol?
Think about all the different Buddhist schools — which one is truly right? Which one is false? Or are they all just human inventions, borrowing the voice of someone “enlightened” to convince others to follow them and come to their temple? Sure, Buddhism teaches some good things, but what about the parts that are completely wrong? When it can’t be explained, people just say, “Your conditions (duyên) haven’t ripened yet, so you can’t understand.” Isn’t this the same pattern in all religions? They state things that resonate with human conscience to attract followers — and then cover up the illogical parts of their doctrine.
Buddhism is simply a religion made by humans. It cannot explain everything, nor does it automatically bring goodness to anyone. Because goodness comes from within — humans turn to religion thinking it gives them goodness. Without that internal urge, would people go seeking at all? Can a religion really turn a bad person good without their own will? If just chanting sutras could transform people, then we should broadcast them on loudspeakers all over the city — and evil would disappear from the world, right?
Humans are bound by the laws of nature, designed by the Saviour. Violating those laws only brings harm — to ourselves, to loved ones, and to our communities. These laws give us a sense of “right and wrong” so we can live prosperous and happy lives. But Satan doesn’t want that. He wants us to give up — to abandon our parents, families, spouses and children. That is the most selfish and cowardly act. The Saviour created men and women with roles in the family, and anyone who separates them violates the laws of Heaven, distorts the natural order, and threatens human survival. Every individual is a unique creation of the Saviour, but that uniqueness cannot survive or find happiness alone — without their other half.
So in the end, whom should you cherish more: the One who created your miraculous human nature, or the author of some “Buddhist sutra” — or even the Bible?
WE:
The Buddhist scriptures also talk about Māra — or, in English, Satan. The Buddha said Māra is extremely powerful and cunning. So maybe the Buddha you’ve encountered is actually Satan in disguise. That would explain your disappointment and loss of faith. But please, keep searching for the true Buddha. As long as meeting these fake Buddhas doesn’t discourage you, and you treat them as valuable experience for spotting imposters later on, then sooner or later, you will meet the real Buddha.
We ourselves would not dare claim we have found the true teachings of the Buddha — because the Buddha Himself taught us not to believe too quickly, but to experience the truth for ourselves before placing trust in it (see scriptural reference below). At our current stage of understanding and practice, we are still very shallow. But we humbly share the materials we currently believe to be correct.
REFERENCE SOURCE:
Do not believe too quickly: Pāli Canon / Aṅguttara Nikāya / Book I / The Kalama Sutta
—“Venerable Sir, there are some monks and brahmins who come to Kesaputta. They explain and glorify their own teachings, while criticizing, insulting, and distorting the doctrines of others… In the midst of all this, Lord, we are in doubt and confusion. Among these monks, who is telling the truth, and who is lying?”
—“Kālāmas, it is proper for you to doubt, to be uncertain; doubt has arisen in you about matters that are doubtful. Kālāmas, do not believe something merely because it has been handed down by tradition, or because it is widely rumored, or because it is written in scriptures, or because it follows logical reasoning or deductive methods, or because it aligns with your preferences, or because it comes from a revered teacher.
But Kālāmas, when you know for yourselves: ‘These things are unwholesome; these things are blameworthy; these things are criticized by the wise; if undertaken, they lead to harm and suffering’ — then you should abandon them.
…And what should be accepted…
When you know for yourselves: ‘These things are wholesome; these things are not blameworthy; these things are praised by the wise; if undertaken and practiced, they lead to happiness and well-being’ — then, Kālāmas, you should dwell in and live by those teachings.”
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