Beginning of universe according to Buddha?
Answers
Evolution is not explicitly mentioned in the Tipitaka. As no major principles of Buddhism contradict it, many Buddhists tacitly accept the theory of evolution. Questions about the eternity or infinity of the universe at large are counted among the 14 unanswerable questions which the Buddha maintained were counterproductive areas of speculation. As such, many Buddhists do not think about these kinds of questions as meaningful for the Buddhist goal of relieving oneself and others from suffering.
In his book titled, "The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science And Spirituality" the Dalai Lama dismisses the element of randomness in the theory of evolution based on natural selection:
From the Buddhist's perspective, the idea of these mutations being random events is deeply unsatisfying for a theory that purports to explain the origin of life.
Donald S. Lopez, a renowned Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan studies explains in his book "Buddhism and Science: a Guide for the Perplexed" that in Buddhism, the process of Rebirth (into any of a large number of states of being including a human, any kind of animal and several types of supernatural being) is conditioned by karma (action of consciousness), which explains Dalai Lama's view.
Buddhists believe the beginning of this world and of life is inconceivable since they have neither beginning nor end, that the world was not created once upon a time, but that the world is constantly being created millions of times every second and that it will always continue to do so.