How did Buddha Explain the Creation Of the World?

Question

I have heard that Buddha explained how the world is recreated after a destruction, in Aggan̄n̄a Sutta.

One tale told by the Buddha in the Aggan̄n̄a Sutta describes the process of recreation on this grand scale. An old world-system has just been destroyed, and its inhabitants are reborn in a new system. To begin with they are spirits, floating happily above the earth, luminescent and without form, name or sex. The world in these early stages is without light or land, only water. Eventually earth appears and the spirits come to taste and enjoy it. Their greed causes their ethereal bodies to become solid and coarse and differentiate into male and female, good-looking and ugly. As they lose their luminescence the sun and moon come into being.Gradually the beings fall into further wicked habits, causing themselves - and the earth itself - to become less pleasant. Source- BBC

However, the modern science describes the creation of the world in a different way. According to scientists, the first life on earth started in water. Later these water animals came to land and evolved to the types of animals that we see today. It is said that the humans evolved from monkeys. It's evident that Dinosaurs lived on earth before humans.

Which explanation is true? Buddha's or Scientists'? Did Buddha lie When explaining the creation of the world because the people at that time didn't understand these scientific facts?

Very sorry for my bad English.

Answer 1

If it is difficult to comprehend the explanation given in Aggañña Sutta; how about focusing your energy to understand Loka Sutta, SN 12.44? If you can realize this explanation, there will not be any doubt about Aggañña Sutta.

Loka Sutta, SN 12.44

Dwelling at Savatthi. There the Blessed One addressed the monks: "I will teach you the origination of the world & the ending of the world. Listen & pay close attention. I will speak."

"As you say, lord," the monks responded to the Blessed One.

The Blessed One said: "And what is the origination of the world? Dependent on the eye & forms there arises eye-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth as a requisite condition, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair come into play. This is the origination of the world.

"Dependent on the ear & sounds there arises ear-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the nose & aromas there arises nose-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the tongue & flavors there arises tongue-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the body & tactile sensations there arises body-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the intellect & mental qualities there arises intellect-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. From craving as a requisite condition comes clinging/sustenance. From clinging/sustenance as a requisite condition comes becoming. From becoming as a requisite condition comes birth. From birth as a requisite condition, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair come into play. This is the origination of the world.

"And what is the ending of the world? Dependent on the eye & forms there arises eye-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. Now, from the remainderless cessation & fading away of that very craving comes the cessation of clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the cessation of birth, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress & suffering. This is the ending of the world.

"Dependent on the ear & sounds there arises ear-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the nose & aromas there arises nose-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the tongue & flavors there arises tongue-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the body & tactile sensations there arises body-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact... Dependent on the intellect & mental qualities there arises intellect-consciousness. The meeting of the three is contact. From contact as a requisite condition comes feeling. From feeling as a requisite condition comes craving. Now, from the remainderless cessation & fading away of that very craving comes the cessation of clinging/sustenance. From the cessation of clinging/sustenance comes the cessation of becoming. From the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth. From the cessation of birth, then aging & death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, distress, & despair all cease. Such is the cessation of this entire mass of stress & suffering. This is the ending of the world."

Answer 2

• Which explanation is true? Buddha's or Scientists'? Did Buddha lie When explaining the creation of the world...

No enlightened being lies for any purpose. Scientific knowledge is based on hypothesis. The Dhamma is what the Buddha understood through direct knowledge.

• It is said that the humans evolved from monkeys. It's evident that Dinosaurs lived on earth before humans.

In Buddhism, humans are not identified as animals. They devolved from self-luminous gods(brahmas). Not monkeys! Agganna sutta is about how human beings came to dwell on Earth. It doesn't mention about the origin of the animals.

In any case, dinosaur bones being older than human bones doesn't prove that humans came later.

" they dwell, mind-made, feeding on delight, self-luminous, moving through the air, glorious — and they stay like that for a very long time." -Agganna Sutta

A being with such a form cannot be expected to leave any bones behind when they die. It's only much much later their bodies started to harden.

According to Science, dinosaurs lived between 230 and 65 million years ago. Land plants had evolved on Earth by about 700 million years ago and land fungi by about 1,300 million years ago. According to Agganna sutta, the earth didn't even have trees when the first humans came.

We were here even before the first mushrooms(fungi) appeared on earth:

Then, mushroom-like plants began to grow so fast that they replaced the mud-like ocean. The creatures began to devour them as well, and they also found it delicious, like sweet honey and milk. Their body hardened more and details began to turn finer. -Agganna Sutta

Answer 3

How did Buddha Explain the Creation Of the World?

As you noted much of it found in Aggañña Sutta and related Suttas.

Also see:

• Buddhist cosmology
• Buddhist cosmology of the Theravada school
• Buddhism and evolution
• Can you point me some Sutras on Buddhist Cosmology?

Which explanation is true? Buddha's or Scientists'?

There will be argument both for and against which is not the best format for this site.

The Buddha's teaching is eternal / universal while the scientists have theories which time to time get proven and disproven with new theories replacing the old. So it is best to take the Buddha's explanation. Having said this the Buddha sometimes describe thing metaphorically.

Answer 4

Please watch this .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46CZQAHouoY

According to "Aganna suthra" Loard buddha had explained all those things more than modern scientists has been invented.

Answer 5

There are many aprophycal explanations attributable to Buddha but in the core scriptures Buddha regarded such questions & discussion as unprofitable. To quote:

"If, while he is dwelling by means of this dwelling, his mind inclines to speaking, he resolves that 'I will not engage in talk that is base, vulgar, common, ignoble, unbeneficial, that does not lead to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, calm, direct knowledge, self-awakening, or Unbinding — i.e., talk about kings, robbers, & ministers of state; armies, alarms, & battles; food & drink; clothing, furniture, garlands, & scents; relatives; vehicles; villages, towns, cities, the countryside; women & heroes; the gossip of the street & the well; tales of the dead; tales of diversity, the creation of the world & of the sea; talk of whether things exist or not.' In this way he is alert there. Maha-suññata Sutta

Buddha was concerned about how the mind creates is own 'mental world' (loka) that results in suffering, as explained at the link below & elsewhere. Buddha used the word 'world' as a synonym for 'suffering (eg. in Rohitassa Sutta)

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.044.than.html