How did the universe come into existence according to Buddhism?
Buddhists (Theravada) believe in the concept of Pratītyasamutpāda (dependent origination) which means that things are born out of causes. Without causes, things cease to be. The purpose of this theory is to teach humans to let go of things and possessions the departure from which cause suffering to humankind. The goal is to make people enjoy the here and now in their lives and accept changes. For buddhists, nothing comes to be without a cause, not even God. That is to say: there is no “unmoved Prime mover” in the universe. Even a supreme God like Brahma, despite his longevity, will have to die one day. Nothing lives forever. So there can be (G)ods in Buddhism. But God too is subject to the unchanging eternal law of Dhamma. God, too, has to die.
2. The Buddha rarely talks about the origin of the Cosmos, for he thinks that such knowledge is unnecessary in order to achieve the liberation from Death and Rebirth. However, Theravada Buddhists do have a creation myth. This is recorded in the Aggañña Sutta. Aggañña Sutta teaches how all beings became animals; how they developed into opposite genders; how they came to divide themselves into difference races; how they lost their “Eden” (or the fertility of the earth); how they became avaricious and sinful; how the religion began etc. Aggañña sutta’s creation myth is evolutional in its theme, for there is no divine intervention involved. It doesn’t directly refer to a Big-Bang type of event. But anyone who reads Agañña Sutta with an open mind will tell you that it is the world’s best creation myth, much better than anything in the Bible or Quran.
[Origin of Races]: Aggañña Sutta reveals that men became racist after they had forgotten that every being was once the same. But after becoming addicted to the taste of Savory Earth, they developed racial variations and sexes. And thereafter they started to sin by copulating.
[Origin of Sins]: All other sins originated from greed and want of comfort. The Earth once offered unlimited food (magical grains of rice which replenish every morning); there was no need for gathering. But people started to develop agricultural techniques in order to stockpile rice grains for weeks and became addicted to comfort. Soon after, these innovations killed off the primordial fertility of the Earth. Rice grains stopped replenishing themselves. Now agriculture was invented and arable lands were portioned to members of the society. Laws were created. Kings were chosen to enforce them. People began to lie and kill and steal. … The Buddha is trying to teach that the innovations that we have invented due to our avaricious nature and our blind love of comfort invariably lead to the destruction of nature and force us to work harder. They were the root cause of all injustices. Buddhist monks shall not hoard resources more than what they need for subsistence.
[The First Religion]: when people became sorely distressed because of work, scarcity and injustice, some of them became Brahmins and started to meditate. They were first called “Jañña” (meditating ones) by the people. However, after they failed to find salvation (there weren’t yet a Buddha), they quit meditation and started to create religious texts (vedas … maybe Torah too) which consisted of fictionalized “fake truth” and did not lead to true liberation. People became very indignant towards these Brahmins and threw dust and stones at them. People were now calling the scripture writers “ajañña” meaning “those who don’t meditate.” However, the Buddha comments that, though this practice (scripture writing) used to be condemned, “it is much esteemed today.” (Note: this is, for me, the best joke of this Sutta). → The Buddha suggests that, in a true religion, a seeker must meditate in order to develop a true and liberating wisdom. Religions, which are based on Scriptures, are more or less fictionalized. No amount of mythology and solemn rites will lead you to the liberation from death and rebirth.
In sum, Buddhism (if you can call it “ism” at all)’s aim is to teach mankind to awake from avijja (ignorance). Ignorance in Buddhism doesn’t mean that you don’t receive Yaweh or Jesus or Allah or Superman as your one and only Lord. It means that one does not know what is the true cause of suffering (dukkha). Aggañña Sutta uses a creation myth to teach buddhist faithfuls about the origin of sins while explaining why (Theravada) Buddhist monks must lead austere lives and devote their lives to meditation (instead of becoming scripture writers).
Source
https://www.quora.com/How-did-the-universe-come-into-existence-according-to-Buddhism
