A Religion Born on Earth

'Colors of the Rain' by Xangzi Xu

“Among the founders of religions, the Buddha was the only teacher who did not claim divine authority in any form. He attributed all his realization, attainments and achievements to human endeavor and human intelligence. 

“His philosophy is entirely based on observation and reasoning. His characteristic doctrines such as impermanence and dependent origination have an empirical justification. 

“His rejection of metaphysical speculation is based on the philosophically sound insight that such questions are unanswerable on the basis of observation. For example, he compares the question, ‘Does the saint exist after death or not?’ to the question ‘(Has) the flame that has gone out gone north or not?’”

— Narayan Champawat