I've been reflecting on the connection between theistic faith and the Buddhist concept of awakening. I wanted to share this synthesis of how the 'dream of God' might be a necessary precursor to the actual Awakening (Bodhi).

I've been reflecting on the connection between theistic faith and the Buddhist concept of awakening. I wanted to share this synthesis of how the 'dream of God' might be a necessary precursor to the actual Awakening (Bodhi).

Tonight, I immersed myself in a deep debate about the origins of faith, about prophets who "knew," and about the sad reality of religious wars. I came to a conclusion that connects history, psychology, and spirituality into one logical whole. I would like to share this perspective

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1. Isolated flashes: Akhenaten, Abraham, and Zarathustra

The history of monotheism is not a straight line, but rather a series of independent explosions. We have Akhenaten in Egypt, who worshipped the Sun (Aton), Abraham, who made a covenant with an invisible God, and Zoroaster in Persia, who saw the universe as a struggle between good and evil.

The mystery is that these people often did not know about each other. Yet they came to the same conclusion: there is only one God. This was not an intellectual decision. They experienced what is called a revelation—an inner shock that gave them 100% certainty. Without this personal experience (Bhava or Moksha), they would never have been able to change the world.

2. The tragedy of "inherited faith"

The problem arises when the prophet dies. His followers no longer have that direct experience. They only have books, rules, and rituals.

The prophet experienced a revelation.

Believers believe in someone else's revelation.

Faith becomes a "social code" and identity. And because people do not have the inner peace that comes with true knowledge, they begin to fight for "copyright" on God. Jews, Christians, and Muslims worship the same root, but kill each other over the interpretation of the branches. They fight for "their dream" because they fear that without it they would be nothing.

3. Buddha: The one who opened his eyes

While the prophets tried to improve the dream of the world (bring better rules from God), Buddha did something more radical. He ended the dream. That is why he is called the Awakened One.

Buddha understood that even the most beautiful religious revelation can be just "the highest form of illusion" (maya). If there is still "me" and "God" in my experience, I am still in duality. Buddha found the path to complete silence (Nibbana), where even the last crutch—the ego—disappears.

4. The Middle Way: Must you first dream in order to awaken?

Here comes the most important point: awakening requires prior belief.

Believers are people who dream a beautiful, deep dream. They are wrapped up in it, feeling emotions and love (Bhakti), but they are still asleep.

Atheists (materialists) are people in a gray room without windows. They deny the dream, not because they see through it, but because they have never experienced it. They have nothing to wake up from; their world is flat. You cannot wake up from nothing.

Buddha knew the Vedas. He knew the gods, he knew the ecstasy of merging with the infinite. And precisely because he knew the colors and depth of that "divine dream," he was able to see through it and wake up from it.

Conclusion

Perhaps the path of humanity is a linear process:

First, we must find the path to God (quiet the ego, believe in something higher, experience love).

We must "dissolve" in that dream (Moksha/Bhava).

And only from this high point can we make the final leap—to wake up to reality as it is, without stories and without names.

As long as we only fight over whose dream is more true, we will go around in circles. The real goal is not to be right, but to open our eyes.

Addendum: On the Two Starting Points

​"To clarify, I am not suggesting that faith in God is the only way to awakening. Rather, I see it as one of two distinct starting points that the Buddha's 'meta-method' can be applied to:

1.​The Path through Faith: For those born into theistic traditions, God serves as a powerful tool (Upaya) to dissolve the ego through devotion. Here, one surrenders to a 'higher power' until they are ready to see that even this 'power' is a concept of the mind that must eventually be transcended.

2.​The Path through Inquiry (Atheistic/Rational): This was the Buddha’s Great Innovation. He showed that you don't need the concept of God to wake up. You can start directly with the analysis of reality and the mind. For those without faith, the 'fuel' isn't devotion, but pure awareness and logic.

​My point is that both paths lead to the same 'deconstruction' of the illusion. Whether you use the 'ladder' of God and then leave it behind, or you climb the mountain without a ladder at all, the view from the top—the Awakening—is the same. The Buddha was a pragmatist: he didn't care which starting line you used, only that you eventually crossed the finish line of liberation.