Buddha: Human or Supreme Being? First of all, I was not raised in a religious family. In fact, I can call the environment (family and friends) I was brought up the opposite of religious. My environment in general is quite skeptical about the phenomenon of supreme beings and it’s just impossible that they exist. To be honest I’m not that fond of religions itself, because I think it divides people in groups. And I’m afraid religions will judge other religions and that it will cause tumult. Though, I always wanted to believe there was more. Something to hold on to and believe in, just like most religious people do. That’s one of the reasons that got me into Buddhism. Religion or Philosophy? The thing I love about Buddhism is the fact that you can interpretate it your own way; either you see it as religion, or you can see it as a philosophy. According to myself I think of Buddhism as a philosophy. I see the Buddha as a human being, and not as a Supreme Being. Partly because I know the story of the Buddha, that he suffered a lot and he had to take a look deep inside himself to discover his true feelings, just like humans do. I think Buddhists use the inner self and the teachings of the Buddha as a starting point, and not a Supreme Being. Secondly, every human being can reach to be Buddha or translated: the enlightened one. According to this sentence I conclude for myself Buddhism is based on the human, and not on something like a higher power. It’s reachable for everybody who practices Buddhism very intense. Wise Teacher Gautama Buddha wasn’t there for no reason. The world needed more peace and less suffering. So there Gautama Buddha was born, like a human, in flesh and blood. And as he felt himself, the world needed a person who was wise and could forward teachings, the teachings of the Buddha, to people how to get free of suffering. I see him more as a wise teacher than a Supreme Being. Sthavira and Mahasamghika In my opin