Upvote:1
There is no 'creation' story within Buddhism, at least not as such.. there are 62 beliefs (wrong views), from some of which you can infer different 'starts' to the universe, but it is literally the first Sutta within the Sutta Pitaka, and effectively asks the individual to abandon all of them!
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.01.0.bodh.html
Wrong View 5 reminds me of the Big Bang/Big Crunch model, but again - these views are usually a-priori metaphysical views, and not confirmed by evidence or experiment. In any case, their discussion is not conducive to the goal.
(Science and Buddhism do meet, here is a fun philosophy article: http://philpapers.org/archive/CAPIOQ-2.PDF , but they have overlap within the philosophy of science, more than science itself!)
Within Buddhist thought, the Universe does not have a first cause (since it is illogical), rather it keeps on going 'around' within Samsara..
Upvote:1
Note the other answers, which say that conjectures about the Big Bang are irrelevant to Buddhism.
The "beginning" is also described (it's described as being something which cannot be discerned), in suttas, for example the Gaddula Sutta:
At Savatthi. There the Blessed One said:
"Monks, from an inconstruable beginning comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, although beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmigrating & wandering on.
Dharmafarer translates this same sutta as,
“Without a beginning or an ending, bhikshus, is this samsara [cycle of lives and deaths]. A first point cannot be discerned of beings roaming and wandering on, hindered by ignorance, fettered by craving.
Still you might also be interested in these references:
Upvote:2
The Pali Buddhist scriptures concern themselves with suffering & freedom from suffering rather than ideas about the creation of the universe. Therefore, the 'Big Bang' is unrelated to Buddhism because it is unrelated to freedom from suffering & because it is not knowable,i.e., it is superstition.
"Conjecture about [the origin, etc., of] the world is an unconjecturable that is not to be conjectured about, that would bring madness & vexation to anyone who conjectured about it."
~~~
'...talk that is base, vulgar, common, ignoble, unbeneficial, that does not lead to disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, calm, direct knowledge, self-awakening or Nibbana — i.e., talk about...the creation of the world & of the sea...
MN 122
Upvote:3
In Buddhism the universe goes through 4 phases from expansion, expanded, contracting and collapsed states. This cycle is infinite hence there is infinite Big Bangs hence the no single point of origin whist the "Big Bang" is not the origin of the universe but start of this world cycle. See: The Big Bang and the Buddha's View of the Universe by Bhante Vimalaramsi. In fact there are infinite parallel universes which are at various stages of development. See: Abhidharmartha Pradipika by Amaradasa Rathnapala.
The start of the "Big Bang" is triggered by by lust and craving of beings in Ābhassara Brahma World ending their life span there which causes the lower planes to be formed. As their lust grows then come and inhabit lower realms without the merit to go back.
Finally cosmology does not help eliviate stress in your current exitance and perhaps case more stress through theorising hence unless you make your living as astonomer or cosmologist then this is best left aside. Also see chapter: The Origin of the World of What Buddhists Believe by Venerable K. Sri Dhammananda Maha Thera and Can one practice meditation to gain knowledge about the universe?