Many people interpret the Buddhist suttas incorrectly. The Buddha did not teach that the 'self' should be destroyed, he only taught that you can't think in terms of a 'self' if you want to attain nibbana/nirvana. Therefore, he avoided talking about God,
atman etc. which were related to from the perspective of a self. For a more detailed explanation of the suttas, please see section B of this article, which explains it nicely:
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/wings/part1.html
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