Buddhism Vs Christianity

STUDIES IN BUDDHISM

BUDDHIST Symbols

Mandala

Wheel of Life

Mantra

Chorten

Mandala-reprent circle of life, used for meditation Wheel of Life-Symbol depicting the Eightfold path to Nirvana Mantra-meditation chant. Chorten-bell of wisdom

BUDDHIST Symbols

Hand Prayer Wheel

Lotus Flower

Hand prayer wheel-used to help in prayer Lotus Flower-symbols of enlightenment Prayer Beads-used to enhance prayer, meditation

Prayer Beads

Dalai Lama

The Spread of Buddhism Buddhism out of India by 1000 AD

Theravada Mahayana Vajrayana

Spheres of Influence

The History of Buddhism

Buddhism is a related to Hinduism, and there are a number of similarities. Buddhism began in India in about the 6th century B.C., and from there it spread throughout Asia. Today it is found mainly in Japan, China, and the Far East. Very few people in India itself are Buddhists today.

The system was begun by Gautama Buddha (the title "Buddha" means "one who is enlightened"). He was born about 563 B.C., and raised in a very wealthy family where he was protected from problems and suffering. Later he was exposed to suffering and became concerned with the cause of it. At age 29 he left his wife and son to seek a solution. He tried and rejected both Hinduism and extreme self-deprival (asceticism).

After 6 years of seeking, he arrived at the system that became Buddhism. He established an order of monks and one of nuns devoted to his plan of overcoming suffering, then he spent the rest of his life as a wandering religious teacher.

Major Divisions of Buddhism

Buddhists have tried to adapt their religion to the views of people converted from other religions. The result was that people could believe almost anything and be Buddhist. The differences within Buddhism can be likened, not to the differences between Catholics and Protestants, but to those between Christians, Jews, and Moslems. [WR 169] We will examine two major branches of Buddhism:

* Theravada is the older, conservative wing which follows the original teachings of Gautama. These Buddhists are found mainly in Southern Asia - Thailand, Burma, etc. * Mahayana is the newer, liberal wing of Buddhism. Those of this view refer to conservatives as the "little vehicle" and themselves as the "great vehicle" because they believe their views are more practical for most people. They are found mainly in central and northern Asia - Japan, China, Korea, etc.

Scriptures of Buddhism

* Conservative Buddhists (Theravada) have three groups of writings called "3 baskets" - the Tripitaka. It is written in the Pali language and is 11 times the size of the Bible. It is supposed to contain the sermons and doctrines of Gautama, but it was written centuries after he died. Hence, it is not an eyewitness account of his life or teachings. There is no such eyewitness account. All we have are traditions.

* Liberal Buddhists (Mahayana) follow much more than the Tripitaka. Their Scriptures contain over 5000 volumes. Each sect emphasizes their favorite portions. Teachings of various parts of their Scriptures contradict one another.

4 Noble Truths 2. Suffering is a part of Human life 3. Cause of Suffering-selfish craving 4. Cessation of suffering – absence of passion 5. Eightfold path leads to cessation of suffering

Eightfold Path 3. Right views

5. Right Livelihood

4. Right intents

6. Right Effort

5. Right Speech

7. Right Mindfulness

6. Right Conduct

8. Right Concentration

Buddhism Teaching About: God

The Conservative View Gautama taught nothing about God. He refused even to deny or affirm God's existence. He definitely denied that he himself was divine. Instead his teachings were designed to obtain relief from suffering by means of human effort alone. Original and conservative Buddhism involves neither faith nor worship, neither prayer nor praise nor forgiveness of sins. In that sense, conservative Buddhism is not really a religion but a moral philosophy designed to overcome suffering.

The Liberal View Liberal Buddhists do accept existence of Deity, an absolute Supreme Being or power. In fact they deify Gautama Buddha as divine, even though he himself denied it! They teach that many other men achieve enlightenment as Gautama did. These are also deified as Buddhas or Bodhisattvas. They believe all men have the power or potential to become Buddhas and be deified. Various groups emphasize different deities, some of which are equivalent to Hindu deities.

Prayers and worship are offered to Buddhas, including use of images. Note the contrast between conservative teaching and liberals.

Christians Teaching About: God

God exists. In contrast to conservative Buddhism, which teaches nothing about God's existence, the Bible says that the very existence of the universe demonstrates God's existence.

Psalm 19:1 - The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork. Romans 1:20 - Though God is invisible, His power and divinity can be seen through the things that are made.

Buddhist Teaching About: The Destiny of Man

Rebirth (reincarnation) Buddhists believe that, when a man dies, he will return to live as another human on earth. The cycle of birth and rebirth continues indefinitely until one is "released." Regarding the spirit of man, conservatives believe man has no spirit or inner part that lives after death. Only the consequences of past deeds (karma) lives from life to life. Liberals believe man has a spirit that continues from life to life. Karma (action)

Christians Teaching About: The Destiny of Man

Man lives and dies (physically) only once. Hebrews 9:27 It is appointed to man once to die. [Ecclesiastes 12:7] James 2:26 - The body without the spirit is dead. Death is separation of the spirit from the body. 1 Corinthians 15:22,23 - All die as a result of Adam's sin; as a result of Jesus, all live again. Resurrection is the opposite of death, hence the spirit is reunited with the body.

Buddhist Teaching About: Suffering

4 Noble Truths 2. Suffering is a part of Human life 3. Cause of Suffering-selfish craving 4. Cessation of suffering – absence of passion 5. Eightfold path leads to cessation of suffering

Christians Teaching About: Suffering

It is true that suffering is a part of life. Job 14:1 - "Man, that is born of woman, is of few days, and full of trouble." This basically agrees with the first "truth" of Buddhism. Suffering exists as the consequences of man's sin or as a temptation to sin. Genesis 3:16-19 - Suffering, pain of childbirth, the difficulty of work, and death all came into the world because man sinned.

1 Peter 4:14-16 - Some suffering is the result of our evil doing, but instead we may suffer because others do some evil to us. So not all suffering is the result of our own sins. Sometimes we suffer because others sin. Hence, suffering may or may not be the result or our own wrong desires.

Buddhism teaches us to eliminate all natural desires. The Bible says that every natural desire has a good and proper way to be fulfilled. Example: Hebrews 13:4 - "Let marriage be held in honor by all." The natural desire for sexual fulfillment may be satisfied by proper means as ordained by God. Buddhism, on the other hand, teaches that to be saved one must overcome this desire and learn to live without marriage .

The Bible, however, warns that human desires can be perverted and lead to sin: Hebrews 13:4 - Fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. The proper goal of man is, not to eliminate all desires from his life, but to know God's will and control the desires accordingly. In particular, the desire to exist as an individual is not bad. It is an act of God's creation. God Himself possesses distinct characteristics of personality - God loves, speaks, knows, wills, etc.

Furthermore, man is an individual created in God's image. Genesis 1:26-28, 2:7 In fact, man will always exist in a state of conscious existence as a separate individual. In the resurrection we will have spirit bodies (1 Corinthians 15). In eternity, we will be conscious and distinct individuals (Luke 16:19-31). The claim that it is bad to desire to be an individual blasphemes the work of God.

The way to overcome suffering is, not to strive to defeat it yourself, but to trust in God and serve Him. By serving God properly we can endure suffering in this life. Psalm 46:1 - "God is our refuge and strength. A very present help in trouble." Psalm 34:19 - God delivers the righteous out of troubles.

Buddhist Teaching About: Salvation

Eightfold Path 3. Right views

5. Right Livelihood

4. Right intents

6. Right Effort

5. Right Speech

7. Right Mindfulness

6. Right Conduct

8. Right Concentration

Many lifetimes are required to reach perfection. One must pass through 4 stages in which 10 hindrances are overcome. Each stage may take many lives. Gautama took at least 550 lives to achieve perfection. Later stages require one to be a monk, abandoning family life. Buddhists who are not monks have not yet advanced to later stages, but must do so in some future lifetime to obtain salvation.

Christians Teaching About: Salvation

Man cannot save himself without God. Buddhism says all or some men must earn salvation. The Bible says God must provide the means of deliverance. No man can earn salvation. Ephesians 2:8,9, Romans 6:23

Liberal Buddhism says some men can save other men. The Bible says no man can save himself, nor can anyone else save him except Jesus. 1 Corinthians 1:11-13 – Romans 3:23 - All men have sinned. How can another man who sinned die to pay the penalty for my sins?

God is no respecter of persons. Each individual is responsible to meet the conditions for forgiveness, and those conditions are the same for all people. It is not true that some must be perfect to be saved but others can be saved on lesser conditions. All must be saved by accepting the same conditions. Acts 10:34,35, 2:38,39

2 Corinthians 5:10 - Salvation is a matter of individual responsibility. Each person will be rewarded or condemned based on his own personal conduct. No one else can meet the conditions for you. Salvation does require strict self-control. 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 - Like star athletes, we must exercise self-control, and bring our bodies into bondage in order to receive God's reward. [Acts 3:22,23; Romans 12:1,2]

CONCLUSION

Buddhism worship either no god or else false gods. It teaches that man must save himself over a period of many lives by human effort. The gospel provides the only true way to worship the only true God. It provides a way for man to be forgiven by the death of the Son of God who paid the penalty for our sins. To receive the benefit, we must trust Jesus and obey Him in this life. Then we have the hope of eternal life.