Buddha and Jesus: Could Solomon Be the Missing Link? (38 page)
Read Buddha and Jesus: Could Solomon Be the Missing Link? Online
Authors: R. E. Sherman
Many Paths?
To the Buddhist, there are many paths to transcending the self. Each path is individual, with each person guided by a guru. In contrast, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
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Buddhists have a wide variety of different gurus and bodhisattvas to choose from for guidance in developing their own path to enlightenment. Christians have a tightly defined core text, the Bible, as a consistent source of guidance in seeking and following God. Parts of the Bible have been construed in diverse ways, and extrabiblical sources are also used as a guide by some (e.g., Catholics who heed dictums of the papacy). However, the central belief in Jesus as the Savior of the world through his death on the cross and resurrection to life on the third day is common to all mainstream Christians.
Since Buddhists recognize many paths to enlightenment, they see tolerance of different beliefs and peace with all people as paramount virtues. If others have different beliefs, there is no pressing need to try to change those beliefs as long as others are seeking tolerance and peace with everyone. Buddhists often will,
however, encourage others to adopt some form of meditation as a practice.
Christ taught his followers to love their enemies and to care for and pray for them, leaving the struggle against opponents up to God. He taught that he alone was the judge of people; no one else should assume that role. Some Christians tend to see people who have different beliefs as the enemy, but in the New Testament, people are not the true enemies. Instead, a spiritual battle is going on in “the heavenly realms,” and the enemy is Satan, along with the other fallen angels—the demons—who followed him in a rebellion against God and attempt to manipulate people.
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Buddhists are comparatively subjective. They believe that they can change their experience of the world by changing how they choose to view it. Christians are comparatively objective. They believe that they can change the world by earnest prayer if it is in accord with the will of God.
Were They Divine?
Theravada Buddhists usually do not believe in the divinity of Buddha. Buddha believed he was the same as every other enlightened being. Some Buddhists believe he was more enlightened than any other buddha in history. However, many Mahayana Buddhists believe in his divinity.
Conservative Christians believe in the divinity of Christ. In the Gospels, Jesus claimed to be one with God on several occasions. Mainstream Christianity from its earliest times has viewed God as a “triune” being consisting of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Gospel of John says of Jesus that “all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.”
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Thus, as the second person of the Trinity, he shared in the role of creator of the universe. Some liberal Christians do not regard Jesus as divine, viewing him as a great moral teacher instead.
Occult
In many Asian countries, Buddhism intentionally blended in the beliefs and practices of native populations as it expanded. Typically, this included superstitions and occult practices. Vajrayana Buddhists adopted many native Tibetan beliefs (in a wide range of deities) as an integral part of their spiritual practices.
Conservative Christians view all occult beliefs and activities as evils that should be completely avoided. Many liberal Christians are more open to blending in some of these views.
Near the end of
Chapter Fifteen
, in a section labeled, “Only One Way?” there is an extensive discussion of this entire area of contrast. To Buddha, any appearance of “good” or “evil” is an illusion that exists only in the realm of seeming reality. To Jesus, good and evil are opposites engaged in a battle for the eternal destiny of every soul.
Major Contrast #9: Nature of the Universe | |
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Buddhism | Christianity |
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The universe has always existed. It was never created. | God created the universe suddenly, as the Big Bang theory depicts. |
Buddha taught that any appearance of dualism is an illusion and is not part of ultimate reality, which has only one nature (monism). | Jesus taught dualism (i.e., that reality consists of two opposite natures). He believed in the reality of good vs. evil, virtue vs. sin, and heaven vs. hell. |
Buddha claimed that all sentient beings (i.e., people and animals) are interconnected and nearly equal. People are capable of attaining enlightenment, whereas animals are not. | Jesus emphasized a clear hierarchy among beings: God the Creator, then angels and demons, then people, then animals and plants, and finally, inanimate matter. |
Why would God create a world where suffering is pervasive? It makes more sense to believe that the world, and the universe, were never created. They always existed. | In response to mankind’s rejection of God in the Garden of Eden, God withdrew from active control of the world. In God’s absence, Satan became “prince of this world.” |
Buddhism denies the ultimate existence of sin and the necessity of grace. Choosing to cast off the illusions of self and dualism is necessary to become enlightened. In Christianity, sin is not an illusion; it is a state of rebellion against and alienation from God. How one’s sin is dealt with will determine a person’s eternal destiny. Jesus, who is one with God as the second person of the Trinity and existed with God in heaven before he came to earth, took the initiative to seek and rescue mankind from a fallen world—in which all people are inherently sinful.
Buddhism denies the ultimate existence of evil. However, forms of “evil” appear in the relative reality of this world. Christianity stresses the active presence of evil in the world and the need to confess one’s own sinful nature and need of a savior as a basis for escaping the power that evil now has in this world.
Monists look for truth within themselves, since they believe they are a central part of a universal whole. Dualists look for truth outside of themselves—for example, to a sacred book, to a specific church, or by direct appeal to a personal God far superior to themselves.
The life and worship of a dualist is rich and varied because it involves the interaction of a human soul with something other than itself. In the case of Christianity, this interaction is with a personal God who loves every human being and desires to be actively involved in each person’s life. To the extent that any individual is willing to invite God into his or her life, that individual will experience an intimate relationship with him. If someone who is not a dualist believes in God, that God is impersonal. Hence the degree of richness of religion
as an exercise of man relating to God
is much greater for the dualist than for the monist, much as life in a world with both men and women is much richer than one in a society consisting only of men or only of women. The apostle Paul referred to the church as the bride of Christ.
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Buddhism has not
inspired great works of music, such as Handel’s Messiah or Bach’s B Minor Mass, or the large body of hymns and songs of worship present within Christianity. Such works are expressions of individual people with their own personalities who were inspired by their interaction with a personal God. The chants and meditations of a Buddhist, in contrast, are designed to help the seeker to transcend self and to minimize or eliminate personal identity.
Major Contrast # 10: Women | |
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Buddhism | Christianity |
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Buddha’s attitude toward women could best be summarized by saying that any kind of contact should be avoided whenever possible. “So long as the love of man towards women, even the smallest, is not destroyed, so long is his mind in bondage, as the calf that drinks milk is to its mother.” | In over a dozen instances during Jesus’ ministry, he demonstrated a level of deference toward and concern for women that was astonishing in the ancient world. Jesus’ ministry was supported to a large degree by women of means. |
Buddhist nuns have 311 vows to take, in contrast to the 227 for monks. “There is no gender equality in Buddhism.” | “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” |
“It is always better to be reincarnated as a man than a woman. That’s one reason why Chinese parents have been known to throw away their baby girls, long before the communists’ ‘one birth policy.’” | Catholic monks and priests have clear authority over nuns. In many conservative Protestant churches, women are not allowed to preach to men. |