Comparison of Christianity and Buddhism as Universal Religions - Essay Example

Comparison and contrasting essay on Christianity and Buddhism as Universal Religions Introduction The world has universal and ethnic religions. Ethnic religion is also referred to as natural religion. This implies that membership into a natural religion is acquired through birth. In addition, natural religions do not require that one believes in something except close ties to culture and ethnic heritage. This is because culture and ethnicity are not just about believing in something, but what one is. This implies that a person’s identity is part of ethnic religion. In universal or voluntary religion, individuals are required to be members through basic faith doctrine. This makes it possible for a person to reject or accept the belief thereby not becoming a member. In natural religion, individuals make choices to reject or accept given practices. However, ethnic religion makes entire rejection of natural religion impossible. There are numerous natural religions, among them being Christianity and Buddhism. With universal religions, there is active search for converts thereby not limited to a given people. Again, universal religions reflect in terms of individual salvation, which makes them voluntary. The salvation of an individual is independent from that of a community and neither does the community affects an individual’s salvation. Like other universal religions, Christianity and Buddhism have particular founders. This paper compares and contrasts Christianity and Buddhism as universal religions. Differences between Buddhism and Christianity Buddhists believe in no God. For the Buddhists, a supreme God is not known. In addition, Buddhism believes in no creator, omnipotent or omnipresent God. There is also no believe in a Lord over his creation. However, Buddhists believe that there exists only the eternalness of a remote emptiness or void. Emptiness, for the Buddhists, is inexistent (Hattaway 203). This implies that God does not exist. Christians on the other hand believe that there is a God who is all-loving and all Christians must have a relationship with Him. However, the existence of a loving and caring God to the Buddhists reflects ignorance. This is because desire results from ignorance. In addition, Christians believe in God as their creator who gave each man a purpose to live. For the Buddhists, the cause and effect of human living is Karma. As a result, Buddhists would equate God to Karma, ignorance and void (Hattaway 204). Buddhists and Christians differ in terms of religious ultimate, human predicament and overcoming these predicaments (Yandell and Netland 175). For Christians, Jesus is divine. He was both man and God. Jesus was sent on earth save humans from sin. However, Buddhists believe that would refer to Jesus as a prophet and founder of Christianity. According to Buddhism, Jesus would be referred to as a bodhisattva or Buddha’s younger brother. This is because Buddhists do not understand or believe in the existence of God. Similarly, Christians cannot be convinced of Christ as the incarnate Lord or God flesh. After salvation, Christians believe that man is a spiritual being connected to God through faith in Jesus Christ. This differs from Buddhism believes. For the Buddhists, an individual is a combination of five aggregates that dismantle at death. These aggregates are referred to as Skandhas. After death, Skandhas exist separately from each other thereby forming no cohesive unit or individual being. In this case, Buddhists believe that life as humans is transient and impermanent. The impermanence results from the constant desire to flee from suffering given that life lacks meaning and is without purpose. For the Buddhists, ultimate hope from suffering is permanence or the void. Void is nothingness and it means that a person has to disappear from world into the void in order to obtain permanence or Nirvana. Death is void and it is the only hope for ending a cycle of reincarnation and suffering. In void form, there is non-existence that holds hope. This means there is no eternal life among Buddhists while heaven and earth do not exist (Berry 74). Buddhism contradicts Christianity through the believe that reincarnations after death. For the Buddists, there is Karma, which is regarded as the cause and effect cosmic law. This law is viewed as being impersonal and an unmerciful judge. When it comes to Karma application in one’s life, there are no negotiations since Karma is unchangeable, unavoidable, unforgivable, and impersonal. However, Christianity is founded based on God’s mercy, which can be altered through repenting of one’s sins. Through God’s mercy, one has their sins forgiven and they begin a new life. The Buddhists, however, believe that when something is done, there is no means of undoing it and neither can it be forgiven. In this case, Buddhists have to be careful with the choice of life they intend to live. This is because a person’s life in subsequent reincarnations is the fate of the results of their actions. In Christianity, sins separate humans from God. In Christianity, God is the creator of man and any sin has a consequence before Him. This is because sin is defined by doctrine. As a result, it is easy to define a sinner as a person who does not does not follow respective doctrines. Since Buddhists do not believe in any God, there are no consequences for sins before a Holy God. There are also no doctrines defining sin in Buddhism and instead, Buddhists regard existence as sin. In addition, desire or transitory deception is sin. Killing among Buddhists is the most common form of sin and Buddhists may refer to themselves as not sinners given that they have never killed or committed other such sin. This makes sin an illusion among Buddhists and only the cumulative Karmic consequences result to the continuous reincarnation cycles. Among Christians, sins are common for all human beings. Christians refer sins as the results of violating the character of God that results to moral failure. Among Christians, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is the savior of humankind. Salvation is through God’s unending grace for the sinners. However, Buddhists lack a savior. This means that there is no grace or sin forgiveness (Gross and Muck 136). However, Buddha in Buddhism pointed the way but could not assist anyone. As a result, a person’s merits and works are the only way one can overcome Karma. This means that, salvation in Buddhism is only, through self and merit and not through grace or forgiveness of sin. In order to avoid sin, the ultimate goal of Buddhists is to eliminate human desires, instead focusing on compassion, and not love. Among the Buddhists, compassion refers to the free from suffering of all sentient beings. Through compassion, benevolent actions for the suffering is not an adequate value given that such an action would result to the destruction of consequences of negative Karma (Keown 87). Similarities between Buddhists and Christians Shocking messages were taught by Jesus and Buddha in Christianity and Buddhism respectively (Yandell and Netland 175). Buddha was believed due to his personality while Jesus was believed for His spirituality and not personality. However, Jesus and Buddha are founders of their respective religions. In both Christianity and Buddhism, followers are guided by four noble truths each. In Christianity, these truths are death, sin, Christ and salvation. For the Buddhists, the four noble truths are all life is dukka, suffering is caused by Tanha, and truth follows inevitably and desire extinguishment. In addition, the practice of Buddhism and Christianity are based on some common truths but in the understanding of religion practices, there are different concepts that result to fragmentation each religion. However, both Buddha and Jesus Christ converge at some point. For instance, both Buddha and Jesus have significant roles in the birth of their religions. In addition, Jesus and Buddha’s teachings taught more of ethics, love, giving, and kindness. According to Keown (p.88), love in Christians is Jesus’ love or agape. In addition, Buddha and Jesus share similarities in terms of their teachings, birth and infancy stories, and the miracles they performed. This makes both Christians and Buddhists to engage in vigorous missionary projects in search of converts (Hattaway 204). Both Buddhism and Christianity believe in salvation. However, while Salvation in Christianity is acquired through faith and acceptance of Jesus Christ (Hattaway 208), Buddhists obtain salvation through contemplation of truth. Buddhists have to allow the four truths of life to guide their actions. This is because each individual is liable for their actions’ consequences. In addition, both Buddhists and Christians believe in deities. Among Buddhists, there is a belief in revering enlightened beings but not a supreme God (Berry 28). Among Christians, there is a belief in the Holy Trinity of God that comprises the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There are also regular practices common in both religions. Among Christians, there is frequent visit to the church to worship participation in good deeds and spread God’s word. For the Buddhists, visits to the temple are regular and intended at socialization and making offerings to Buddha. In addition, Buddhists use the temple to develop their mind while allowing them to appreciate proper attitude and conduct. In both religions, symbolism is frequent. Buddhists use images of Buddha mediating under a tree while Christians use the Jesus suffering on the cross (Gross and Muck 136; Keown 87). Conclusion In this paper, Christianity and Buddhism as religions are found to have numerous differences and similarities. While Buddhism is founded on Buddha, Christianity is founded on Jesus Christ whose life and teachings are imitated by Christians throughout the world (Yandell and Netland 176). Among the Buddhists, Buddha is only a guide into life while each person is responsible for their actions. Each Buddhist must understand the Dharma description of reality like cause and effect. On the other hand, Buddhists do not believe in the existence of gods compared to Christians who believe in one Supreme God. In addition, the issue of afterlife is only believed among Christians while Buddhists believe in ultimate absorption into the world. Moreover, Buddhists believe in reincarnation, which is not acceptable among Christians. All practices among Buddhists are intended at gaining enlightenment and nirvana while those of Christianity are aimed at gaining eternal life in heaven. Works Cited Berry, Thomas S. Christianity and Buddhism: a comparison and Contrast. New Delphi: Asian Educational Services, 1997. Print. Gross, Rita M and Muck, Terry C. Buddhists talk about Jesus, Christians talk about the Buddha. London: Continuum international Publishing Group, 2000. Print. Hattaway, Paul. Peoples of the Buddhist world: a Christian prayer Daiary. CA: Piaquent Editions, 2004. Print. Keown, Damien. Buddhism. New York: Sterling Publishing Co. Inc., 2009. Print. Yadell, Keith and Netland, Harold. Buddhism: A Christian Exploration and Appraisal. IL: intervarsity Press, 2009. Print. Read More