Jesus or Buddha
We believe in:
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Personal worth: The inherent worth of every person. People are worthy of respect, support, and caring simply because they are human. Unfortunately, our group has not reached a consensus on when human life, in the form of an ovum and spermatozoon, becomes a human person with civil rights including the right to live. On this matter, our group’s lack of agreement on when personhood begins mirrors that of society at large. |
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Lack of discrimination: Working towards a culture that is relatively free of discrimination on the basis of gender, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, physical disability, language, age, body shape, etc. |
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Dignity: The dignity of the human person. We oppose the use of torture and cruel or unusual punishment including the death penalty. |
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Democracy: The importance of democratic processes within religious, political, and other structures in which the will of the people is implemented, subject to the limits imposed by the group’s constitution. |
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Religion-state matters: The separation of religion and the state. (This is generally referred to as “separation of church and state.” But we prefer the more inclusive term). The government should avoid promoting one faith group within a religion over another, or promote one religion over another, promote religion over secular beliefs, or promote secular beliefs over religion. 1 |
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Personal freedom: The freedoms of religious beliefs, speech, association, and expression at the individual, congregational and denominational level. 1 |
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Freedom of speech: The freedom to compare the beliefs of faith groups with each other, and with the findings of science. It also includes the freedom to criticize faith and other groups when they harm others. |
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Relative truth: The principle that many moral, ethical, and religious beliefs vary greatly from one culture, religion, and time to another, and are thus relative. We do acknowledge that they are often considered absolute by various religions and secular belief systems. 2 |
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Impact of religion: The generally positive influence that most religions have had on their followers and on society. 3 |
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A problem with the use of prayer: It is our belief that prayer is an unreliable method to assess the will of God. We were initially divided on this matter, but a pilot study appears to indicate that prayer for this purpose is unreliable. |
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Evil in religion: In the importance of individual believers detecting evil influences and policies that currently exist within their chosen faith group, and strongly advocating for their correction. If significant improvement or elimination of sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, etc. is impossible, we feel that they should consider withholding financial support and/or leaving the group. 4 |
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Education: The principle that people are not truly educated unless they have studied the world’s major religions and ethical systems. They need to learn of both the good and evil impacts that each has had on society throughout history. Young people need to be taught skills at analysis and “baloney detection as an integral part of their education” |
If Jesus and Buddha were to meet, they would recognize one another as fellow prophets because they were teaching the same truths.
Both stayed in the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights and were tempted by evil, Jesus by Satan and Buddha by the demon Mara and his daughters.
Jesus’s original teachings promoted peace and turning the other cheek, passive resistance rather than armed insurrection. Marcus Borg, a Christian and Jesus scholar, focuses on this basic aspect of Christianity by selecting a range of quotations from the Gospels and pairing them with parallel sayings by the Buddha. For example, whereas Jesus said, ‘Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God,’ Buddha said, ‘Let us live most happily, possessing nothing; let us feed on joy, like the radiant gods.’ It is surprising, to a reader familiar only with the Bible, to find how similar the words of the two religious leaders actually are.
When we compare two ancient spiritual traditions like Buddhism and Christianity, what we see is a striking similarity between the narratives of the founding masters: in the case of Christianity, Jesus Christ, and in the case of Buddhism, the Buddha. I see a very important parallel: in the very lives of the [founders] the essence of their teachings is demonstrated. For example… the essence of the Buddha’s teaching is embodied in the Four Noble Truths: the truth of suffering, the truth of the origin of suffering, the truth of the cessation of suffering, and the truth of the path leading to this cessation. These Four Noble Truths are very explicitly and clearly exemplified in the life of… the Buddha himself. I feel [it] is the same with the life of Christ. If you look at the life of Jesus, you will see all the essential practices and teachings of Christianity exemplified. And in the lives of both Jesus Christ and the Buddha, it is only through hardship, dedication and commitment, and by standing firm on one’s principles that one can grow spiritually and attain liberation. That seems to be a central and common message.
Apart from that, there are few similarities, apart from living a simple life.
Buddha searched for the way. Jesus said “I am the Way”
Buddha searched for the truth. Jesus said “I am the Truth”.
Buddha searched for a reason for living. Jesus said “I am the Life. No one comes to the Father, except by way of me.” John 14:6
Both claim royal descent;
Celestial bodies announced the birth of both;
Both were tempted by the devil;
Both experienced supernatural events after the devil left;
Both were said to know the thoughts of others;
Both healed blind men and claimed that the affliction was due to a previous sin;
Both required disciples to renounce worldly possessions;
Both had a disciple who walked on water.
Take a look at the video below and think a little deeper into life in God’s hands.
http://www.biographyonline.net/spiritual/buddhism/differences-buddhism-christianity.html
Differences Between Buddhism and Christianity
Buddhism and Christianity were both founded by great Spiritual Masters who sought to offer a path to salvation. The terminology they used was often quite different. Also given the different circumstances they incarnated in, they taught different paths and emphasised different approaches to spirituality.
Neither the Buddha or Jesus Christ wrote down their own teachings. In both cases, their teachings were written down many years after they had left the world. This gap between their teaching and the written version means there is always potential for error and misunderstanding of their teaching. Also, as the new religions developed they evolved in different ways.
Some of the Significant Differences Between Buddhism and Christianity
God
Buddhists do not talk of a Creator God. In Christianity the concept of God looms large. In the Old Testament, God appears as a dispenser of Divine Justice, this is a concept largely absent in Buddhism
Prayer-Meditation
Meditation and mindfulness are at the heart of Buddhism. Christianity places greater stress on prayer.
Grace / Personal Effort
Buddhism places greater emphasis on personal effort, Christianity places greater emphasis on Grace.
Reincarnation
Buddhism emphasizes the endless cycle of birth and rebirth and the idea of reincarnation. Christianity teaches we have one life and one chance.
Salvation and liberation
Christianity emphasises the concept of ‘salvation’ Salvation comes through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as the saviour. For those who trust in Jesus Christ, Christians believe will gain eternal life in heaven. Buddhists have a different emphasis, they believe that an individual has to work for his personal liberation – a discipline that may take several lifetimes. A Buddhist believes that belief in the Buddha is not enough, the seeker has to experience nirvana for himself.
Similarities Between Buddhism and Christianity
Founded by Spiritual Master who accepted disciples.
Taught through the use of simple parables.
Both Jesus Christ and the Buddha sought to reform existing social / religious practises which had denigrated into ritualistic forms with no spiritual meaning. Christ criticised the money lenders in the temple. Buddha criticised the caste system and hypocrisy of the Brahmans.
Both were egalitarians. Buddha accepted all castes into his sangha. Christ taught his philosophy was not just for a small race.
Shared values . The Five Precepts of Buddhism (abstention form killing, lying, stealing, sexual immorality) would be welcomed by most Christians.
Both religions stress ethical living, compassion / love to other people.
Both taught to overcome the forces of hate through the power of love.The Buddha ‘hatred cannot be overcome by hatred’The Christ ‘Love your enemy’
Like Buddhism, Christianity also encourages followers to take steps to improve their well being. Like Christianity, Buddhism has a strong devotional aspect. This is characterised by faith in the Buddha. This is especially marked in traditions such as Pure Land Buddhism, which stresses prayer to the Buddha.
Both religions encourage its followers to be charitable towards the poor.
Both religions have both a monastic and lay approach. Though the monastic element is largely absent in contemporary Protestantism.
Both aspire to greater spiritual perfection. Though they may have different approaches they are both seeking a higher spiritual perfection.
Both seek to transcend the material world. They believe real happiness is to be gained from spiritual values and spiritual consciousness.
The Divine Consciousness. It is true the Buddha did not talk about God. He felt the Supreme Consciousness could never be expressed in words. But, Buddha did talk about the infinite peace, infinite light and infinite bliss of nirvana. What is God if not this transcendental consciousness?
Citation : Pettinger, Tejvan. “Differences Between Buddhism and Christianity “, Oxford, UK – www.biographyonline.net . Last updated 12th Jan. 2013