Buddhism / Christianity

...

enough, the similar context of each of their births. However, Buddha and Jesus did not start teaching until after intense meditation. Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree and was seduced by Mara, the Lord of Desire as Jesus was in the desert for forty days and was seduced by Satan (Bremmer). Both in this state of contemplation and meditation, it could be thought that Buddha and Jesus had a similar awakening. The passage “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) is significant to this type of meditation and displays the ability to change our lives by being quiet and just listening. Buddha and Jesus did not lay emphasis on attaching oneself to materialistic possessions, but rather on compassion and teachings.

Just like there are similarities, there are also many differences between Buddhism and Christianity. When Buddha died, there was no resurrection and when Jesus died, He was resurrected and still lives in the Kingdom of Heaven. Christians believe that original sin, originated with Adam and Eve as well as a savior whose death gave us salvation. They also believe that Jesus was born from the Virgin Mary, crucified for our sins, resurrected, ascended to heaven and will come again; these are beliefs not followed by Buddhist teachings. Buddhism teaches of the samsara cycle and reincarnation as well as to aspire to finish this cycle and obtain Nirvana. In Buddhist teachings, the mind experiences freedom and non-attachment. Christianity believes that one has only one life to live on earth and, after death, one will either spend eternity in Heaven or Hell. One will experience only joyousness in Heaven, whereas in Hell one will experience only eternal suffering without hope of an end (Clark-Soles). One indiscernible difference, yet benevolent, Buddha taught followers how to live and Jesus died so we may live forever in the Kingdom.

Bibliography

Bremmer, J.N. "The Passion of Perpetua and the development of early Christian Afterlife." Nederlandsch theologisch tijdshrift 54.2 (2000): 97-111.

In this article, the author shows the Christian view of the afterlife transpired approximately AD 200 in the Passion of Perpetua. The ideal was heaven; however hell was not as much of an idea. Influenced by Jewish religion, the New Testament developed ideas, such as heaven and the resurrection and other ideas, such as light and the soul body came from Greco-Roman religions. The Christian ideas were the affections of Jesus Christ and the blessed of the many. The author argues that the developments of many of these were derived from unorthodox tradition.

Clark-Soles, Jaime. Death and the Afterlife in the New Testament. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2006.

In this book, the author describes death and the afterlife with different forms of Christianity. She discusses Judaism, Greco-Roman, Paul, Matthew, the Fourth Gospel and Peter. She explains heaven and hell as well as the different origins each theory of heaven and hell comes from. She discusses the afterlife through the times of the New Testament. The author investigates and answers many questions that range from similarities and differences to the different functions each New Testament book follows, i.e. political, theological, social, etc,

Roberts, David E. "Existentialism and religious belief." Pastoral Psychology 8.3 (1957): 45-51.

In this article, the author discusses the detriment existentialism has on the Christian religion as one should not look to philosophy or science for confirmation or proof. He also implies that one would be in the same category as an agnostic or atheist. He also argues that if Christian philosophy is used and taught correctly, science can play a positive role and serve in the spiritual end. He commends other philosophers for being able to bring religion and science together in a positive way.

Robinson, B.A. ReligiousTolerance.org. 26 04 2013. 13 12 2014. <http://www.religioustolerance.org/>.

Solomon, Robert C. "A short history of philosophy." 1996.

In this paper, the author goes over the history of Eastern and Western philosophy. He discusses different philosophers and explores the myths that follow. He discusses different philosophies of world religions including Christianity. The author also discusses the significance of and interprets philosophy in regards to existentialism.

Taylor, Richard P. Death and the afterlife: A cultural encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2000.

This encyclopedia excerpt explains the final step in the afterlife process for Buddhists, Nirvana. This is the point where once one relinquishes selfishness and materialism. It also discusses Nirmanakaya, which is a person that reaches the ultimate enlightenment; however does not accept Nirvana so they may continue to help and provide services on Earth. This also goes more into detail about the questions and beliefs the Buddhists have regarding existence.

Teo, Wesley KH. "Self-responsibility in existentialism and Buddhism." International Journal for Philosphy of Religion 4.2 (1973): 80-91.

This article the author discusses the atheistic Sartre and the Christian Kierkegaard and focuses on the awakening of man’s moral senses. He also investigates man being responsible for his own future and whether or not Buddhists believe this as existentialists do. The author also discusses Karma and how self-responsibility affects one’s ultimate reincarnation cycle. The author also discusses the Sartre philosophy that nothing will happen to someone without their consent.

Wallace, B. Alan. "A Buddhist View of Free Will." Journal of Consciousness Studies 18.3 (2011): 217-33.