Buddhism
Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha who lived in present-day India, is credited with establishing Buddhism. Over the years, Gautama’s ideology became known as Buddhism. There are over 500 million Buddhists worldwide, and they mostly live in Asian countries like Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Laos, Mongolia, China, etc.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHRISTIANITY AND BUDDHISM
1. Belief in God
Christianity: God is a personal, self-existent being who created the world and all its inhabitants. Christians believe that God is in charge of everything he made and that all creatures are accountable to Him.
Buddhism: Buddhists do not have the same view about God as Christians. Buddhists often pray to Buddha or say his name as part of their prayers, but they do not think Buddha is god. Buddhists, on the other hand, think that all of nature and all of its energy are god. Buddhism’s god is not a personal being. Instead, it is more like a universal law or principle than an actual being.
2. Founder
Christianity: Jesus Christ – Jesus said He is the way (John 14:6) and Christians believe He was God’s Son (Luke 1:35).
Buddhism: Siddhartha Gautama (Known as Buddha) – Buddha said he knew the way and was considered a man without divine powers.
3. Life after death
Christianity: Death is regarded as a sleep until the day Jesus comes back and His true faithful followers are resurrected from the dead and taken to the heaven. The wicked are also resurrected, judged and burnt (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Thessalonians 4:14, Daniel 12:2, John 11:11-14, John 5:28-29).
Buddhism: Buddhists believe in a circle of life known as samsara, in which they are reincarnated upon death, thereby resetting the cycle. This rebirth is controlled by karma. The cycle can be broken by enlightenment, which leads to Nirvana and the cessation of suffering.
4. View about sin
Christianity: Sin is any thought, deed, or inaction contrary to God’s law. Adam and Eve were the first individuals to sin, and their sin plunged humanity into sin and depravity (Romans 5:12).
Buddhism: Denies the biblical concept of sin. The closest Buddhist concept to sin is moral error or misstep, which:
1) It is typically committed out of ignorance.
2) Is amoral.
3) May be corrected via more understanding.
Sin is not a transgression against a divine moral being, but rather an act against nature, with significant and frequently harmful results.
5. Salvation
Christianity: Christians believe that every sin must be punished. Jesus Christ bore the punishment for our sins for all who have faith in Him. They are then justified solely by their faith in Christ. Christians believe that a just person will be glorified (see Romans 8:29-30). This means that they will ultimately conquer death, be saved, and reside eternally in God’s presence.
Buddhism: Buddhists seek “salvation” in the sense of realized higher levels of being, Nirvana being the highest.
6. Idol worship
Christianity: The second commandment of God’s law is to have no idols and to neither make nor bow down to carved images (Exodus 20:1-5).
Buddhism: It is debatable whether or not Buddhists worship idols (a Buddhist temple or monastery is filled with carved statues!). Buddhist practices often appear to observers to be acts of worship, particularly in front of shrines or in temples. Buddhists, however, assert that they are not engaging in idolatry but rather only paying reverence or respect to the statues. Buddhists do, however, bow before statues and other images.
7. Religious book
Christianity: The Bible
Buddhism: Tripitaka (consists of the Sutra Piṭaka, the Vinaya Piṭaka, and the Abhidhamma Piṭaka).
SIMILAR TEACHINGS OF JESUS AND BUDDHA
