Christianity vs. Buddhism
September 01, 2007 Filed in: World
Religions
At heart, the difference between the two religions lies in their respective explanations of the nature of the primary force of the universe and how we, as human beings, relate to it. Christianity teaches the existence of an all-powerful and all-seeing God.
In
contrast, Buddhism asserts the existence of an
universal Law of life, expressed as
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. Of course,
it must be admitted that the Christian idea of God
has evolved considerably from the Yahweh of the
ancient tribes of Israel and that to some Christians
today, God is not a being in any real sense but,
rather, an abstract force with certain similarities
to the Buddhist concept of the universal Law. Even
so, the implications of this basic difference between
the two religions are far-reaching.
Fundamentally, Christianity teaches that there is an unbridgeable gulf between humanity and God for, even if one is taken into his grace, a human being can never actually become God or his equal. In contrast, Buddhism teaches that all people have the inherent potential to attain the supreme life-condition of Buddhahood in this lifetime and, indeed, that the prime purpose of a Buddha is to awaken ordinary people to, and then teach them how to bring forth, their Buddha nature.
Buddhism explicitly denies the existence of a force external to human life. The implication of this denial is that, ultimately, human beings are totally responsible for their own destinies. The ramifications of this throw into sharp relief the differences between the teachings of Christianity, centred on God, and those of Buddhism, centred on the human being.
Source: ' The Buddha in daily life' by Richard Causton.
If you want to comment on this subject, please leave your comment.
Fundamentally, Christianity teaches that there is an unbridgeable gulf between humanity and God for, even if one is taken into his grace, a human being can never actually become God or his equal. In contrast, Buddhism teaches that all people have the inherent potential to attain the supreme life-condition of Buddhahood in this lifetime and, indeed, that the prime purpose of a Buddha is to awaken ordinary people to, and then teach them how to bring forth, their Buddha nature.
Buddhism explicitly denies the existence of a force external to human life. The implication of this denial is that, ultimately, human beings are totally responsible for their own destinies. The ramifications of this throw into sharp relief the differences between the teachings of Christianity, centred on God, and those of Buddhism, centred on the human being.
Source: ' The Buddha in daily life' by Richard Causton.
If you want to comment on this subject, please leave your comment.