Why Christians Are Not Buddhists; and Buddhists Are Not Christians
This is the 2nd post in a series on what the faiths of Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism believe about:
eternal life
how and if it is attainable; and
their religious teachings as to Who Jesus Christ is/was.
Let’s get right to it. Mind you, this is a layman’s research of the data. Please feel free to refute or add clarity to any contents of this post in the reply box below.
There are 376 million practicing Buddhists worldwide.
Buddhists do not believe in eternal life as a one-stop be-all for death ever after. Therefore, they do not strive to attain to something that is not in their spiritual repertoire; aka heaven or hell.
They do not believe in God.
They believe that a human being is reincarnated over and over again, with a purpose of gaining the highest path of enlightenment, referred to as a state of nirvana, via the development of morality, meditation, and wisdom.
They believe that the reincarnation process is filled with much suffering throughout many life times; and that, no existence, good or bad, lasts forever.
As for Jesus, the Dali Lama, an enlightened Buddhist, describes Jesus as “a person who has lived previous lives, and reached a high state as an enlightened person, through Buddhist practice or something like that.” (Wikipedia).
With all due respect, ughm, hunh? Of course, that explanation totally refutes the description of Jesus as told in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. Christians believe Jesus to be much more; but, to sum it up, Christians believe in the Holy Trinity: the Father (God), the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit; three Unique Beings in One. For Christians, Jesus is Lord and Savior; essential for the forgiveness of sins, and the only way to the Father.
So, that’s it. As stated in the title, once and for all, let's settle the Kumbaya-effect as I will refer to it as. Christians are not Buddhists. Buddhists are not Christians.
Yet, in all of these differences Jesus calls us to love...In John 15:12, Jesus says to love others as He has loved us. This is His Law to His followers...Love...
In the next post, I will discuss the tenets of Islam.
Best regards.
Peace.
As part of this series, please read the first post regarding the primary tenets of Christianity.
Once and For All: Differences Between Faiths Makes Each One Unique
Peace.