The Buddha and the Bible Agree About Our Human Nature
We can tell our Thai friends that we are thankful to Gautama Buddha for helping us and the millions of Buddhists understand the sinful and fallen condition of human being. We actually share a lot in common with the Buddhist people. The Buddha taught that by nature, we have this evil desires and cravings in us. The Buddhists called it “tanha.” And this tanha- the sinfulness is the root of all sufferings. The Bible agrees with that.
The Buddha’s teaching is so similar to the fallen condition of man recorded in the ancient book- Genesis. The Buddha was simply searching for a way out of this cycle of suffering. He taught that man has a belt-in sinful problem that is almost impossible to fixed. People are naturally self-centered, selfish, greedy, have bad temper and etc. As a punishment for the grievous and heavy sins we have committed, all of us must be reincarnated infinitely.
The Jataka tales tells us that Gautama Buddha was reincarnate countless times until he became the Buddha. More than 500 times of his reincarnation are described in the Jataka tales. Jataka is a literature in India that records the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Gautama became king for 85 times, a tree god for 43 times, a king son for 24 times, a monkey for 18 times, a slave for 5 times, an iguana for 3 times, a fish for 2 times, a rat for 2 times, a pig for 2 times, a thief for 2 times, a frog once, a devil dancer once and etc. So, the Buddha was searching for a way of escape from “Samsara”- the never-ending suffering cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
So, what is the Buddha trying to tell us? He simply tries to say that “our one life” or our “one life-time” is not enough to pay our sins. I remember the sins of Achan in the Bible. His life is not enough to pay for the sins he has committed. All his family connected to him perished.
Also with the story of Daniel. His accusers’ lives were not enough to pay for their heavy sins. Their wives and children, are thrown to the lions’ den as well.
Another classic example is the parable Unforgiving Servant. Jesus tells Peter the story of a servant and a king. The servant owes the king ten thousand talents, a clearly unpayable debt, isn’t it? Since he cannot repay his extremely huge debt, the king orders him and his family sold into slavery. His one entire life is not enough to pay for his huge debt. This is what the reincarnation doctrine is trying to tell us.
We are totally incapable of atoning and removing our sins. Our Loving-Creator-Father-God knows that and He loves us so much. “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16.
So Jesus came down from heaven to die “once for all.” Romans 6:10, Hebrews 7:27. Because Jesus is God, His sacrificial death will never be repeated because it is sufficient to remove all our sins.
If Buddhists people today were truly like Gautama Buddha, at all costs, they would be trying to find a way to escape. Jesus said, “I am the Way” John 14:6. Yes, Jesus has something awesome to offer to me and you and to the Buddhists. Please share this “Only Way” of escape to your Buddhist friends. God bless you.