Buddhism vs Christianity

Essay by rugbygod May 2004

download word file, 3 pages 4.3

Downloaded 88 times

If a Buddhist were asked who Jesus was, responses would likely include: a good man, a prophet, the founder of the Christian religion, the younger brother of Buddha. As it is hard for a Buddhist to understand the existence of God, it is inconceivable that Jesus is the incarnate Lord, God in the flesh.

In Buddhist thought, there is no supreme being, no creator, no universal God, no loving Lord over his creation. The ultimate reality is an impersonal void or emptiness. Only the void is permanent. To a Buddhist, saying that God exists is like saying that void exists. Saying that God loves and desires a relationship with us is saying that God is ignorant since all desire comes from ignorance. Saying that God created us and has a purpose for our lives is saying that God is karma, the cause and effect of our existence. Thus, in Buddhist thought, the concept of God is closest equated to the Void, Ignorance and Karma.

However in Christian thought, God is known as the supreme creator and Lord. Many Christians acknowledge God's desire of relationship with each and every one of us and that no matter what actions we perform that he will love us unconditionally.

Buddhists believe that mankind has no soul or permanence. In Buddhist thought, an individual consists of five skandhas or aggregates. These aggregates are disassembled at death and there is no longer a cohesive unit that can be identified as an individual person. People are impermanent and transitory, perpetually facing the problem of how to escape from suffering. All life is meaningless and without purpose. The ultimate hope lies in what is permanent: the void. Before one can find permanence, one must disappear into the void, that is, achieve Nirvana. Christians however believe and understand that...