Buddhism & Christianity

The religions of Buddhism and Christianity have much in common though they remain quite distinct from one another. Perhaps the easiest way to understand the similarities and the differences of Buddhism and Christianity is to look at various issues and discuss how each religion views the particular issue, say abortion or suicide. However, we will first look at some basics of each religion before launching into a discussion of the similarities and differences through an issue analysis.

The religion known as Buddhism was established in the sixth century BC by Siddhartha Gautama who was given the title Buddha. Buddhism's original doctrines were based on the Four Noble Truths, and we can discern many of the concepts of modern Buddhism from a review of these truths at its core:

The cause of suffering is "birth sin" or craving and desire.

Suffering can be ended only by Nirvana, the extinguishment of desire.

This can be accomplished by the Eightfold Path to righteousness: right views, right intentions, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditation.

The practice of Buddhism spread from India to China by merchants. Buddhism offered new concepts to the Chinese, like karma, rebirth, hell and purgatory. The Chinese were used to Confucianism which offered a focus on social harmony and family, but concepts in Buddhism like individual salvation and

chings of Buddhism, we can see that the teachings of Buddha were quite different in that they do make room for other points of view, they allow people the freedom of choice to think for themselves, and Buddha taught studying something before deciding to accept or reject it was critical to making righteous choices. We can see this difference if we look at some of the statements of Buddha as revealed in the Kalama Sutta, "Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in traditions, because they have been handed down for many generations. Do not believe in anything, because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything, simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything, merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. But after observations and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it" (Buddhism and, 1999, 1). There are huge differences between Buddhism and Christianity despite some similar core principles. For example, Christians view the Holy Spirit as comprising the soul or core being while Buddhists believe it is Buddha's presence th