Buddhism &

Christianity
Compared
Ivan Frimmel
Various Pictures of
Buddha

Baby Buddha Amitabha Buddha Amitabha Buddha Quan

Yin

Thai Buddha Buddha Mind Medicine Medicine Buddha

Buddha
Various Pictures of
Jesus
Beliefs not shared (1)
 Beliefs about God:
 Buddhism: In its original forms, Buddhism did not
teach of the existence of any transcendent, immanent,
or any other type of Being, God or Gods, Goddess or
Goddesses... However, many Buddhists -- particularly
in Japan -- do now believe in a pantheon of deities, but
only a very few would define Buddha as the Jews,
Christians or Muslims define the word “God”; they see
Buddha as an Enlightened Being and Teacher – and a
perfect example to emulate and show respect to.

 Christianity: Christians believe in One God, the

Creator of the universe, as described in the Old
Testament, who defined Himself there as “I Am Who I
AM”; many believe that He is actually a Trinity (Father,
Son Jesus Christ & Holy Spirit), and for many Christians
Jesus Christ is not just a Son of God, but a God Himself
as revealed to humanity, and for them “Jesus Christ” is a
Beliefs not shared (2)
Unlike Christians, Buddhists do not believe in:
 An original golden era in the Garden of Eden, and a
subsequent fall of humanity.

 Original sin shared by all present-day humans, derived

from Adam and Eve, and the belief in depravity of man,
derived from Calvinistic teachings.

 A world-wide flood in the time of Adam, causing the

greatest human genocide in history.

 Jesus Christ as a personal savior, whose death enabled

individual salvation.

 Eternal life spent in either a heaven or hell after death. For

Buddhists, heaven & hell are only temporary realms.

 End of the world in the near future.

Beliefs not shared (3)
Unlike Christians, the Buddhists do not
believe in:

 The existence of soul:

 Buddhism: One of Buddhist key terms &

beliefs is annata = no (individual &
unchanging) self or soul.

 Christianity: Most Christians believe in

“having a soul” or “being a soul”, although
many of them find it difficult to define exactly
what they mean by “soul”.
Beliefs not shared (4)

 The Buddhist idea about the

emptiness or voidness (sunnyata) of
all concepts & phenomena is not
generally shared by Christians, only
hinted at by a very few mystical
Christians (i.e. St John of the Cross,
Meister Eckhart, etc).
Main differences between the teachings of
Buddha & Jesus

 Buddha did not claim to have a special relationship with

God.

 Jesus did claim to have a special relationship with God.

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 Buddha claimed to point to the way by which we could

escape suffering and attain enlightenment.

 Jesus claimed to be the way by which we could receive

salvation and eternal life.
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_

 Buddha taught that the way to eliminate suffering was by

eliminating desire.

 Jesus taught that the solution to suffering is found not in

Some Similar Beliefs (1)
 Life after death: Almost all religions teach that a
person's personality continues after death. In fact,
many religious historians believe that this belief
was the prime reason that motivated people
to originally create religions. Christianity and
Buddhism are no exception. However, they
conceive of life after death in very different forms:

 Buddhism teaches that humans are trapped in a

repetitive cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth, through
reincarnation (of 9th or Alaya Consciousness). One's goal is
to escape from this cycle and reach Nirvana. The mind
experiences complete freedom, liberation and non-
attachment. Suffering ends because desire and craving --
the causes of suffering -- are no more.

 Christianity has historically taught that everyone has only

a single life on earth. After death, an eternal life awaits
everyone: either in Heaven or Hell. There is no suffering in
Heaven; only joy. Suffering is eternal without any hope of
Some Similar Beliefs (2)
 On Eternal Life
 Buddhism: In a sense, there is a belief in an
eternal life, through a cycle of births & rebirths,
but one is not sure what one’s next life will end
up being - a temporary heaven or hell - it all
depends on the actions of one’s present life…

 Christianity: Eternal life in heaven is

promised to all who accept the free gift of
salvation by Jesus Christ, without having to do
anything else to “deserve” it except to accept
this “free gift”…
Some Shared Beliefs (1)
 Ethic of Reciprocity (The Golden Rule):

Buddhism, Christianity and all of the other major

world religions share a basic rule of behavior
which governs how they are to treat others.
 Buddhism
 “...a state that is not pleasing or delightful to me, how
could I inflict that upon another?"
Samyutta NIkaya v.
353.
 “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find
hurtful."
Udana-Varga 5:18.

 Christianity
 “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should
do to you,
Some Shared Beliefs (2)
 Themes of morality, justice, love: These
themes are found through both the Buddha's
teaching and the Hebrew and Christian Bible.

 Beliefs about the power of prayer: Some

traditions within Buddhism believe in the power of
prayer; others do not. Most Christians do believe
in the power of prayer. Unlike most Buddhists,
especially Zen Buddhists, only some Christians
believe in the wisdom that can be found in
striving for an “empty mind” or total mental
silence.

 Beliefs about coming Savior:

Some Buddhists believe in Miroku, or Maitreya
Buddha – the "future Buddha." They expect him
to be reincarnated and spread Buddhism further.
Some Shared Beliefs (3)
 Inability to express the highest Truth
in words
Just like many Buddhists, many
Christians, especially of the
“mystical” kind, realize that the
highest Truth cannot be expressed in
words, only in

 Silence - i.e. total absence of

cerebration
Story of Meeting between a Zen Buddhist Monk & a
Trappist Monk (1)
A Zen Buddhist monk and a Trappist Christian monk met on a balmy spring day with the
trees leafing out and many flowers in bloom. They bowed and shook hands admiring each
other's robes and discussing many points of similarity in the organization of their monastic
lives. Both had taken vows of poverty. Both were celibate. Both lived in separated
communities. Both had rituals they did every day. Enjoying this process of comparing their
lives, they decided to explore the ideas that informed their religious orders. They found a
shady bench to gain shelter from the afternoon sun and began to talk.

First the Trappist monk exclaimed, "Central to our thinking is the Trinitarian understanding
of God. God is one expressed as three: The Father God from whom the Universe was
created and to whom it will return; The Son who took human form to show us, the
alienated creatures of God, how to restore our relationship and who gave his life to
appease the Father; and the Holy Spirit who continues the Divine presence in our daily
lives by making the reality of God known to us in each moment.“

The Zen monk responded, "Your ideas of God are very strange to us. We do not believe in
an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God. In fact we believe just the opposite. That
there is nothing beyond this wheel of cause and effect. Here is how we talk about it in the
Lotus Sutra, one of our most inspiring texts:
The Bodhisattva of Compassion From the depths of prajna wisdom saw the
emptiness and sundered the bonds that caused suffering.
Form here is only emptiness, emptiness only form. Form is no other than emptiness,
emptiness no other than form.
Gate, Gate, Para gate, Para sam gate, bohdi svaha! Gone, Gone, Gone beyond;
Gone beyond the beyond, Wow! (very loosely translated) Respect,
honor and attention to the Awakened One!

"Hmmm," said the Trappist Monk. "This isn't going to be as easy as I had hoped. Some of
what you say reminds me of the centering prayer we do but it is also different. One thing I
think we can agree upon is the importance of what we do to help people get to heaven. I
know that the fruit of my cloistered life will be to ascend to heaven after I die”.
Story of Meeting between a Zen Buddhist Monk & a
Trappist Monk (2)
"Very noble and courageous!" said the Trappist monk. "I see our cosmologies are very
different. I think though there is one area that I'm sure we can find agreement. The
importance of faith. We must believe our scriptures and teachers. We must clean out our
doubts and fill our mind with Divine Truth.“

"Sadly, again we have differences in thinking" said the Zen monk. "The Buddha taught
that we must not speculate about the nature of divine truth or overly revere a particular
teacher. In fact if we meet the Buddha on the road, kill him! This expression is a very
profound puzzle, what we call a koan, we wrestle with. Our goal is to be independent of
outside authority and find out what is true for ourselves. The Buddha insisted that his
disciples not take his word for anything. The disciple was encouraged to sit down,
meditate, follow his instructions and find out the answer through personal experience.“

For a moment the two sat with their brows furrowed wondering how they could talk to
each other when they had so many conceptual disagreements. One believed in God and
the other didn't. One was guided by faith and the other wasn't. One believed we had one
life and the other many lives. How could they communicate?

"I propose another way for us to dialogue with each other." Said the Zen monk. Quietly he
drew in a long deep breath and slowly exhaled the breath followed by a short shallow
breath in and out.

The Trappist monk winked at him and repeated the same breaths. The incense of lilac
was in the warming spring air which awakened their minds to the present moment.

The Trappist monk gestured to a bold robin as it flew to their feet and chirped at them.
The Zen monk closed his eyes as a gentle breeze brushed his cheek. The Trappist monk
scooped up some water from a nearby pool and sprinkled a little on the Zen monk's
shaved head. The Zen monk smiled and bowed.
Ten Precepts / Virtues
 1. No killing any living beings
 2. No taking what has not been given
 3. No sexual misconduct
 4. No lying
 5. No drinking of liquor
 6. No wearing or adornments and
perfume
 7. No enjoying singing & dancing
 8. No sleeping in large, raised beds
 9. No eating after noon
 10. No possessing of gold, silver and other
precious metals
The Ten Commandments
 1. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondage. You shall have no other gods
before me.
 2. You shall not make for yourself a graven
image. You shall not bow down to them or
serve them.
 3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your
God in vain.
 4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
 5. Honor your father and your mother.
 6. You shall not kill.
 7. You shall not commit adultery.
 8. You shall not steal.
 9. You shall not bear false witness against your
The Four Noble
Truths
 1. All life involves suffering

 2. The cause of suffering is desire

and attachment

 3. Desire and attachment can be

overcome, and this state is called
Nirvana

 4. The way to end suffering is

through following the Eightfold Path
The Eightfold Path
 1. Right view
 2. Right thought Wisdom & Understanding
 3. Right speech
 4. Right action
Ethical
 5. Right livelihood Conduct
 6. Right effort
 7. Right mindfulness
Mental Discipline
 8. Right concentration
Questions & Answers (1)
 Do Buddhists believe in God?
It depends what you mean by God. Within the various
schools of Buddhism there is a great deal of variation in the
belief in a Supreme Being. Beliefs range from atheism,
through agnosticism, monotheism ('ground of being')  up to
multifaceted aspects of Enlightened Mind…

One of the pre-eminent deities of Tibet is actually a

Goddess - Tara, the compassionate rescuer and Holy
Mother. She is often seen as being equivalent to the Virgin
Mary in the Christian pantheon.

At a more philosophical rather than devotional level, there

are certain difficulties with accepting the Judeo-Christian
idea of an omniscient, omnipotent, logically necessary
being or First Cause. Within Buddhist philosophy this view
of God would be regarded as suffering from a number of
internal logical contradictions, and possibly a rather
dubious politically motivated history.
Questions & Answers (2)
 Isn't the aim of Buddhism to become
completely detached from everyone
and everything?

No,  the idea that Buddhists seek total

detachment or indifference to others is
disinformation originated in the Papal Bull 
'Crossing the Threshold of Hope'.

The truth is that Buddhists are motivated

by compassion to work towards being
reborn into situations where they can
reduce the suffering of all sentient beings,
and ultimately lead them all to
Questions & Answers (3)
 Isn’t Buddhism a form of
nihilism?
No. Buddhism uses negation (similar
to theVia Negativa in Christian
mysticism) in their philosophical
arguments for the purpose of:
 highlighting the relativity (thus only
partial truth or falsity) of all opposing
viewpoints;
 stilling the usual discursive, fickle and
conceited mind;
Questions & Answers (4)
 There are so many different schools of Buddhism,
more than there are sects of Christianity. They can't
all be right, so most of them must be wrong. Which
is the real Buddhism?

One reason there are so many different schools is that Buddhists

accept and respect diversity. It is said that there are 84,000
gateways to the Dharma (Buddha's teachings).  Buddha presented
the same underlying philosophy with different 'user-interfaces'
according to the predispositions of the students. 

When you think about it, people are so different in character,

temperament and experience that it would be surprising if one
size did fit all.
Another reason for the great diversity is that, in general, the
various schools of Buddhism don't persecute one another.  There
have been a few local exceptions, but nothing on the scale of the
fratricidal sectarian wars which have waged for hundreds of years
within Christendom.
So the answer to the question 'which form of Buddhism is right?' -
Questions & Answers (5)
 Don’t all religion reject evolution?

Buddhism is the one exception, and is

quite happy with the theory of evolution.
In fact Buddhist philosophy actually
requires evolution to take place -  all
things are seen as being transient,
constantly becoming, existing for a while
and then fading.  The idea of unchanging
species would not be compatible with
Buddhist teachings.
Questions & Answers (6)

 Don’t all religions cause terrorism

and war?
With stories of religious terrorism seldom out of the news
nowadays, there is a tendency in the West to regard all
Asian religions as dangerous fanatical cults. Non-Western
religions are often lumped together as being barbaric,
primitive, intolerant and aggressive.
This is discriminatory, ethnocentric, and very unfair to
Buddhism. Buddhism is peaceful, promotes the arts and
sciences, forbids wars of conquest, and has been
associated with some very advanced civilizations, such as
that of King Ashoka in the third century BC.   

Any religion which propagates by intimidation rather than

reasoned argument, or needs to silence its critics by the
bomb and bullet, is obviously deeply insecure. Fanatical
aggression demonstrates that a religion's memoids know
 Quote from Christian
Mysticism

 St John of the Cross

 In order to arrive at being everything,
desire to be nothing.
Quote from Buddhism
Why are you so unhappy?
Because 99,9 per cent
of everything you think
and everything you do
is for yourself—
and there
isn’t one.
From Ask the Awakened by Wei WuWei
Thank You
Ivan Frimmel
Cell: 082-454-0311

E-mail: ivan.frimmel@nanhua.co.za