What's the Difference?


03/10/2002 - Buddhism



He was born in northeast India in a region called Nepal 566 years before Christ. His father was a king. He was mother was a queen. And he was a prince. He was given a name that means "every wish fulfilled."

According to legend before his birth his mother had a marvelous dream that a white elephant with six golden tusks touched her right side with a lotus flower. And in the center of the blossom was a brilliant jewel. When she awoke she described her dream to the king and all his wise men who said, "A son will be born to you. And if the new prince remains in the royal household, he will become a great king and rule the world. But if he leaves the household, he will find the Truth and become a holy man, the savior of the world."

When his father heard the prophecy he was alarmed. He didn't want his son to become a holy man. In those days, holy men in India were poor, wandering teachers who begged for food. And he wanted his son to grow up in royalty, insulated from the evils of this world. Sadly his mother died just seven days after his birth and he was raised by her sister, his aunt with great love and care.

Shortly after his birth the wise men made another prophecy saying, "There will be four signs: an old man, a sick man, a dead man, and a monk. When the prince has seen these signs, he will leave the kingdom and pursue the life of a holy man."

Determined not to let that happen the king built his son a beautiful palace and provided him with every luxury he could ever need or want. The prince would have no reason to ever leave the palace grounds. The king gave strict orders that the sick, the old, the dead, and monks should never be brought near the palace. Unlike his peers who loved to compete with one another, the prince spent a great deal of time alone, a gentle, sensitive boy, who enjoyed animals and nature.

When he was sixteen it was decided that the prince should marry. And so he was given the hand of a beautiful princess. This thrilled the king who now thought that his son would be much less likely to leave his kingdom and become a holy man. To insure that his son would stay, the king built two more palaces where the couple could live, one for winter and one for summer. And together they had a son.

But at the age of 29, after living thirteen more years in some of the world's most beautiful surroundings, the prince became restless. He felt empty inside, like a chained elephant. So one day he asked his chauffeur, his charioteer, to take him for a ride far outside the palace walls. And there for the very first time, the prince saw suffering. He saw an old man. He saw a sick man. And he saw a dead man.

The prince thought to himself, "Does everyone become sick and grow old? Do we all die? If so, then what?" He wondered, "If that's true how can people laugh and enjoy themselves, knowing that one day they too will die?"

The next day, the prince asked his charioteer to take him out again. This time he met a monk, a man in a saffron robe begging for food. The prince asked, "Who are you?"

The monk said, "I'm a seeker of the Truth, of life over death. And to find it I have given up everything on this earth."

That night the prince began to think about the look of peace on the monk's face. The monk was the only happy person the prince had ever seen. He began to wonder if there was more to life than the luxuries of the palace. And late that night, legend says, he took one last look at his sleeping wife and his son and left the palace forever.

The prince's name was Siddhartha Gautama and for the next six years he pursued a life of peace and serenity. He shaved his head, put on a yellow robe, and wandered the countryside as a begging monk. He searched for truth studying with gurus and practicing self-denial. He starved himself until he became a walking skeleton. But none of it brought him the peace and happiness that he was looking for.

Finally, he said, "This is nuts!" The life of a monk was getting him nowhere. So he decided to choose what he would later call, the Middle Way, a life of moderation some where between self-denial and self-indulgence.

He accepted a good meal, took a bath, cleaned himself up and sat under a large bodhi tree, determined to stay there until he became enlightened. He vowed, "Even if my blood dries up and my skin and bones waste away, I will not leave this seat until I have found the Truth; life over death; the end of suffering for myself and for all mankind!"

He sat under that fig tree in north central India for forty days and forty nights. And at the end of that time he experienced nirvana. He became enlightened. He saw the whole cycle of life. He saw the whole existence within himself, and himself within the whole existence. He said, "Dry rivers began to flow, animals began to dance, birds began to sing, flowers bloomed, incense filled the air, and ten thousand worlds quaked." Siddhartha's search for Truth had finally ended. At the age of 35 he became Buddha, "the enlightened one." He felt like he finally had life figured out and understood the cause and the cure for human suffering.

And for the next 45 years, until his death in 486 B.C., Buddha traveled throughout northern India preaching what he had learned and gathering his followers into monastic communities. Statues and temples were built in his honor and some venerated him as a god, although he never claimed to be. Buddhism spread rapidly southward through India and onto the island of Sri Lanka. It moved eastward into Burma, Cambodia, and Thailand. And over the centuries it was carried along trade routes into Tibet, central China, and onto Japan. Until today an estimated 350 million people claim to be Buddhists, making it the fourth largest religion in the world after Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism.

The most popular form of Buddhism in the United States is Zen Buddhism, which had its origins in China and was further developed in Japan. Zen is a Sanskrit word that means "meditation." There are about 100 Zen temples and centers in the United States today and people like Phil Jackson, the highly successful basketball coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, have become proponents of the self-discipline that Zen promotes. Jackson has called Michael Jordan a Zen master.

Buddhism grew out of Hinduism. Siddhartha was raised a Hindu. But there are some major differences between the two. Buddhism doesn't believe in a universal being or spirit. It is, as the priest described, an atheistic religion. Unlike Hinduism, Buddhists don't believe that there are many gods. Instead, they believe that the Buddha nature, that potential for enlightenment, lives in each one of us. We just need to get in touch with it.

Buddha himself denied the Vedas, the sacred writings of Hinduism. He said they did him no good. He rejected the caste system and said that the peaceful state of nirvana was not just for Brahmans, but for anyone regardless of their station in life. And because of that, his teachings had great appeal to the masses. He did accept the Hindu teaching of samsara, or reincarnation, and the concept of karma, that you get what you deserve in life. But the essence of Buddhism, when you shrink it all down, is wrapped up in the four noble truths.

The first noble truth is that life is suffering. Life is full of sickness and pain and unhappiness. That's what Siddhartha discovered when he finally ventured outside the palace and saw the sick, and the elderly, and the dead. He was a sensitive guy and it really upset him. And although there are passing pleasures in life, those pleasures soon vanish in time. Interesting that Jesus said a similar thing in John 16:33, In this world you will have trouble. Jesus never dodged the problem of evil in this world. He knew we would all have our share of suffering, as did he.

The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is desire. It's lust and greed and self-centeredness that cause suffering, because our desires are never satisfied. We're always getting hurt and let down. The desire to have something, the desire to be somebody, the desire to love someone is what causes all human suffering.

The Bible talks about the problem of unbridled desire in James 4:1-2, What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet.

Selfish desire does cause suffering in this world. But the Bible teaches that the ultimate cause for pain and suffering is our sin and rebellion against God.

The third noble truth is that the cure for suffering is to remove all desire. And that's a very attractive option when you've just been hurt. It happens all the time. If you've been hurt in a relationship or in a marriage, it's easy to say, "I'm never getting married again. Or I'm never going to get close to anybody ever again." "I am a rock. I am island. And a rock feels no pain. And island never cries," in the words of Simon & Garfunkel.

Buddhists are wonderful people, but often they don't let themselves love in a passionate way because that invites suffering. If you let something or someone get too close to your heart, you become too attached to this world. And the goal of Buddhism is to remove yourself from this world. The story's told of a man who came to Buddha to find comfort after the death of his wife and Buddha simply said, "Stop grieving and let it go." Because of that detachment from suffering, Buddhists are not known for their social work. Yet wherever Christians have gone they have been at the forefront of the social work movement establishing schools and hospitals and clinics. They have entered into the suffering of humankind as did their founder, Jesus.

The fourth noble truth is the key to removing all desire and that is the Middle Way found in the Eightfold Path. Buddha lived an extravagant lifestyle for the first 29 years of his life. He had everything that money could buy and it didn't satisfy him. Then for the next six years of his life he went the opposite direction and became a monk and almost starved himself to death. But that didn't satisfy him either. It was then that he discovered the Middle Way to enlightenment and that's found in these eight steps sometimes called the Wheel of Law.

It was Buddha's idea that by following these eight steps a person could find nirvana, a Sanskrit word that means "to blow out" the flame of desire and be absorbed into the infinite. And that's the goal of Buddhism to be free from needing or desiring anything. To be that rock. To be that island.

The Eightfold Path includes:

1. Right understanding of the four noble truths.

2. Right thought which is thinking kindly of others and not dwelling on the past or future.

3. Right speech which means not lying, criticizing, gossiping or using harsh language.

4. Right action which means not harming any living thing, not stealing, not being immoral, not taking drugs or alcohol.

5. Right work which means earning a living that doesn't harm living things.

6. Right effort which means cleansing the mind of evil thoughts.

7. Right mindfulness which means a full awareness of what you are doing, always with concern for others.

8. Right concentration which means deep meditation that leads to a higher state of consciousness.

These are all wonderful things. Many of them can be supported with texts right out of the Bible. God talks a lot about controlling our tongues and living pure lives and working hard and guarding our thoughts and caring for others and finding a deep, lasting peace that passes all human understanding. But the source of these virtues is radically different. And that's where Buddhism and Christianity depart.

So what's the difference? There are many, but let me just point out a few. First, Buddhism is atheistic. Christianity is theistic. Buddhists have no god. It's almost a black lash to Hinduism, which has a many as 330 million gods in some sects. But none were a help to Siddhartha, so it seems like he bagged them all. Christians, on the other hand, believe in a loving, personal God who created the world and revealed himself in Jesus of Nazareth.

Second, the founder of Buddhism claims to be a "way shower." The founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, claims to be "the way." Siddhartha never claimed to be god. Only to be one who could point the way to enlightenment. Jesus on the other claimed to be the light of the world, the way, the truth and the life. And his resurrection from the dead stamped his claim with authenticity.

Third, Buddhism is self-centered. Christianity is Christ centered. The goal of Buddhism is to increase your self-awareness, to sharpen your self-focus, to improve your self-discipline through yoga and meditation so you can achieve nirvana. Buddhists are encouraged to be self-reliant, their own master. It's a works based religion.

Buddha taught, "You yourself must make the effort." On his deathbed he said to his followers, "Look not for refuge to anyone besides yourselves. Behold now, brothers, I exhort you saying, 'Decay is inherent in all component things! Work out your salvation with diligence!'"

In my research, I read about the Buddhist Vipassana Retreat center in Barre, Massachusetts, where it's possible to take a three-month retreat. And during those three months there is no talking, no reading, no writing, and no looking into one another's eyes. Everything is designed to turn your focus inward until you achieve a flash of insight.

Those who study with Zen masters talk about meditating up to 15 hours a day often focusing on a koan, which is a riddle, designed to bring insight. A typical koan is something like, "This is the sound of two hands clapping. What is the sound of one hand clapping?" Or "What was the appearance of your face before your parents were born?" Those are riddles of contradiction designed to move a person's mind beyond reason.

I admire the discipline of Buddhists and the priority they place on silence and meditation. Those are good things. But I'm also aware of what the Bible says about our hearts in Jeremiah 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

If we're only looking inside our hearts for answers and enlightenment we're going to hit a wall every single time. We need to look outside ourselves. Our deceitful hearts will sabotage our best efforts to get to know God. The goal of Buddhism seems to go beyond its resources. Buddhism has eight guidelines, but offers no power to fulfill them outside ourselves.

Jesus on the other hand said in John 15:5, I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing. Jesus came and set very similar standards, but gives us the resources to please God. He didn't simply give us a list of commandments to obey and say, "Go do it." Jesus himself is in the life of every believer. And he proved his power and authority by claiming to be God and rising from the dead. Any fruit that our life bears is to his glory, not to our own.

Fourth, Buddhism offers no hope beyond the grave. Christianity is all about hope, certain hope. In talking to Scott, a former Buddhist this week, he said Buddhist funerals are the most depressing things. There's no hope of ever seeing that person again. They've vanished. They're gone. Even if they are reincarnated, you'll never know who they are. In fact, at a Buddhist funeral the priest waves four fans and the last fan says, "There is no resurrection." How different that is from the Christian faith whose hope is in the resurrection. Jesus said in John 11:25, I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die.

Finally, I appreciate the way Siddhartha grappled with the problem of pain and suffering. It deeply troubled him. He was such a sensitive man. But the solution to the problem of pain is not found in ourselves, it's found in God's kingdom that will one day be established on this earth with Christ on the throne.

And that kingdom is described for us in Revelation 21:1-4, Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away … and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with human beings, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."

Jesus was deeply troubled by the suffering of this world, but he entered into it. As someone has said, "Only Christians believe in a God who says, 'Here I am alongside you. I have experienced the same suffering you have. I know what its like.' Christianity is the only faith that tells us that God lost a child in act of violent injustice. It's the only faith that tells us God suffered as we have suffered."

British theologian John R. W. Stott puts it this way, "I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross …. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of Buddha, legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time, after a while I have to turn away. And in my imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. And our sufferings become more manageable in light of his."

In his book Now and Then, Frederick Beuchner, has this final observation. "Both Buddha and Jesus have their eyes closed. The suffering that Buddha's eyes close out is the suffering of the world that Jesus Christ's eyes close in. It's an extraordinary difference wherever you are. And it's as apparent to everyone as it was to me that before you're done you have to make a crucial and extraordinary choice. Do you choose Buddha or do you choose Jesus. You can't choose both."