Two Ancient Religions: Buddhism and Christianity - Admission/Application Essay Example

Two Ancient Religions: Buddhism and Christianity Buddhism and Christianity are two ancient religions which have humble origins in the teachings of their founders and spread rapidly across the world. Even though Buddhism was the first to originate, the growth and development of Christianity was so rapid and steady that today Christianity has more followers than any other religion of the world (more than two billion); it is roughly estimated that ‘one out of every three persons on earth’ are followers of Christianity (Christianity: The Way of Jesus Christ 194). Siddartha Gautama (Buddha), the founder of Buddhism followed a middle path between the extremes of self-denial propagated by Jainism and self-indulgence propagated by Hinduism in his pursuit for the spiritual fulfilment (nirvana). His pursuit for the ultimate truth convinced him that desire (craving) was the root cause of all suffering and that only by overcoming one’s desire one can experience spiritual awakening. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, claimed that he was the son of God, the messiah or saviour, who has come to take away the sins of the world and prepare mankind for the kingdom of God. Both the religions were spread globally through the followers of these founders. However, a careful analysis of both the religions convinces one that Christianity became a dominant religion as Christ was conceived to be deity who performed a large number of miracles including bringing the dead back to life. The historical evidence of the birth of Christ and the Christian believe that he has defeated death through resurrection must have added to the credential of Christianity as a religion. This paper seeks to make a comparative and contrastive study of both the religions in terms of the lives of both the founders, their teachings, their followers, the origin and development of both the religions, and the sacred texts of both the religions. The lives of the Founders: the Origin of Buddhism and Christianity Even though Buddhism is often identified with Hinduism, there are considerable differences between the two religions. It is believed that Buddhism began in India in the sixth century B.C.E; later the religion spread to South, Southeast and East Asia. Today, Buddhism adorns the status of a global religion. The Buddhist religion has a single founder, Siddartha Gautama, and as a result Buddhists all over the world show undue importance to his life and teachings. Siddartha was born about 563 B.C.E and the information regarding his life is known from the religious biographies that his followers have written. He was born into a warrior caste (kshatriya) and his father wanted to make him to be the emperor of India. Even though Siddartha was brought up in all the luxuries, pleasures and joys of life, he later realizes the misery and sufferings of others and understands that “he too was destined to grow old, become ill, and die” (Theravada Buddhism: The Middle Way p. 83). This realization prompts Siddartha to renounce all worldly pleasures and this leads him to a six year quest to experience the ultimate truth. During this period he practiced meditation (Upanishads) and rigid aestheticism (Jainism). However, in the end Siddartha understands that neither Hinduism nor Jainism will take him to nirvana and that self-denial will never lead to spiritual fulfilment (Theravada Buddhism: The Middle Way 83). It is at this juncture that Siddartha undergoes enlightenment and realizes that it is desire that kept him entrapped and after his enlightenment he could experience a state of nirvana-the state of complete desirelessness. Almost 45 years Buddha preached the truth of the Middle way and it is believed that at the age of 80 he entered into a state of parinirvana, a state beyond the cycle of samsara. One derives information regarding the live of Jesus from the gospels in the New Testament; the gospels state that Jesus was born in Nazareth in Galilee as the son of Joseph and Mary even though they do not provide any clear cut details of his childhood. It is at the age of thirty that Jesus undergoes his spiritual awakening and begins his public life as a preacher and healer. The gospels provide vivid details of the preaching, healings and other miracles undertaken by Jesus. Jesus raised his voice against the established Judaism and pinpointed the unholy and corrupt life of the clergies of the time. It is believed that he was crucified, got resurrected on the third day and appeared before his followers many times. The teachings of Buddhism and Christianity The teachings of Buddhism and Christianity have much in common. Both the religions ask the followers to renounce the world and all its worldly pleasures. While Buddhism purports to get devoid of all earthly attachments and cravings, Christianity exhorts one to love God above all things. An important transition that Buddhism add to the Hindu belief is that even ‘desire for spiritual ends leads to attachment’ and therefore Buddhism is against the Hindu teaching ‘to direct our desire away from our physical natures toward the spiritual, to seek union with God or oneness with Brahman’ (Theravada Buddhism: The Middle Way 90). Similarly, for Buddhists the cycle of rebirth ends when one attains nirvana through the total renunciation of one’s desires. Christianity, on the other hand, does not believe in the cycle of rebirth; however, Christianity exhorts the believers to live for the next world, the heavenly abode. After his awakening, Buddha shares his awakening (a path between the extremes of self-denial and self-indulgence) to the five ascetics who become his followers. The four noble truths thus propagated by Buddha that form the core of Buddhist teaching are: a) life is suffering and no one can avoid this state of existence, b) the cause for suffering the desire that makes man attached to various illusions, c) however, one can release himself/herself from the suffering of life and d) this can be achieved by following the Eightfold Path (Theravada Buddhism: The Middle Way p. 84). The eightfold path of the middle way comprises of right belief, right aspiration, right speech, right conduct, right means of livelihood, right endeavour, right mindfulness and right meditation (Theravada Buddhism: The Middle Way 91). After the death of Buddha, Buddhism divided into two major branches-the Theravada School and the Mahayana Schools. The need for rules and a governing body for the followers culminated in the formation of sangha in the beginning. The ten precepts that governed the Buddhist monastic life of the Theravada school are: retrain from taking life (ahimsa), do not take what is not given, practice chastity, do not lie or deceive, do not take intoxicants, consume food in moderation, and never afternoon, do not gaze upon spectacles such as dancing and singing, do not ornament your body, do not recline on high or wide beds, and do not accept gold or silver (Theravada Buddhism: The Middle Way p. 85). Jesus Christ, all throughout his preaching, emphasised a gospel of love, compassion and forgiveness. For him, God was a loving father who wanted to redeem the world from evil through his son, the messiah or saviour. Christianity is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead: “Christians all share the belief in a transformation wrought by the life, death, and resurrection from the dead of Jesus (Christianity: The Way of Jesus Christ 194). Jesus proclaimed himself as the son of God and “warned people of the perils of wealth, and the importance of being ready for the coming Kingdom of God” using various parables, stories and events that his followers could easily grasp (Christianity: The Way of Jesus Christ 195). However, scholars differ on the reliability of the events described in the gospels as they were written after many years of Christ by different authors during different periods. The Spread of Buddhism and Christianity As already mentioned both the religions flourished at the hands of their followers. The acceptance of the truth of Buddha’s teachings by the Mauryan king Ashoka was an important turning point in the spread of Buddhism. During his 35 years of reign, he asked his subjects to become Buddhists and sent missionaries to nations such as Egypt, Sri Lanka and Greece to spread the message of Buddha. Later Budhism spread to nations such as Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Kampuchea (Cambodia), Laos, Malaysia, and Vietnam towards the beginning in the third century C.E. Similarly, it was the twelve apostles and missionaries such as St. Paul who spread Christ’s message to the world; it was they who “proclaimed the message that through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God had made a new covenant with humanity, and that, through Jesus, God offered redemption to all” (Christianity: The Way of Jesus Christ 195). Even though Christ’s followers met with religious persecution and miseries at the hands of the authorities Christianity spread itself to the Mediterranean world, in both Jewish and Gentile settings, by the middle of the first century C.E and gradually to the whole of the Roman Empire. Later the apostolic age in Christian history gave way to the post-apostolic age which is characterised by institutionalization and organized form of religion. The sacred texts The major sacred texts in the early phase of Buddhist history are known collectively as the Pali Canon. The thirty-one separate texts in the Pali canon originated during the first five hundred years after the death of Buddha, first as oral traditions before they were written down. The sacred text of Buddhism offered guidelines for all aspects of the life of a Buddhist monk, purported the basic teachings of Buddha and analysed analysis of the nature of existence as it is understood in Theravada teaching. For Christianity, the primary sacred text is the Holy Bible and it is the New Testament that offers evidence about the life of Jesus. The New Testament comprises of twenty-seven separate sacred writings written during different periods. Conclusions Having analysed the various aspects of Buddhism and Christianity, one can state that the teachings of Buddhism are equally attractive and sacred as that of Christianity. However, the question why Christianity became a dominant religion across the world needs to be unearthed. While Christ is worshipped as the son of God in Christianity, “ Buddha is not being worshipped as a deity; rather, followers are simply showing reverence to one who has attained enlightenment and symbolically committing themselves to follow his example” (Theravada Buddhism: The Middle Way 93). While Buddha remains as a venerable figure who achieved nirvana through self-sought out ways, Jesus remains as the son of God who according to the New Testament gospels healed the sick, the blind and the lame and through whom salvation is possible to all the Christians. Similarly, the Buddhist claim that that God does not have any role to play in human liberation has made many to conceive Buddhism as a way of life rather than a religion. Works Cited Chapter 11: Christianity: The Way of Jesus Christ Chapter 4: Theravada Buddhism: The Middle Way Read More