Buddha Vs Jesus
Buddhism teaches that “to live is to suffer”. Jesus tells us to pick up our cross but also gives us life and life abundantly. Buddhists cultivates detachment in order to escape suffering, but Jesus says to give it to Him and He will take care of it. He even says that in our weakness His power is made stronger.
on Suffering
The 8-fold Path is a set of Buddhist principles and practices that aim to lead a person to “enlightenment” and the end of suffering. According to Buddhism, to live is to suffer. We could ponder this topic a lot, but for now these 4 main points will suffice:
(1) Christianity basically teaches that we live in a fallen world, a world where people choose to do evil despite God’s commands to unconditionally love everyone, just like He does (Mk. 12:30-31). So because of the effects of sin (choosing to follow evil), life on earth is full of suffering.
(2) Fortunately Jesus paid for us to prosper in all that we do, so if we do what He tells us to do (basically have faith in all his amazing promises) and use the authority He gives us to overcome sin and death which lead to all the suffering in the world, then aside from persecution from the world, there really is no need for Christians to suffer. I know that is a bold statement, but Romans 8:32 (NLT) sums this point up well by saying, “Since he [Father God] did not spare even his own Son [Jesus] but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?” Again, Christians will have to suffer persecution from non-believers, but that is the only suffering we are told that we have to endure. For further proof of that, see God’s amazing promises in Psalm 91 and also realize that Jesus’ new covenant is an even better covenant than the Old testament abrahamic covenant! So we can have all the promises of the Old Covenant plus Jesus’ promises in the New Covenant such as the gift of the Holy Spirit. We could talk much about the Holy Spirit but here’s a great verse from Romans 8:11 showing His power available to us:
But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (LSB)
(3) The Bible also says that there is no suffering in heaven, further proof that it is not God’s will for us to suffer. (see Revelation 21:4)
(4) Heads up, we are going for a deep dive on this point because it is so important and so central to Christianity. In Christianity, to learn to love is one of the most important things a person can do in this lifetime. The major challenge with love is that when we love we have to open our hearts up to others, which leaves us more vulnerable to be hurt. That’s why our love needs to be Godly (unconditional) and not worldly (conditional), which greatly lessens our chances of being hurt. Nevertheless, we can still be hurt even when having unconditional love for someone. What we do with that hurt determines whether our response to it is sinful or not, harmful or healing. Forgiving others and giving our hearts and grief to God, trusting Him to heal us and give us rest instead of forming resentments which eat us up inside is the best way that I know to be healed of emotional pain. These are things that Buddhism most certainly does not teach.
Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)
But we would do well to remember that our sinful actions can even grieve God at times – yes, the Holy Spirit can be grieved (see Ephesians 4:30). Additionally, giving one’s life for someone else could easily be seen as the highest form of love. Jesus loved us so much that even while people wrongfully and horribly killed him, He forgave them and gave His life for them and us so that if we believe in and follow Him we can all spend eternity with Him (John 3:16).
Parents sacrifice themselves for their children and veterans and patriots do it for their fellow citizens to be free. So for a Christian, at least some level of suffering is inevitable. How much we suffer greatly depends on how close and how faithful our relationship with Jesus is and how well we follow His commands. We also need to remember that He commands us all to pick up our cross (our suffering) and follow Him (Matthew 16:24-26).
On the other hand, Buddhism also says that suffering is inevitable but there are things we can do to minimize it and eventually defeat it. They believe that to live is to suffer, but Buddhists seek to escape suffering by primarily detaching themselves from the world and aiming to have compassion for others to gain good karma, thus leading to “enlightenment”. After reaching enlightenment they then can reach eternal peace through death, reintegration into the underlying eternal god-like spirit, and then exit the reincarnation cycle. Again, their only hope is in reaching the end of their supposed continuous cycle of reincarnation, which they believe to be the cycle of death and rebirth in which a person could live many lifetimes before being integrated (or absorbed if you will) back into the greater more god-like collective consciousness. So they believe that all tangible things are temporary and that non-attachment to everything is the only way to avoid being hurt and that combined not harming anything and having compassion on others will result in good karma. Like all other religions, the Buddhist’s escape from this world, thus ending all suffering, is entirely works-based. It is not at all based on how strong their relationship and faith is in our one and only savior, now and for all eternity, Jesus Christ.
