As Westerners reading a book rooted in Eastern religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, there is ample room for misunderstanding and confusion. Particularly confusing to Westerners are Buddhist terms which are unfamiliar to Westerners, and as a result, often misunderstood.
The information provided from The Lotus and The Cross website provides some help in understanding how, despite the differences in terminology, some Buddhist concepts overlap with Christian concepts.
Monk at Adam's Peak, Sri Lanka
©Buddha Dharma Education Association
The information provided from The Lotus and The Cross website provides some help in understanding how, despite the differences in terminology, some Buddhist concepts overlap with Christian concepts.
god and the unconditioned
Monk at Adam's Peak, Sri Lanka
©Buddha Dharma Education Association
At first glance, Buddhism seems vastly different from Christianity. Christianity is a religion about God, while the Absolute in Buddhism is never personalized, and seldom described, except as being beyond description. Most Christian denominations see the Bible as being of paramount importance (particularly in conservative Protestantism), while the vastly larger collection of Buddhist scriptures are seldom considered as an infallible authority except for a handful of smaller sects.
But delving deeper, the differences become much smaller. For instance, many of the early Church Fathers taught that in his true essence, God is unknowable and unfathomable, beyond all words and all descriptions. This inability to speak of the divine nature is known as apophatic(unspeakable) mysticism, which recognizes God is beyond all words and concepts, and anything we use to say what God is falls short. God's essence (ousia), is within all things, but ever beyond all. Similarly, the Buddhist scriptures refer to the ultimate reality as "the Uncreated," or "the Unmanifest," an absolute Reality which is everywhere present, but beyond this perceived world, resulting from no cause, and limited by no conditions.
buddhist-christian parallels
| Parallel Beginnings | |
|---|---|
| God | the Unconditioned |
| Heaven | Nirvana |
| Jesus (Yeshua of Nazareth) | Gautama (Siddartha Gautama) |
| Jewish founder of Christianity | Hindu founder of Buddhism |
| virgin birth account | virgin birth account |
| tempted by Satan | tempted by Mara |
| Good News of the Kingdom of God | the Dharma (law) of Liberation |
| Sermon on the Mount | Sermon of "Turning the Wheel of Dharma" |
| taught in parables | taught in parables |
| Feet kissed by Mary Magdalene | Feet kissed by Pasanedi |
| Betrayed by Judas | Betrayed by Devadatta |
| Crucified | possibly poisoned |
| Ascension | Parinirvana |
| the Anointed One (Messiah, Christ) | the Awakened One (Buddha, Enlightened) |
| Savior | Bodhisattva |
| Parallel developments | |
| Parallel Paths | |
| agape (spiritual love) | maitri (lovingkindness) |
| the world | samsara |
| Purification (Purgatory) | Rebirth (Reincarnation) |
| hell | hell realms |
| imago Dei (image of God) | Buddha-nature |
| Christ within you | Realizing your Buddha-nature |
| Theosis/Deification | Awakening, Enlightenment |
| the Way | the Dharma |
| chant | chant |
prayer candles
| prayer flags |
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