History and character

BUDDHISM

1. 
   HISTORY AND CHARACTER
   

1. 
   Began as a Reform Movement within Hinduism
   

Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BC)

A royal prince, he had not left the comfort of his palace. On a chariot ride through the country side as a young man, he became aware of the suffering of mankind and was thoroughly dissatisfied with Hinduism’s answers to life’s problems.

While meditating for 49 days under a Bodhi tree, he found the answers (later labeled the Four-Fold Truth)

• 
  The chief problem in life is suffering.
  
• 
  Suffering is caused by desiring worldly things.
  
• 
  Suffering is eliminated only by abolishing desire.
  
• 
  Adopting a lifestyle of moderation in all things extinguishes desire and helps achieve salvation.
  

2. 
   Original tenets of Buddhism
   

• 
  Empirical: direct personal experience is the final test of truth
  
• 
  Scientific: discern cause/effect relationships, find out what advances your journey (he tried asceticism, wealth, tradition; finally he did it on his own)
  
• 
  Pragmatic: concerned with problem solving, resolving the
  

predicaments of life

• 
  Therapeutic: aimed at easing suffering of this life
  
• 
  Psychological/anthropological: began with man, his nature, situation(not philosophical, ethereal, esoteric or theological; did not deal with abstract concepts)
  
• 
  Democratic: attacked the caste system; broke out of his own caste
  

3. 
   After Buddha’s death, the movement split into two schools.
   

Theravada (Burma, Thailand):

The “orthodox” Buddhism (the “way of the elders”; claims to be closest to the Buddha’s teachings).

Buddha is a great teacher, a saint.

Man is on his own; he must work out his own salvation without reliance on gods or any force beyond himself.

Religion is a full-time job (seen mostly among the monks)

Prayer is meditation.

Mahayana (China, Korea, Japan):

The “liberal” Buddhism (preserves the spirit of Buddha, emphasizing his life, not his teachings)

Buddha is god, a savior.

Man is not alone; there is a power grounded in nirvana.

Religion is relevant to life. Compassion and service are consistent practices of the wise man.

Prayer is petition, supplication, calling on Buddha.

Mahayanist sects:

Pure Land Buddhism: one can go to paradise by trusting in the savior, Amitabha.

Zen Buddhism: stresses intuitive, “the meditation that leads to insight.”

Seeks to transcend the limitations of language and ordinary reason.

4. 
   Missionary Buddhism
   

Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism is a strong missionary faith. Zen Buddhism, with its emphases on meditation and self-salvation, became popular in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. There are numerous Zen centers in the United States.

5. 
   Comparison to Hinduism:
   

Hinduism is more physical/biological (heroes, divine fathers and mothers, sexual symbols)

Buddhism is more psychological (meditation, compassion, consciousness); it offers an answer to the hopeless fatalism of Hinduism, rejecting its ritualistic, tradition-bound religion for an emphasis on one’s own personal efforts.

2. 
   OVERVIEW OF BASIC BELIEFS
   

1. 
   Supreme Being/Gods
   

Southern Buddhism: irrelevant

Northern Buddhism: Buddha

2. 
   Key Figures in History
   

Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BC)

Became the Buddha, the Enlightened One

For Pure Land Buddhists, Amitabha

3. 
   View of Jesus
   

A teacher who may possess Buddhahood or Enlightenment.

One among many, not unique

His teachings can be valuable today.

4. 
   Sources of Authority
   

Sutras

Tripitaka (the Three Baskets)

5. 
   Doctrine of Man
   

No eternal self or ego.

Concept of anatta (“no soul”) denies existence of self beyond mental and physical attributes.

One lifetime for each person, composed of skanda (parts), held together by the “thread of life”. This situation makes a person think he is an individual, but these soon break down.

All that exists of a man after death is his karma (what he did or did not do in life, which sets up waves of energy.) In reincarnation, the energy of his karma rejoins the skanda into a new existence.

6. 
   Basic Human Problem
   

The human condition is suffering caused by attachment to things and the desire that accompanies this attachment.

The Four-Fold Truths define man’s situation and dilemma:

7. 
   Solution to the Basic Human Problem
   

The goal of life is nirvana, the elimination of all desire related to attachment, an escape from meaningless existence and continuous rebirth.

Enlightenment is finally accomplished by following the

The Eight-Fold Path:

Right understanding/knowledge

Right thought/aspiration

Right speech

Right actions (selfless giving to others, alleviate human hurt)

Right livelihood

Right effort

Right mindfulness/contemplation

Right concentration

8. 
   Value System
   

The Eight-Fold Path stresses moral virtue, including right action and right vocation.

9. 
   Life After Death
   

Possible attainment of nirvana (negation of suffering, perfect state of passionless peace.

The soul, if there is one, is absorbed. There is no “life after death” as such (except in Pure Land Buddhism).

1. 
   Contrast to Christianity
   

1. 
   God
   

B: No need for gods; personal effort is sufficient

C: God is the personal, creating, holy, righteous, purposeful, just God to whom man is accountable.

2. 
   Man
   

B: Denies man’s social nature; individualism is paramount.

A pessimistic approach to life, seeking self-negation.

C: Upholds the value of man and the eternal value of human bodily

existence.

Affirms the essential value of man’s social nature: the Church.

Affirms an optimistic worldview: hope, life, re-creation of the world.

3. 
   Salvation
   

B: Seeks to resolve man’s problem through self-effort and ultimately extinction. Salvation is passionless peace.
C: Salvation is rescue from certain judgment based on what Christ did in a point in time in history.

4. 
   After life
   

B: Absorption into “World Soul”
C: Individuals are eternally in the company of the personal, loving

God or eternally separated from Him.

10. 
    CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLLOWERS OF BUDDHISM
    

1. 
   Build genuine friendships
   

Invite conversation.

Learn before trying to “teach” or “correct”

2. 
   Identify places of empathy with Buddhism:
   

Emphasis on prayer and meditation (particularly with Mahayana)
Buddhist must deal with real human needs, including the need for love and belonging. All of us experience these needs.
The Buddhist places a high value on practical application, personal

experience, and investigation of the truth.

Encourage a Buddhist to examine for himself the teachings, promises and example of Christ.

3. 
   Identify areas of contrast:
   

Morality: Buddhist sees living a certain kind of life as a prerequisite for escape.

For the Christian, the moral life is a response to Christ who saves and makes whole.

Suffering and the problem of desire:

The Buddhist sees suffering as a result of personal existence. Therefore the remedy is the elimination of the self and its desires.

The Christian sees suffering as a consequence of sin and rebellion. In Christ suffering and death have been conquered without negating life and personality.
Highest good:

Buddhist: Disappearance and absorption of the individual is the highest good.

For the Christian, the highest good is the love of God and salvation in Christ.

4. 
   Share Your Personal Faith in a God of love who comes to us
   

He comes to us: Love and hope for escape from suffering

Suffering then has meaning as it points one to Christ

Point to the parallels of Amitabha and Jesus.

Point out the differences also: see Eph. 2:8-10