Comparing Buddhism and Christianity - Essay Example

Different parts of the world have a different basis to believe in supernatural beings. A majority of the people believe in Christianity, a significant number believe in Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, etc. Though the religions share a number of similarities, there are a number of serious differences between the religions. In this case, this discussion will be comparing and contrasting Buddhism and Christianity by distinctive similarities and differences. This discussion will be in response to Kreefts article Comparing Christianity & Buddhism to determine some of the salient features identified when comparing.

Similarities and differences between Christianity and Buddhism

Both Buddha and Jesus Christ laid the claim of being able to transform human nature at its root; however, Buddha approached the issue from a different perspective as compared. Among Christians and Buddhists, agape and Karuna are taken as important directives as to how one should live their life well. The two doctrines teach people to be selfless in their actions and accommodate other people in life. Though the two doctrines have striking differences in their definition, they make people better people. That is, they tend to be more considerate of the needs of other peoples in their actions. In addition, the other similarity between Christianity and Buddhism is its tendency to teach the desirable virtues of human beings (Kreeft). The two religions teach a number of important lessons to mankind, for instance, forgiveness, perseverance, humility, etc. Consequently, the two religions are taught the same lessons from the life of Jesus Christ and Buddha (Kreeft, n.d). For example, in terms of humility, Buddha was defined as the enlightened one and Jesus at the same time shared the same characteristics when he dealt with the general multitude.

Other than that, Christianity and Buddhism also share a significant number of differences in their construction, whereas the message of love is the main one for the two religions. The first difference in the two is the tendency of the two to use different means to achieve the same result (Kreeft). Whereas Christianity acknowledges the existence of God, Buddhism does not mention the existence of the same. It does not mention him. However, this not means that he is not implied in the said teachings. On the other hand, it insists on the soul and the need to avoid being attached to love and desires of the world. Similarly, the two religions also differ on the spirits of Karuna and agape (Kreeft). While Christians insist on this since Christ is love and people should show love to others, Buddhism insists that it is the enlightened thing to do. Lastly, the final difference in the two is that, for Buddhism, egotism causes the illusion of the ego whereas, for Christians, the ego causes the egotism effect (Kreeft). Agape has a different cause from the effect and reflects the argument refers to the differentiation between altruism and ego and egotism from ego.

From the differentiation between the two, I was skeptical of the evident difference between the two forms of religion. However, this ought not to be a source of differentiation between the two since they seem to spread the same message. Though Buddhism and Christianity share the same message of love and peace, they may differ in delivery and mode of delivery. Personality plays a significant role in the receipt of Buddhism; however, it is not the same for Christianity. As a result, by virtue of the fact that the two religions share important virtues, people should choose to agree with the good of each religion and not allow themselves to be swayed by the negative and source of differentiation of the same.

References

Kreeft, P. (n.d). Comparing Christianity & Buddhism. Retrieved from: http://www.peterkreeft.com/topics-more/religions_buddhism.htm