Christianity And Buddhism Similarities

Buddhism is very interesting in regard to its beliefs on birth and death because they are quite unique compared to other religions. Buddhism and Hinduism originated from very similar locations, so they contain many of the same elements in what they believe about birth and death. They both believe in Karma and reincarnation, but Buddhism looks at them differently. Buddha taught that there is only one great soul that encompasses every person that has ever lived, will live, and is living now. This means that when a person dies they don’t necessarily have a soul that can be passed on into another life, but their personality traits can recombine in another life form as a sort of rebirth. This is also how Buddha taught how Karma works. There is no distinct soul for Karma to follow
between lifetimes, so it accompanies certain aspects of a personality through each life.
The theme of Karma is very prevalent in the Buddhist religion because there is no deity or higher being to pass down judgement or punish poor behavior, there is only the laws of Karma as a motivator to act correctly. This differs greatly from many other religions, namely Christianity.

Christianity Origins:
Christianity is the largest religion in the world. It is practiced by over two billion people all over the earth. Christianity actually began as an offshoot of Judaism back around 30 CE. It originated in the middle east in the Palestine area, similar to both Judaism and Islam. This has caused a lot of controversy in modern times due to debates over what holy lands belong to which religions. Christianity, as denoted by its name, stems from the teachings of Jesus the Christ or Yeshua. Christ in this case meaning Anointed One or Messiah. Jesus’ birth was of a miraculous nature as his mother was a virgin when an angel came down and told her she was carrying the Messiah according to Christian teachings. Yeshua was born in a town called
Bethlehem near Jerusalem around 2000 years ago. There is very little information about Jesus as a child. It wasn’t until he was around thirty years old that the scriptures describe stories of his religious work. He travelled all throughout the middle east preaching and performing miracles in different cities for about three years. Although he only preached his message for a very short time he gained many followers and many enemies very quickly. His teachings were different than the traditional Jewish teachings and he went so far as to claim that he and God were one in the same. This caused a lot of upheaval and he was eventually arrested and sentenced to death by crucifixion for his teachings. He passed away on the cross, which has become the iconic symbol of Christianity, on a Friday and was quickly buried the same day. According to Christians three days later, the following Sunday, he rose from the dead. The Bible further states that a short time after his resurrection he ascended back up to heaven. This whole sequence of events is the entire foundation of the Christian religion. The basis of all of Christianity’s teachings revolves around the death and divinity of Yeshua.
Christianity Texts: After the death of Jesus his close followers began the religion that would come to be known in today’s world as Christianity. It was spread through the story telling of Yeshua’s close followers or disciples and grew throughout the middle east fairly quickly. After a few hundred years a council was convened, and a sacred text was compiled of what they believed to be the true teachings of Jesus Christ. The text was a compilation of books written by Christian authors in the century after Jesus’ death. The text is called the “New Testament” and it contains 27 different books. The four main books that describe the teachings and words of Christ are the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They are where most of the knowledge of Jesus’ life comes from. However, just like the Buddhist sacred texts, the validity of Christianity’s sacred scriptures also contains a lot of question marks. His stories were most likely distorted through thousands of retellings and thousands of copying’s, and there is little to no evidence to confirm who wrote each book. Regardless, the New Testament is widely accepted by Christians as the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Christianity Goals:
Today the New Testament is combined with the old Jewish books to form the bible. The bible is what outlines all of Christianity’s beliefs and traditions. The main foundation of the Christian religion is the death and resurrection of Yeshua. Jesus’ crucifixion is seen by Christians as the ultimate sacrifice and his life is seen as the ultimate example. Every Christian is supposed to strive to live their life as Jesus taught. He even lays out a set of moral codes to live by in the bible commonly known as the Beatitudes. They are a set of nine sayings found in the gospel of Matthew that outline how one should live their life if they wish to join God in heaven. They go like this: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted; Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth; Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled; Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy; Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God; Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God; Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me, rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. All of these guidelines are ways to be a better person in life, and although they are not easy Christians believe they are the only way to truly reach happiness.
Christianity Birth & Death:
Even though Christianity is the largest religion in the world its view on birth and death are very different than most any other religion. “In no other world religion is so much theological weight placed on the ultimate fate”. Christianity does not believe in reincarnation, so each person has only one life to reach salvation. The antagonist in Christianity is a being known as Satan. His role is too tempt Christians with the material objects of this world so they do not live their life according to the beatitudes and will suffer in hell in the afterlife. That is why death is so important to Christians because once you pass on, you either join God in heaven for eternal happiness or Satan in hell for eternal torment. Although Christians do not believe in reincarnation, they do believe in the resurrection. According to the Bible, on the last day everyone will be resurrected just as Jesus was for a final judgement. That is, Christians motivation to follow Jesus’ actions. If Christians live their lives with Jesus as their example, they believe they will receive eternal happiness.
Christianity & Buddhism Comparison:
Christianity and Buddhism are two religions that seem completely different on the surface, but when the layers of ritual and tradition are peeled back they are extremely similar at the core of their beliefs. Beginning at their origin, both religions were founded by men with a miraculous birth. Both of the religions founders set off on their spiritual journey around the age of thirty, and both of the founders lived their lives as an example of how to correctly practice their religions. The only core differences between Jesus Christ and Buddha is that Jesus came from humble beginnings and claimed to be a deity as the son of God and Buddha was a prince but did not claim to be a deity. The creation of their sacred texts has similarities as well. Professor Burnett Streeter even says, “But at times, when we read Ecclesiastes, we seem to be gazing, as through an open window, into the Buddha’s very soul”. Both of the texts were formed by large councils, both were formed one hundred or more years after the passing of their founders, both have a very high possibility of not being true, and they both share many of the same teachings. The sacred texts of Buddhism and Christianity share many things in common, but there are a few differences as well. Christianity has one major text that is pretty well accepted by most of the Christian community. Buddhism has multiple texts that some groups believe are valid and others dismiss. Buddhism is also better able to trace back the origins of their texts whereas Christianity has very little proof of who wrote their books. When it comes to their beliefs, however, the similarities and differences are not as clear. Buddhism is very simple in that its goal, at its core, is to eliminate desire and as a result eliminate suffering. Christianity is more complex, but the underlying message is closely related. Christianity speaks of not worrying about earthly things and rather, focus on spiritual wealth by praying, helping the needy, and following Jesus. Buddhism is very similar but is slightly more specific. It teaches not to desire earthly things and follow the eight-fold path to better oneself.
Christianity and Buddhism Major Differences:
The major differences in the belief systems of Christianity and Buddhism come from their views on death, the afterlife, and the presence of a supreme being. Christianity believes in an all-powerful God that created the universe and everything in it. Buddhism does not believe in an all-powerful deity. Buddhism believes in reincarnation of certain aspects of personality and the laws of Karma as their judge. Christianity believes in eternity in heaven or hell deemed by God at the time of passing. These are the major differences in the theology of the two religions, but they are much less numerous than the similarities.
Conclusion:
Buddhism and Christianity are two of the largest and most influential religions in history. They began hundreds of years apart and thousands of miles away but share many similar traits. The simplicity of Buddhism and the unity of Christianity are beautiful parts of each religion that draw in hundreds of followers every year. Christianity could learn from Buddhism and take away a lot of the pomp and circumstance surrounding it. If Christianity was more of just a clear message it would be much more approachable to the everyday person. Buddhism could learn from the organization of Christianity, as well, to become more of a unified voice. Both of these religions are interesting in their own unique way and both could learn from one another. Their founders have many aspects in common, there are lots of parallels with the sacred scriptures, and they preach similar main ideas. Buddhism and Christianity have a few differences, but have much more in common than initially realized.