A Major Difference Between Christianity and Buddhism

   

     A Major Difference Between Christianity and Buddhism

                   
              Christianity and Buddhism are radically different in multiple ways. One way is clearly displayed in this quotation:

"If you see something horrible, don't cling to it; and if 
you see something beautiful, don't cling to it."

                                Dudjom Rinpoche


               Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje is the supreme leader of the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. He was appointed to his position by the 14th Dalai Lama. The quotation represents the Buddhist concept that clinging to the passing and ephemeral phenomena of life produces suffering.

Suffering is eliminated when the clinging is eliminated. This has been described in numerous ways. Here are two of them: that which is left after a flower has been crushed and the hand removed; that which is left after a candle has been extinguished.

               Christianity totally disagrees. Christianity calls for a deliberate choice to focus on positive things, because that pleases and glorifies God. God is involved in every aspect of the life of the believer. He knows how may hairs are on your head.

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, 
whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and
if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."
                                                     
                                   Philippians 4:8


"Whether then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, 
                        do all to the glory of God."

                              1 Corinthians 10:31

Scriptural quotations are from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.

Religious Place Names

Glennahaglish, Ireland: This place incorporates the Irish word “eaglais” which translates as “church.”

Saqqara, Egypt: This place name reflects the name of the ancient Egyptian hawk-headed god of death, Sokar or Seker. HIs name is believed to be derived from the ancient Egyptian phrase “sy-k-ri,” which means “hurry to me.”

Pihana - a- ka -lani, Hawaii State, United States of America: The Hawaiian word “lani” translates as “heaven,” “sky,” or “king” and “pihana” means “a gathering place.”  Pihana was used as a temple site for the sacrifice of war captives to the king’s Hawaiian deities. It was a “gathering place of the supernatural.”

Braganca, Portugal: Walled settlements began to appear in this area in about 1000 to 700 BCE, Brigantia, “the elevated one,” was a Celtic goddess whose name is believed to have come from the Proto-Indo-European words “bhrg hnti” meaning “high,” “lofty,” or “elevated.”

Luang Prabang, Laos: The Lao words “Phra Bang” translate as “royal Buddha image.” The city-state already existed when it entered history in 698 CE when it was conquered by a Tai prince.

Unusual Christian Places: Shingo, Japan

Shingo, Japan is a small village of 3000 people which claims that Jesus did not die during His crucifixion because the man who was crucified was actually Jesus’ younger brother. The Shingo legend says that Jesus settled in the village and went by the name Daitenku Taro. He became a rice farmer, married one of the local women, and had three daughters. The legend has him dying in Shingo at the age of 106.

Though many locals claim to be descendants of Jesus through his daughters, all but one (in 2013) are Buddhist or are followers of Shintoism.

ESCHATOLOGY SERIES, POST #2: ESCHATOLOGIES FROM VARIOUS CULTURES

Eschatology is theology concerned with the final events of history. The word is derived from the Greek words  ἐσχάτος  eschatos ("last") and λόγος logos ("word"). Eschatology is therefore the study of “last things.” The focus of eschatology is usually on reality as a whole rather than on the individual. The word eschatology first appeared in the English language about 1550. 

In most known cultures, including the most primitive, there has been a belief in some sort of existence of the individual after death. Some held that the afterlife would be a dull and dreary thing., others that only the good would survive into an afterlife.  Some felt that the afterlife would be largely an extension of this one, perhaps on a more exalted plane as reward for bravery or great skill.  Many held that the retribution for an evil life was annihilation.

The Babylonians and Assyrians felt that retribution for evil came largely in this life as did the divine rewards of long life, strength, prosperity, and many children. The ghost of the individual existed in the underworld with the other dead. Demons ran around in the underworld inflicting punishment for sins committed during life.

In the ancient Egyptian religion, the good individual could hope for unending life with Osiris, the sun god. The existence was in some ways physical and this is the reason for mummification of the body. In the afterlife the actions of the deceased during life are weighed and judged. The dead face several trials and are subject to a second death if they fail.

Ancient Persian (Persia, modern Iran) religion (Mazdaism, Zoroastrianism, Parseeism, etc) was dualistic with a conflict between equally powerful good (Ahura Mazda) and evil (Ahriman) deities. The two deities were co-creators of the universe. The evil deity will, in the end, be vanquished and a judgement of people based on their life's deeds will occur. Those with evil deeds will be purified by fire, Hell will be purged, and the earth will be renewed by a purifying fire.

The ancient Greeks believed that life on Earth was the highest good for man. After death, the soul survived in a dull attenuated existence with little emphasis on retributive justice for life's misdeeds. A few very evil individuals would receive eternal punishment in Tartarus and a few favorites of the gods
would exist in eternal bliss in the Elysian Fields.  

Recently, there was much popular discussion of "2012." This was based on Aztec mythology which predicted the end of our current cycle of time on 21 December 2012. The Aztec mythology describes several cycles ruled by deities who are destroyed at the end of each cycle along with all the humans living during that cycle. The sun is the deity of the current cycle.

The human sacrifices regularly performed by the ancient Aztecs had a specific purpose. The blood and the extracted human hearts were seen as the food or fuel which maintained the ability of the Sun god to function. The stability of the universe depended upon regular human sacrifices.

Norse (Scandinavian) eschatology is presented in the story of Ragnarok, the climactic battle of the  cyclical Old Norse mythology. Nearing the end of the cycle, people, and the Gods themselves, will become increasingly corrupt, not honorable, dissipated, apathetic, and nihilistic. The Frost Giants, led by the renegade god Loki, will come and the battle will begin, accompanied by natural disasters. Most of the Norse gods will be killed and the world will eventually be dead and silent, covered with water and in total silence. After a time, fertile land will emerge from the water and the few gods who survived the battle will gather. A new first couple of humans will repopulate the new clean earth and the gods will celebrate.

In some religious/philosophical systems, such as Baha’ism and Jainism, there is neither a beginning nor an end.  Baha’is believe that reality consists of a series of progressive revelations by prophets. The coming of each new prophet is the judgement of the previous religion., with the prophet Bahaullah having brought the ultimate revelation.

The most severe forms of Buddhism deny even this. Within each moment in time, both birth and death are present. As each moment is born, the previous moment dies. The only reality is the present moment. There is no reward or punishment and no God. Individual existence with its cravings and desires is the ultimate evil.  Salvation is the extinction of every type of desire, even the desire for existence.

Hinduism sees reality and time as a series of repeating cycles as Shiva destroys and regenerates the universe repeatedly. The individual is part of this cyclical nature and ultimately will come to realize that individuality is an illusion. The individual consciousness is in actuality part of the Ultimate Reality and its ultimate destiny is absorption back into the Whole. All reality will contract into a singularity which will then begin again to expand.

Islamic eschatology points toward a Day of Judgement in which each persons good deeds will be balanced against their evil deeds. The sayings of the Prophet Muhammad give many signs which will indicate the approach of the Day of Judgement.

Judaism is most concerned with life now, in the present time, and is more corporate than individual. The concept is that the important thing is observance of the Law in order to prepare ourselves and the world for the coming of God's kingdom on Earth. The religion is absolutely monotheistic and God is absolute in His control of the universe. Man is intended to live in friendship with God during this life. There is very little discussion of retributive justice in the afterlife. 

Jewish eschatology is based on the Nation of Israel as a whole, not on the individual. The promises of the Old Testament are to the nation, the people of the land Am ha'aretz (עם הארץ), not the individual. The hope is for the establishment of a theocratic Messianic kingdom, based in Jerusalem, which will rule the world with justice and peace. 

An introduction to Christian eschatology will be presented in the next post.

Unusual Christian Places: The Statue of the Bodhisattva Guanyin in Macau

This statue in Macau is of the Buddhist “Mercy Goddess,” Guanyin.   Not actually a goddess, she is a bodhisattva, one who has attained enlightenment but has vowed to seek the enlightenment of all sentient beings.  Many also associate this bodhisattva with the Virgin Mary. ???  The answer lies in the history of Macau and the resultant mixing of cultures and religions.

Jorge Alvares landed in China in 1513, and by 1535 trade between Portugal and China was established.   The site of Macau eventually became a Portuguese colony, administered to various degrees by Portugal from 1557 to 1999, when the rental agreement with China expired.  During this period, Roman Catholicism became a strong presence in the area, which also includes followers of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and smaller native faiths.

http://www.placesandfoods.com/2013/05/guan-yin-statue-of-macau.html

http://www.tripomatic.com/China/Macau-Special-Administrative-Region/Macau/Guan-Yin-Statue/

http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/art-architecture/kuan-yin-of-macau-city.html

Guanyin (short for Guanshiyin, “Observing the Cries of the World”) is an immortal bodhisattva, She is rarely represented as male.  She has vowed to never rest until she has freed all sentient beings from the cycle of reincarnation.  Because of her infinite compassion, she is sometimes depicted as holding a child.

There are several streams of Buddhism, some being very strict, austere, and individually oriented.  The less strict version, Mahayana (”Greater Vehicle”) encourages everyone to become a bodhisattva (“enlightenment being”) and to work for the eventual enlightenment of every sentient being in the universe by the idea of “merit transference.”  The idea is that “merit” earned by the enlightened bodhisattva can be transferred to less advanced beings to aid in their advancement.  This Mahayana Buddhist doctrine may possibly have developed in response to  contact with Christianity.

During the Edo (Tokugawa Shogunate) Period (1603-1867) in Japan, Christianity was totally banned and was declared to be punishable by death. Christians were forced to go “underground.”  Many venerated Jesus and the Virgin Mary by disguising them as statues of Kannon (another name for Guanyin) holding a child.  Statues such as this are known as Maria Kannon.  There was often a cross hidden in an inconspicuous location on the statue. Note the similarities of the face in the image in the following link with the face of Guanyin on the statue in Macau.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/audio-east-meets-west-virgin-and-child-ivory-carving/

An image of a Maria Kannon from Wikipedia used under the GNU Free Documentation License.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maria_Kannon.jpg

Unusual Christian Places: Chapel of the Snows

The non-denominational Chapel of the Snows is at the United States McMurdo Station on Ross Island, Antarctica.  Protestant chaplains are supplied by the United States Air National Guard and Roman Catholic priests by the Archdioceses of New Zealand.  The chapel is also used by Mormons, Bahai’s, Buddhists, and Alcoholics Anonymous.  The chapel is the southernmost religious building on Earth.

The chapel has burned to the ground and been rebuilt twice.

Numbers of Adherents of the World's Religions

These are very approximate estimates of the numbers of followers of several of the world's religions and/or philosophies.

Christianity                        2,100,000,000
Islam                                  1,500,000,000
Secular/Agnostic/Atheist   1,100,000,000
Hinduism                              900,000,000
Chinese traditional                394,000,000
Buddhism                             376,000,000
Traditional African               100,000,000
Sikhism                                  23,000,000
Juche                                      19,000,000
Spiritism                                 15,000,000
Judaism                                  14,000,000
Baha'i                                      7,000,000
Jainism                                    4,200,000
Shinto                                     4,000,000
Cao Dai                                  4,000,000
Zoroastrainism                        2,600,000
Tenrikyo                                 2,000,000
Neo-Paganism                        1,000,000
Unitarianism-Universalism        800,000
Rastafarianism                           600,000
Scientology                                500,000

Christians

At some time during their lives, the following people have publicly identified themselves as Christian. Inclusion in this list does not indicate approval or disapproval of the person, their religious beliefs, or their actions. This is a recurring segment in this blog.

Thomas Dyer: (b. Tennessee, USA) A former Southern Baptist pastor, in 2009 Dyer became the first Buddhist to become a United States military chaplain.

Lobegott Friedrich Constantin von Tischendorf: (b. 1815, Germany – d. 1874), German Biblical scholar.Translated the Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus, a 5th century Greek manuscript of the New Testament and found the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th century New Testament manuscript. He was a university professor.

Liu Zhenying: (b. 1958, China, aka: Brother Yun) House church leader, evangelist, proponent of the Back to Jerusalem movement. He was arrested and tortured over 30 times by Chinese communist authorities. In 2001, he walked out of prison in full view of his guards, no one stopped him, no doors were locked. He now operates out of Germany.

Robert Charles Guccione, Jr. (b. 1956) Latin rite Roman Catholic. Music magazine (Spin) founder. Publisher of Discover magazine. Son of Penthouse magazine founder, Bob Guccione, from whom he is estranged.

John Venn: (b. 1834, England – d. 1923)Logician, philosopher, and Anglican priest. His mathematical work has influenced set theory, probability, logic, statistics, and computer science. He was a mechanical genius particularly adept at building machines.

What They Think of Us: Plastic Jesus

This is a repost with a link to a version of the song.

Plastic Jesus is an American folk song written by Ed Rush and George Cromarty in 1957, some also attribute Ernie Marrs as a writer. Ed Rush has stated that the inspiration for the song came from a religious radio station from Del Rio, Texas which "sold the most outrageous stuff imaginable, all with magical healing properties." Every city in America probably has such a shop, selling tacky religious trinkets and doodads. In Birmingham, we had Prophet Carlisle who sold scented candles and healing oils. Christians need to assiduously separate themselves from such crap. There is no reason to give the unbelievers ammunition for their sarcasm.

Plastic Jesus has been recorded by multiple artists. Additional verses continue to be added about Mary, Joseph, the Apostles, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, and on and on and on. Here is the original song. Read more about it on Wikipedia.

I don't care if it rains or freezes
'Long as I got my plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Through my trials and tribulations
And my travels through the nations
With my plastic Jesus I'll go far

Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
I'm afraid He'll have to go
His magnets ruin my radio
And if I have a wreck He'll leave a scar

Riding down a thoroughfare
With His nose up in the air
A wreck may be ahead, but He don't mind
Trouble coming He don't see
He just keeps His eye on me
And any other thing that lies behind

Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Though the sunshine on His back
Make Him peel, chip and crack
A little patching keeps Him up to par

When I'm in a traffic jam
He don't care if I say "damn"
I can let all my curses roll
Plastic Jesus doesn't hear
'Cause he has a plastic ear
The man who invented plastic saved my soul

Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Once His robe was snowy white
Now it isn't quite so bright
Stained by the smoke of my cigar

If I weave around at night
And policemen think I'm tight
They never find my bottle, though they ask
Plastic Jesus shelters me
For His head comes off, you see
He's hollow, and I use Him for a flask

Plastic Jesus, plastic Jesus
Riding on the dashboard of my car
Ride with me and have a dram
Of the blood of the Lamb
Plastic Jesus is a holy bar

Another light bulb joke

How many Zen masters does it take to change a light bulb?

A lily pad floats on the surface above a goldfish below.

Ulambana

13 July 2009: Ulambana or "Ancestor Day" is a Buddhist holiday.  Lay Buddhists make offerings for their ancestors and dedicate the merit from the offerings to decrease the suffering of those waiting to be reborn.