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.

Lead Me Not Into Temptation

I saw this printed on a hand towel. I do not know the source of this riff on The Twenty-Third Psalm.

"Lead me not into temptation ... oh, who am I kidding ... follow me, I know a shortcut."

We all know many shortcuts. Every human is tempted numerous times each day.  Even Jesus was tempted. The Bible records one major temptation episode that Satan launched against Jesus but surely there were many more.  Two are very obvious.

Jesus surely was tempted to heal his good friend Lazarus before the man died but he intentionally delayed his arrival. Lazarus' sister was angry and disappointed with their friend, but Jesus had a reason for his delay. Read the story at John 11: 1-44. "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"

Jesus clearly dreaded what was to come for him on the cross and he was probably tempted to do exactly the thing which he said he could do (Matthew 26:53). He did not do it because it would have meant that Satan had won. "But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen this way?"

Jesus is the only person who has ever live a life totally free of sin. Here is the hard part. He was tempted just like we are. Hebrews 4:15

Peanuts

I do not know the source of this story. Those viewing this in translation may wish to read the synopsis below because this story will probably not translate well.
____________________________________________________________________________
The new preacher in town had for several days been visiting all the church's elderly members and especially those who were "shut-ins" in poor health. Blanche was the last person on his list.

Blanche was a kind old lady who had long ago lost all her teeth. She absolutely refused to get dentures and therefore had the sunken lips look of a very old person with no teeth. Her speech was affected by her lack of teeth. She was delighted to see the preacher.

"Oh, preachah! I'm tho happy to thee you!"

"Blanche, I'm glad I could come by."

The two sat on the couch and talked about the church and Blanche's health until the phone rang.

"O, preachah,  I gotta go get that. Ith probably Hortenth.  The callth me every day about thith time. I'll be back ath thoon ath I can."

"OK, Blanche. I'm not going anywhere."

 The phone call seemed to drag on and on and the preacher felt a rumbling in his stomach. He saw a bowl of peanuts on the end table and knowing that Blanche would not mind, took a small handful. Then another handful. Then another. Suddenly, to his dismay, he realized that he had consumed the entire bowl of peanuts.

When Blanche came back into the room, the preacher apologized profusely, but Blanche was not concerned.

"Oh preachah, thath OK! I done thucked all the chocolate off of 'em anyway!"

________________________________________________________________________________
This is a joke story: A new preacher visits an elderly church member and in her brief absence to answer a phone call eats all the peanuts from a bowl on a table. When the preacher apologizes for having eaten all the woman's peanuts she tells him not to be concerned because she had already sucked all the chocolate off the peanuts.

Casein Protein Intolerance

             Agalee Jacob, a Canadian dietitian and diabetes educator. says. " Lactose intolerance , which is an intolerance to the sugar found in milk, is one of the most common food intolerances, but an intolerance to casein can sometimes cause similar symptoms." Casein is a milk protein rather than a sugar. Milk to most people is a harmless and tasty food ingredient. To persons with a milk product intolerance it is basically a poison.
             Intolerances to food products which most people can safely consume. can, in the intolerant individual almost instant bloating, cramping,. flatulence. and diarrhea.Sufferers acn experience either or both of these food intolerances.
             It is possible to purchase lactose-free products which can be safely consumed by the lactose intolerant person but not all of these products are also casein-free. An example is a "dairy free" coffee creamer which contains "casein. a milk derivative."
             In our lives as Christians, many things are tasty and pleasant but they can also sometimes cause discomfort or even intense pain. Sports.our occupations, literature. culinary adventures, travel, etc, can all be positive and fulfilling experiences. When they are allowed to become obsessions that interfere with our family and Christian duties. they can cause injury in our lives. Anything which distracts us enough to make us less useful to our families and to our Lord is damaging.
              Oddly enough. some Christians unintentionally cause severe injury in their families their personal lives. and in their relationship with the Lord. when they become obsessive about "church work.
               These are people who are unable to say "no" to any church related request. It is important to understand that God is not the one asking you to be involved in EVERY church project or activity. Often, when you try to do too much you end up accomplishing very little and you may cause emotional and spiritual injury to yourself and others along the way. How does it honor God for you to perform forty-five church projects at the cost of neglecting your husband and your children? Your emotional and spiritual burnout does not honor God. It makes you less useful to Him.
               It is much better to choose two or three activities into which you feel especially led by the Lord and to do them excellently without neglecting yourself or your family.

Pumpkins

This was found in the Bible of my wife's grandmother. There is no indication as to the source of the material.

"From one pumpkin to another."
"A woman was asked by a coworker, "What is it like to be a Christian?"
The coworker replied, "It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then He cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you for all the world to see."

"This was passed on to me by another pumpkin. Now it's your turn to pass it on to other pumpkins. I liked this enough to send it to all the pumpkins in my patch."

Spam Phone Calls

I received a phone call from Woonsocket, Rhode Island (USA) and totally ignored it. In fact I deleted it. I do not know anyone in Woonsocket or the entire state of Rhode Island. The call was either a wrong number or what is called "spam." (The derisive word "SPAM" comes from a canned spiced ham product which many people consider to be awful but which many others enjoy. It has a reputation similar to that of the also unfairly maligned fruit cake.)

Spam phone calls are a particular problem in the United States. Massive numbers of automated phone calls are sent by businesses trying to increase their profits or are sent to deliver a particular message (often political) to as many people as possible.  This type of Spam is merely a nuisance. In 2017, the United States Federal Trade Commission received 7,157,370 complaints about spam calls. The problem is escalating. There were 4.5 billion reported spam phone calls in the United States in June of 2018. These spam phone calls are essentially total garbage.

A second type of spam calls is is intended to be hostile and is criminal. One form of these aggressive attacks is intended to completely clog up phone lines and render them useless. This is a form of denial of service attack.

An even more criminal type of spam attempts to deceive or trick as many people as possible to respond to the call and to voluntarily give out their personal information such as bank account numbers, credit card numbers, computer sign-on passwords, etc. The motive here is to steal money.

In today's world  everyone is constantly surrounded by what is essentially SPAM; totally worthless garbage. Messages flood at us from television, movies, radio, music, books, news organizations, junk mail, flyers, and other people. The vast majority of it is secular or explicitly non-Christian. Some of it is malignantly anti-Christian.

There is an old saying in the Southern United States about a person so holy and high-minded that he or she is of no use in the real world. This is not what God wants. He wants us to let Him use us for His purposes here in the real world. We are told to he holy (separated) because God is holy, but we are also told to be "in the world but not of the world." Essentially, do not be useless.

Ignoring the vast majority of the garbage swilling around us does not mean that we must have no interest in culture, or learning. or books, or music, or sports, or fashion, or outdoor activities, or politics, or any other thing. It does, however, require us not to chase after every wind (especially those which we know stink). It also requires us to learn to recognize "the stink" even when a little perfume has been added.

Leviticus 11:44,45; 19:2; 20:7, 1 Peter 1:16, John 15:19; 17: 14-16, Ephesians 4:14, Ecclesiastes 6:9

2624 Year Old Tree

In the State of North Carolina in the United States, scientists studying a very ancient stand of trees have discovered one tree (designated as BLK227) which they can accurately date as 2624 years old.  This means 505 BC.

The date was established by taking tiny non-damaging core samples. Many of the other trees in the forest are at least 2000 years old. These 110 Bald Cypress trees are located along the Black River and predate the reign of Alexander the Great (356 - 323BC). These trees were over 500 years old when Jesus was born.