Are Jesus and Buddha Brothers?

[Marguerite F]

Below is an article from a Catholic site. It typifies the type of heresy that is going around in Catholic circles today. This ideology breeches the wall of "Interfaith Dialogue" and creates a dangerous religious paradigm...and that is the false notion that "all roads lead to the same God"...All Faiths are equal.

Catholics, in an attempt to "not offend" peoples of other faiths, have chosen to ignore the basic teachings of a 2000 year old institution that was created by the only human(God/Man) that, under His Own Power, rose Himself from the grave! How obsurd! "On this ROCK I will build MY CHURCH"....It HAS to MEAN something!! Or for 2000 years humans have been duped by the greatest hoax yet!....I think not!

I say less Interfaith Dialogue...more study of the REAL CATHOLIC FAITH.

Please read and take the time to circulate this information

And for those of you living in Texas....the notorious paper, The Texas (non)Catholic...has a similar article about the similarities between the Catholic faith and Islam....well that is even a bit more plausible because of their origins....and yet, they are most obviously NOT the same faith.

St. Michael, Defend Us,
Marguerite


Are Jesus and Buddha Brothers?

"When you are a truly happy Christian, you are also a Buddhist. And vice
versa." So concludes best-selling author and Buddhist monk Thich Hhat
Hanh near the end of his popular book Living Buddha, Living Christ.

Some Catholics agree. For example, Jesuit Father Robert E. Kennedy, a
Roshi (Zen master), holds Zen retreats at Morning Star Zendo in Jersey
City. He states on his web site: "I ask students to trust themselves and
to develop their own self-reliance through the practice of Zen." The St.
Francis Chapel at Santa Clara University hosts the weekly practice of
"mindfulness and Zen meditation." Indeed, the number of Buddhist
retreats and workshops being held at Catholic monasteries and parishes
is growing.

Similarly, controversial New Testament scholar Marcus J. Borg writes in
Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings, "Jesus and the Buddha were
teachers of wisdom," contending that "wisdom is not just about moral
behavior, but about the 'center,' the place from which moral perception
and moral behavior flow." Jesus and Buddha proclaimed a
"world-subverting wisdom," Borg writes, "that undermined and challenged
conventional ways of seeing and being in their time and in every time."
He notes that both men spoke about "the way" and concludes, "Thus both
were teachers of the way less traveled. 'Way' or 'path' imagery is
central to both bodies of teaching."

But are these two "ways" really as compatible as Hanh, Kennedy, Borg,
and others believe? What similarities and differences are there between
the historical persons and teachings of Jesus and Buddha? Can we agree
with Hanh that people should be able to have "both the Buddha and Jesus
within their life"?

Buddhism Boom

Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world, with about 370
million adherents. Although less than 1 percent of Americans identify
themselves as Buddhist, interest in this ancient belief system is
growing. There are more Buddhist texts in major bookstores than works
dedicated to Islam or Hinduism, and there has been a steady stream of
articles and books by and about the Dalai Lama in recent years.

Since the 1960s, the influence of Buddhist thought in some Catholic
circles has become increasingly evident. After the Second Vatican
Council's call for respectful inter-religious dialogue, many Catholics
including some priests and religious fully embraced the study of
Buddhism. Much was made of the "common characteristics" of Catholicism
and Buddhism, particularly in the realm of ethics. External similarities
(including monks, meditation, and prayer beads) seemed to indicate newly
discovered commonalties between the followers of Christ and Buddha.
While some edifying dialogue took place, some Catholics mistakenly
concluded that Buddhism was just as true as Christianity and that any
criticism of Buddhism was merely "triumphalistic."

Today it is not uncommon for Catholic retreat centers to offer classes
and lectures on Zen Buddhism, Christ and Buddha, and even "Zen
Catholicism." Their bookstores feature titles such as Zen Spirit,
Christian Spirit: The Place of Zen in Christian Life; Jesus and Buddha:
The Parallel Sayings; and Going Home: Jesus and Buddha As Brothers,
wherein comparisons are made between Christian and Buddhist mysticism,
at times suggesting that the two are essentially identical in character
and intent.

As one self-proclaimed "Christian Buddhist," John Malcomson, explains,
"People often ask me how I could think of myself as a Christian
Buddhist. The simple answer is that I don't see God as separate from
me." Rather, he states, "God is within me as God is within all things."

Open-Minded Alternative?

Malcomson is just one of a growing number of Christians drawn to
Buddhism. In Crossing the Threshold of Hope, John Paul II notes, "Today
we are seeing a certain diffusion of Buddhism in the West." What makes
this diffusion possible, and why is Buddhism attractive to so many?

Buddhism offers spiritual vitality in the midst of the emptiness of
secular life, gives the promise of inner peace, and meets the desire for
an explicit moral code. In his classic study Buddhism: Its Essence and
Development, Edward Conze writes, "To a person who is thoroughly
disillusioned with the contemporary world, and with himself, Buddhism
may offer many points of attraction, in the transcending sublimity of
the fairy land of its subtle thoughts, in the splendor of its works of
art, in the magnificence of its hold over vast populations, and in the
determined heroism and quiet refinement of those who are steeped in it."

Another appeal is the non-dogmatic and ostensibly open-minded character
of Buddhism. For those who reject the dogmatic, objective claims of
Christianity or hold that Christianity should avoid an "exclusive"
approach to truth, Buddhism offers an easier alternative. Buddhists
teach that they do not practice a religion, a philosophy, or a type of
science but rather a way of life that cannot be explained by or
contained within any categories used in traditional Western thought.
What makes Buddhism so "open-minded," though, is that its teachings are
deliberately ambiguous.

Put another way, Buddhism transcends notions of "religion" or "belief"
and so can appear compatible with Christianity. In an interview with
Beliefnet.com, the Dalai Lama stated, "According to different religious
traditions, there are different methods . . . For example, a Christian
practitioner may meditate on God's grace, God's infinite love. This is a
very powerful concept in order to achieve peace of mind. A Buddhist
practitioner may be thinking about relative nature and also
Buddha-nature. This is also very useful."

In other words, Christianity and Buddhism are two ways to the same end;
Jesus and Buddha are two enlightened teachers who help man to that end.
Or, as a reader on a Christian discussion forum stated, "Buddha was just
a philosopher who urged men to be selfless. Jesus was just a philosopher
who urged men to be selfless. Love is just another word for selfless."
Such easy parallels between Christ and Buddha, unfortunately, are
misleading and distort the teachings of Christ.

Buddha Basics

Buddha (c. 563-c. 483 B.C.), born Siddhartha Gautama, was the son of an
Indian king. Around the age of thirty, he left his privileged life in
court to become an ascetic and spent several years traveling and
meditating on the human condition, considering especially the reality of
suffering. One day, meditating beneath a bodhi tree, he became
enlightened (buddha means "enlightened one") and afterward began to
teach his dharma, or doctrine, of the Four Noble Truths.


The Four Noble Truths are these:
1. Life is suffering.
2. The cause of suffering is desire.
3. To be free from suffering, we must detach from desire.
4. The "eight-fold path" is the way to alleviate desire.

The eight-fold path consists of right views, right intentions, right
speech, and right actions along with livelihood, effort, mindfulness,
and concentration.

The final goal of Buddhism is not merely to eradicate desire but to be
free of suffering.


Buddha also taught the "three characteristics of being":
1. All things are transitory.
2. There is no self or personality.
3. This world brings only pain and suffering.

Based on these characteristics, Buddhism asserts that to accept the
existence of anything is to give birth to its opposite (e.g., love and
hate, joy and fear, etc.), which results in the duality of "good" and
"bad." Nirvana literally, "extinguishing a flame" is the extinction
of self and the escape from the cycle of reincarnation.

While Buddhism allows belief in an afterlife, such an allowance is
called upaya, an expedient means to a real end. Upaya allows belief to
exist as a means to an end; all belief, including that of Buddhism, is
merely a construction. According to the logic of upaya, Christianity is
allowable as a stage toward spiritual progression, leading eventually to
the extinction of self, or nirvana.

The term dharma is difficult to define. One meaning implies the
teachings of Buddha or doctrine / law. Ultimately, though, all dharma is
provisional; it is simply a means that is without real meaning. Peter
Harvey, in his Introduction to Buddhism, says that "one dharma cannot
ultimately be distinguished from another: the notion of the 'sameness'
of dharmas. Their shared 'nature' is 'emptiness' (sangata). As the Heart
Sutra says, 'Whatever is material shape, that is emptiness, and whatever
is emptiness, that is material shape.'" In other words, dharma is itself
illusory.

Sometimes it is said that Buddhism is atheistic, yet Buddhism is not
interested in the question of God, so it is more accurate to describe it
as practically atheistic or simply agnostic. Buddhism "works" whether or
not there is a God. A Buddhist allows others to believe in God or gods,
but such beliefs are merely convenient means to the final end, which has
nothing to do with God or gods.

"God is neither affirmed nor denied by Buddhism," wrote the Trappist
monk Thomas Merton in Mystics and Zen Masters, "insofar as Buddhists
consider such affirmations and denials to be dualistic, therefore
irrelevant to the main purpose of Buddhism, which is emancipation from
all forms of dualistic thought." This is captured well in the sutras
(scriptures), which state that to escape desire one must "not become
attached to existence nor to non-existence, to anything inside or
outside, neither to good things nor to bad things, neither to right nor
wrong." In Buddhism, all distinctions must be extinguished; even
enlightenment has no definite nature.

What's the Purpose?

Despite many external similarities, Buddhist meditation and
contemplation is quite different from orthodox Christianity. Buddhist
meditation strives to "wake" a person from his existential delusions.
"Therefore, despite similar aspects, there is a fundamental difference"
between Christian and Buddhist mysticism, writes Pope John Paul II.
"Christian mysticism . . . is not born of a purely negative
'enlightenment.' It is not born of an awareness of the evil that exists
in man's attachment to the world through the senses, the intellect, and
the spirit. Instead, Christian mysticism is born of the revelation of
the living God" (Crossing the Threshold of Hope).

The Buddhist mystic seeks absorption into an impersonal whole, looking
to rid himself of desire and suffering. The Christian mystic, on the
other hand, desires neither the loss of personality nor an impersonal
oneness with all but a deep and abiding communion with the Triune and
personal God.

Jean Cardinal Danielou, known for his study of Eastern religions,
explains in God and the Ways of Knowing that "mystical knowledge
partakes in the life of the Trinity. It is the realization by man of his
deepest being, of what God meant to achieve in creating him."

For the Christian mystic, there is an object (the loving and merciful
God) and a growth in the salvific life of grace, leading to everlasting
life. On the other hand, the Buddhist sutras state that the "categories
of everlasting life and death, and existence and non-existence, do not
apply to the essential nature of things but only to their appearances as
they are observed by defiled human eyes." Buddhism resists existential
possibility; Christianity affirms it.

Catholics believe that the Church is the Bride of Christ, the seed of
the kingdom of God, and the conduit of God's grace and mercy in the
world. Buddhists believe that church, or sangha, is in the end upaya
nothing more than the expedient means to final extinction.

Rather than the Beatific Vision, Buddhist teaching holds that
non-existence is the only hope for escaping the pains of life.

The Catholic Church teaches that although suffering is not part of God's
perfect plan, it can bring us closer to Christ and unite us more
intimately with our suffering Lord. Buddhism teaches that suffering must
be escaped from; indeed, this is a central concern of Buddhism.
Christianity is focused on worshiping God, holiness, and the restoration
of right relationships between God and man through the work of Jesus.
The Buddhist, on the other hand, is not concerned with whether or not
God exists, nor does he offer worship. Instead, he seeks his own nirvana.

Catholicism believes that truth, and the Author of truth, can be known
rationally (to a significant yet limited extent) and through divine
revelation. In contrast, Buddhism denies existential reality; nothing,
including the self, can be proven to exist. As the dharma states:
"Things are like illusion; they can be said neither to be existent nor
non-existent."

Attracting Hungry Souls

Fr. Romano Guardini, in his classic work The Lord, stated his belief
that Buddha would be the greatest challenge to Christ in the modern age.
Such an assertion may appear somewhat exaggerated in our age, but
Buddhist teachings seriously threaten Christianity's central doctrines.
Because it appears to be peaceful, non judgmental, and inclusive, its
appeal undoubtedly will continue to grow. Buddhism's refusal to
articulate dharma in logical ways and its comfortable insistence on a
relativistic approach to knowledge and truth makes dialogue quite
difficult. Because it offers a spirituality that is ostensibly free of
doctrine and authority, it will attract hungry souls looking for
fulfillment and meaning. "For this reason," the Holy Father states, "it
is not inappropriate to caution those Christians who enthusiastically
welcome certain ideas originating in the religious traditions of the Far
East."

Vatican II's Nostra Aetate (Declaration on the Relationship of the
Church to Non-Christian Religions) says, "Buddhism, in its various
forms, realizes the radical insufficiency of this changeable world; it
teaches a way by which men, in a devout and confident spirit, may be
able either to acquire the state of perfect liberation or attain, by
their own efforts or through higher help, supreme illumination." It
continues, noting that "the Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true
and holy in these religions" and believes that other religions, in
certain ways, "often reflect a ray of that Truth that enlightens all men."

But the document also insists that the Church "proclaims, and ever must
proclaim Christ 'the way, the truth, and the life' (John 14:6), in whom
men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled
all things to himself" (NA 2). While the Council noted that Buddhism may
contain a "ray of Truth," it did not endorse appropriation of Buddhist
beliefs into Christian practice. Rather, the Council insisted that
non-Catholic religions can be fulfilled only through the truths held
exclusively by the Catholic faith.

The perennial teachings of the Catholic Church and the Buddhist sangha
are inherently incompatible. Whereas God remains completely other,
distinct from his creation, higher Buddhist discourse rejects the
possibility of any such duality. There can be no Creator / creature
distinction in Buddhism.

From an apologetic perspective, dialogue with a Buddhist is hindered
almost from the start, as the two great philosophical tools of
Christianity ontology and epistemology are discarded in Buddhist
discourse. That is, if existence itself is untenable, how can creation
be proven? If creation is untenable, how can God be proven to exist? So
it is vital when entering into dialogue with a Buddhist to understand
Buddhist objections to Christian beliefs. In the end, we should remember
that the Council of Nicaea taught that men must have one thing before
truly becoming a member of the body of Christ: faith.

Shortly before the Holy Father's visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral in
1979, the Dalai Lama was greeted there. A monsignor in the receiving
line recalls his encounter with the Buddhist patriarch: The Dalai Lama
approached him, gazed into his eyes, and queried, "Father, do you know
the difference between you and me?"

"No, Your Holiness," replied the monsignor.

"You believe in a personal God," the Dalai Lama observed, "and I do not."

This, above all, marks the difference between Christians and Buddhists.
Beyond the rhetoric of "peace," "compatibility," and "the way," there
remains one profound difference between Buddha and Jesus: Jesus is God;
Buddha is not.

Christ versus Buddha

In his Fundamentals of the Faith, Peter Kreeft writes that "there have
been only two people in history who so astonished people that they asked
not 'Who are you?' but 'What are you? A man or a god?' They were Jesus
and Buddha." He then contrasts the striking differences between the two:
"Buddha's clear answer to this question was: 'I am a man, not a god';
Christ's clear answer was: 'I am both Son of Man and Son of God.' Buddha
said, 'Look not to me, look to my dharma'; Christ said, 'Come unto me.'
Buddha said, 'Be ye lamps unto yourselves"; Christ said, 'I am the light
of the world.'"

Yet as we've seen, it is quite common to find Christ reduced to the
level of "philosopher" or "great teacher," just as Buddha sometimes is
elevated to a state of divinity. Certainly, there are some laudable
ethical teachings of Buddha: Resist greed and anger, be compassionate,
and so forth. But there remain profound differences between the two men:

Christ claimed to be the one and only true God who came to suffer, die,
and rise again, establishing a unique and everlasting covenant with man.
Buddha is believed to be one of many thatagata (thus-come-one). The
historical Buddha is just one of several thatagata who come in various
ages to teach that life is an illusion and to remove human desires and
attachments.

Christ taught that he is "the way, and the truth, and the life." The way
to what? "No one comes to the Father," Jesus continues, "but by me"
(John 14:6). Jesus comes to reveal the Father, the Creator of all
things, so man could have fullness of life.

Buddha taught how man could escape suffering through loss of desire and
personality. He held that every person must find his own path to
nirvana, or the extinction of self.

Christ preached the reality of sin, the nature of God the Father, and
the need for repentance and salvation.

Buddha preached the untenable nature of existence and the means to
escape suffering. Buddhism denies the ultimate existence of sin and the
necessity of grace.

Christ taught that God is completely other, but he also taught that God
wishes to share his divine life, given through the Son by the power of
the Holy Spirit.

Buddha taught individuality must perish and that everything is one.

Christ established a Church, with a structure of authority, based on his
words and example. He said, "Follow me!"

Buddha left a teaching in which each person must find his own path. He
stated, "After my death, the dharma shall be your teacher. Follow the
dharma and you will be true to me."

Christ rose from the dead only once and will return as the King of
Kings. He revealed his own divinity, saying, "Truly, truly, I say to
you, before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58).

Buddha is a "model," regardless of whether he was a historical person or
not. Buddha suggests that "there is no 'I'; there is no 'self.'" At his
death, when he experienced pari-nirvana ("final extinction"), he stated
that the question of the afterlife was "not conducive to edification."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carl E. Olson is editor of IgnatiusInsight.com, author of Will Catholics
Be "Left Behind"? and co-author of The Da Vinci Hoax. He holds a
master's in theological studies from the University of Dallas.
Anthony E. Clark is a professor of Asian history at the University of
Alabama. His more recent research has centered on East / West religious
dialogue.

© Catholic Answers, Inc.


This item 6677 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org

[KarlB]

Pope Benedict, in one of his essays, dealt with the propensity, for some, even in high ecclisiatical office, or influential positions, to drub down the primacy of Christ as the one, true God.. to that of a representative of a particular religious view, with no inherant superiority or claim to Truth above any other. And that the goal of the Christian faith then becomes one of setting up structures of dialogue and reconciliation, as a goal in and of itself, to contain the Christian missionary imperative within its precincts. The work of Christian evangelism then becomes characterised as a type of theistic imperialism of the rich West over the poor East or South. It's a view that has wide acceptance amongst those who proclaim the 'spirit' of Vatican II, as opposed to the letter.

[KarlB]

I'm in the process now of reading Pope Benedict's book on Christianity's relationship in general and the RCC's relationship specifically with other religions, 'Truth and Tolerance' (surprise.. surprise.. it was actually available in my library system .. although it's kind of out numbered by books on Buddha.. atleast of recent vintage). I've quoted some salient parts, from a commentary within it, on JPII's 'Fides et Ratio'.

Quoting another theologian

Christianity is the most concentrated revelation of personal religious sensibility and practice.. the only one that makes a break with the limitations and conditional forms of natural religion

and his own comments

In Christianity enlightenment has become part of religion and is no longer its opponent.. because Christianity sees itself as demythologyzing the victory of knowledge and with that victory it necessarily becomes universal.. not something that overcomes and displaces.. not on the basis of religious imperialism.. but as Truth that renders mere appearance superfluous.

Essentially this rejects the notion that Truth, can be replaced merely by the purifying and healing affects of religious practice, which the theme of all of rest.. of the world's religions.

[KarlB]

Another book, also available in my library system , is Thomas Merton's 'Mystics and Zen Masters'. It also deals, more or less succesfully, with Buddhist and Eastern mysticism. Merton was a Trappist Monk at the Abbey of Gesthemani in Kentucky, whose most famous book is that of his conversion 'The Seven Story Mountain'. He was sympathetic, or atleast objective, as to the practices of Zen and Tao, but noted that Christianity cannot subordinate or even equate itself with these religions. At the core of Christianity is the REALITY of Christ, in all of the life affirming aspects this represents. In that regard, Buddha is ultimately just a creature, like the rest of us.. Christ is the Creator. One completely transcends the other.