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What are some similarities and differences between Jesus and the Buddha?
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Similarities:
- world historical founders of major religions
- exhibited profound compassion and gathered followers to themselves
- their lives are recorded in sacred scriptures
- emphasize the need to find enduring peace within oneself and with others
- taught basic moral teachings about love, respect
Differences:
- Buddhism has a large number of texts / Christianity has one with multiple authors that all align to the same message
- Buddhism: ultimate reality is nirvana (what’s left when you blow out a candle); 4 Noble Truths: Life is suffering, Suffering is craving, Cessation of craving leads to liberation, The way of liberation is through the Eightfold Path / Christianity: Love God with entirety of being; Love neighbors as self; We live in a fallen world, tainted by sin; afterlife = with God or apart from God
Both cannot be true as they have contradicting concepts of the ultimate reality, the human condition, spiritual liberation, and the afterlife.
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Similarities:
Both Jesus and Buddha are founders of major religions.
Both are worshipped around the world.
Both Jesus and Buddha exhibited profound compassion.
Both had followers.
Both lives are both recorded in sacred scriptures.
Both emphasized peace within oneself and with others.
Both taught some basic moral teachings about love and respect for all.
Differences:
The sacred writings of Buddha are not contemporary with his life. They were recorded roughly 500 after his death. The Gospels were pinned within a few years following Christ’s death, which leads to a sense of their reliability.
Sacred writings of the Buddha do not record miracles. On the other hand, much of the foundation of Christ’s teachings is His miracles which are evident of His deity.
In terms of his basic teachings, the Buddha taught that all longings and desires were to be snuffed out. All wants were to be eliminated from one’s life to reach a sort of mind set that was above the human mindset. Christ taught that God is the source of our deepest needs. He is also the one who meets our needs. Christ did not teach that we should deny being human or human thinking or longs. We were created in image of God. -
Similarities:
Both Jesus and Buddha are founders of major religions.
Both are worshipped around the world.
Both Jesus and Buddha exhibited profound compassion.
Both had followers.
Both lives are recorded in sacred scriptures.
Both emphasized peace within oneself and with others.
Both taught some basic moral teachings about love and respect for all.
Differences:
The sacred writings of Buddha are not contemporary with his life. They were recorded roughly 500 years after his death. The Gospels were pinned within a few years following Christ’s death, which leads to a sense of their reliability.
The sacred writings of the Buddha do not record miracles. On the other hand, much of the foundation of Christ’s teachings are His miracles which are evidence of His deity.
In terms of his basic teachings, the Buddha taught that all longings and desires were to be snuffed out. All wants were to be eliminated from one’s human mindset. Christ taught that God is the source of our deepest yearnings. He is also the one who meets our needs. Christ did not teach that we should deny being human in our longings. Our desires have their source in God our Creator, who is the one we look to to meet our needs. -
They are both founders of major world religions, people venerate/worship them both, they were both profoundly compassionate and drew followers to them, their lives are recorded in sacred texts, they both teach the need for love, respect, and peace. However, their fundamental worldviews differ. The Buddha claimed that nirvana is the ultimate goal, the idea of not desiring anything and achieving enlightenment. Jesus teaches instead that the forgiveness of sins is what leads to “enlightenment” (so to speak), and that a relationship with God is what will bring fulfillment.
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Some similarities are: (1) Both are world historical founders of major religions. (2) Both exhibited profound compassion and gathered followers. (3) Both taught basic ethical teachings on love and respect.
Some differences are: (1) The historical records of Jesus are written within a few decades of Jesus’ life. Buddha’s documents were written 400-500 years after Buddha lived. (2) Miracles are not central to the message of Buddha. Miracles are essential to Jesus – particularly that He raised people back to life, and that He was raised back to life. (3) Buddha believed that one’s life must be “snuffed out” in order to cease craving anything. Jesus taught that people are made in the image of God, and that Jesus was sent to redeem humanity for God.
