Preview

Christianity Vs Buddhism

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1006 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Christianity Vs Buddhism
At the center of Christianity is a poor man who claims to be God. At the center of Buddhism is a wealthy prince who claims he is not a god, but a man. In this short space I will compare and contrast some aspects of Christianity and Buddhism, knowing that doing real justice to the topic would take volumes of books. Such is the influence of both religions – that a true comparison could take a person’s lifetime.
Buddhism starts in India, as an offshoot of Hinduism based on the writings of a wealthy prince Siddhartha Gautama Buddha around 400-500 BCE. Buddha is disillusioned with his princely life and leaving his palace sees true suffering. He rejects much of the Vedas (the important writings of Hinduism along with the elements of animal
…show more content…
The first Christians were really Jews and did not need to see to see Jesus as God on Earth to follow his message as they applied it to Judaism. This presented a problem within Christianity that was resolved under Roman Emperor Constantine in 325 CE. Constantine converted to Christianity based on a claimed battlefield vision, although during his reign he built memorials to other Roman Gods and even the Sun. His support of Christianity was very political as evidenced by the near 2000 people he invited to the Counsel of Nicaea to determine various religious argument within Christianity, not the least of which was declaring Jesus as part of trine …show more content…
Constantine comes across as a careful politician and tactician while Ashoka appears to be a man deeply affected by the consequences of war. Perhaps that’s appropriate to the two religions because as time moved forward, Christianity would be thrust into the forefront of wars of conquest from the Romans to the Nazis, with all such regimes claiming God was on their side. The Buddhists, without a specific belief in God, don’t seem to be using their religion to justify their military

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Destiny - The greatest difference between Buddhism and Christianity lies with the belief in destiny. Christianity teaches an afterlife of a literal heaven or hell. Buddhists do not believe in an afterlife but rather in karma, which based on your present day good or bad actions will have an affect on your next…

    • 281 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Buddhism differed from Christianity in what the religions offered converts. When these religions appeared, they offered different things for the people as a reason to join. For Buddhism, the current religions in India were Hinduism or Vedic, and Buddhism offered a peaceful different solution from the other religions. It was also liked because they did not sacrifice animals like some religions did then. In the beginning of Christianity, it was difficult to be a convert because places like Rome would stone…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Buddhism began in India; it was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, a prince, born in Nepal. Siddhartha Gautama wandered around for awhile acting like a beggar to figure out why it was that people suffered that is when he became enlightened. At that moment is when he became Buddha or the enlightened one as people called him (Murphey 29). Not too long after that he did his first sermon where he had his first set of followers which will turn into 300, 00 in present day. Buddhism started out as a minority religion then transformed into a mass religion that spread from India to all the way to Southeast Asia, China, Korea and Japan (Murphey 29). However Buddhism did not spread beyond northern India. In Ceylon Buddhism was accepted and still being practiced today. They made sculptures and buildings, including statues of Buddha and his disciples. In China Buddhism continued to grow and was influenced by the leaders of the north. Buddhism was not easily accepted in Japan as many Japanese people thought of it as an alien religion (Murphey 166). In the next two centuries Buddhism became accepted in Japan, as they started to take a little bit of Chinese Culture also. Many traditions and beliefs of Buddhism stem from Hinduism, such as dharma, karma, samsara, and moksha (Murphey 27).…

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pro Buddhism Dbq Essay

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Buddhism started out in India when the Buddha introduced it. Over time, Buddhism travelled to China and it was interpreted differently. Many people adopted it as a means of salvation and peace, while others rejected it and blamed it for…

    • 624 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Similarities between the rise and spread of Buddhism and Christianity include their spread over trade routes, their appeal to the lower class, they were born from another religion, and they were spread by missionaries. Differences between the rise and spread of Buddhism and Christianity include their overcoming of violent persecution, and Christianity becoming a power structure.…

    • 1152 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Buddhism was founded in India, and after the fall of the Han dynasty in 220 C.E. it gained many converts in China. While Buddhism was spreading there were different views towards it; some people wanted Buddhism to spread and be the main religion, some were against it, and still others were religiously tolerant but liked the idea of Buddhism.…

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Buddhism was founded by Siddartha Gautama unlike Hinduism which was not founded by any particular prophet. For many people Buddhism goes beyond religion. It is more of a philosophy or ‘way of…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emerging during the classical period, Buddhism and Christianity are both similar and different in many ways.…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Christianity and Buddhism are both religions that affected masses of people. Their origins are both offshoots from older religions. Christianity is an offshoot from Judaism and Buddhism is an offshoot from Hinduism. Buddhism originated in Nepal, India in 536 B.C.E., while Christianity originated in the Roman Provence of Judea around 33 A.D. Through 500 B.C.E. to 600 A.D. Buddhism spread from east India to the northern and western parts of the country. Eventually it was spread upwards in Asia and then eastward down the Silk Road and south to nearby islands. Christianity spread from Judea upwards at first and then eventually to all around the Mediterranean Sea in its beginning stages. Christianity went on to be the dominant religion of the world, but both religions are alive and influential today.…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Buddism -vs- Hinduism

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Common beliefs but also have their differences. Some differences are the deities worshipped, the founders of the religions, sacred writings observed, and meditation practices. Through out this essay we will explore and compare the similarities and the differences in both of these religions.…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Buddhism and Christianity

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Whereas Buddhism was based upon the self-motivated search for liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth, Christianity was a monotheistic religion that focused on the idea of Good vs. Evil and judgment at the end of one’s life by the one and only true god. These ideas both pleased the people within the regions in which they emerged, but were nonetheless very different. While Buddhism was characterized by meditation, karma, and nirvana, Christianity had a sharper political and social edge due to the fact that Jesus was associated with the impure. The ideologies of Buddhism and Christianity had differing perspectives on the duties of their followers.…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Hinduism and Buddhism

    • 1467 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The world has many different religions. Asia has seen many religions emerge and develop over the course of human history. Out of these, Buddhism and Hinduism are two of the most popular religions within the general population. Hinduism is the oldest known religion and is very rich, with literally hundreds of gods, symbolistic rituals, and beliefs. It is believed to have been established around 1500 B.C., but Hinduism was not the brainchild of any one person, as it evolved over a long period of time through the contributions of a great many religious leaders. Buddhism, on the other hand, developed its equally complex belief and ritual system much later than Hinduism under its founder, Siddhartha Gautama (565-483 BC), who is otherwise known as the Buddha or Enlightened One. Both these religions originated in India. Siddhartha Gautama was a Hindu who found elements of the Hindu theology lacking and after years of searching for truth created the religion now known as Buddhism. Because of these basic similarities, the two religions have much in common, but in the same light they differ immensely.…

    • 1467 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Buddhism and Catholicism

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Buddhism and Catholicism are two main world religions that great populations believe in. Catholicism and Buddhism differ in teachings as well as holy books, life after death or reincarnation, and forgiveness of one’s sins. . They differ greatly in their belief systems, yet have similarities in the time they established their churches as well as the spirit of their followers.…

    • 1035 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For the last fifty years, Buddhism has been gaining followers in numerous Western countries such as Australia (website). This development has progressed so far, that one could even say Buddhism is becoming completely mainstream in a sense that it is no longer confined to an Asian immigrant minority. The attractions of Buddhism are threefold and these account for its popularity. Firstly, Buddhism emphasises peace and harmony which are very desirable to modern driven men and women. Secondly, Buddhism offers a more flexible moral outlook than traditional Christianity, and this appeals to modern individualism. Thirdly, Buddhism’s emphasis on detachment is appealing to those who are dellusionised by modern western consumerism.…

    • 1187 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jesus and Buddha, tell their adherents that one must achieve wisdom, in their relationship and treatment of others, as one of the many ways and rules there are to be considered virtuous enough to obtain the Kingdom of Heaven, or enlightened enough to reach Nirvana. Buddha states that in order to obtain wisdom and be considered wise in their treatment of others, is by not associating oneself with evil companions. Make sure the people one were to sanction in their life is of good character and nobleness. On the other hand, Buddha further expounds, it is not one’s place to find fault in others, nor should one be probing for the negligence and immoral things that others do because it is not their place. Also one should set an example by one’s own acts. This is one of the many ways it takes to show wisdom in dealing with others as according to Buddha. Jesus, on the other hand expresses, a man is wise when he shows his enemies love. He says that man should love one another, and love their enemy as one would love themselves. One should say a blessing over a person that speak against them with hateful words, and treat those with the goodness of their heart that show hate towards them. According to Jesus, this is just one of the many ways a person could show wisdom in their relationship and treatment of others as they work towards the perfection of themselves in obtaining the Kingdom of Heaven.…

    • 284 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays