Christianity And Buddhism Essay, Research Paper
Christianity became the religion of Emperor Constantine and the official religion of the Roman Empire in 395. Christianity strongly advocates acts of kindness, compassion and good deeds. John the Baptist encouraged the people to share with others what you have. He preached non-violence and inspired people to be content and satisfied within their means. He preached the repentance of sins and the coming of Jesus.
Jesus preached forgiveness and tolerance. He did not believe in condemning people for their sins, for if you judge people you cannot love them.
In my opinion, the principles of Christianity relate to the teachings of Hinduism and Buddhism. “Karma” is intentional action, that is, a deed done deliberately through body, speech or mind. Karma means good and bad volition. In other words, Karma is the law of moral causation. It is action and reaction in the ethical realm. It is natural law that every action produces a certain effect. So if one performs wholesome actions such as donating money to charitable organizations, one will experience happiness. On the other hand, if one perform unwholesome actions, such ass killing a living being, one will experience suffering. This is the law of cause and effect at work. In this way, the effect of one’s past karma determine the nature of one’s present situation in life.
The Buddha said,
“According to the seed that is sown,
So is the fruit you reap
The door of good of will gather good result
The door of evil reaps evil result.
If you plant a good seed well,
Then you will enjoyed the good fruits.”
The theory of karma has a definite appeal as it proposes that we really will be rewarded or punished for our good and bad actions. In fact, in this area the theory of karma has an
advantage even over Western religious ideas of an eternal Heaven and eternal Hell; because any reward or punishment of infinite duration is clearly not in proportion to one’s original acts. In the first place, we have probably all had the experience of doing something we believed to be wrong, and experiencing a certain twinge. Remorse is certainly part of it, but there seems also to be a definite component of fear. On some level, we must expect to be punished, even if there is no rational reason to believe such a punishment will occur. Hopefully we have also each had the experience of doing something unusually decent for another human being, and feeling warmed by the experience, almost as if we had earned the approval of a loving parent.
If you suppose that the suffering in your life is a punishment for past misdeeds, then it follows that you can amend your life and thus avoid future punishments. But if you suppose that suffering is meted out by chance, then the whole system is out of your control. The theory of karma provides a reassurance of this moral order and makes the world a less frightening place.
In conclusion, just as Christianity preaches Love, kindness, compassion, forgiveness and good deeds; Buddhism preaches the same in a similar light. The only difference being that Christianity believes in a hell and heaven as opposed to Buddhism believing in hell or heaven created on earth by ones actions.