Happiness: Buddha vs Jesus
The Buddhist conception of happiness = freedom from suffering by overcoming and denying all forms of desire and craving.
The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism:
1. Life as we know it ultimately is or leads to suffering/uneasiness (dukkha) in one way or another.
2. Suffering is caused by craving. This is often expressed as a deluded clinging to a certain sense of existence, to selfhood, or to the things or phenomena that we consider the cause of happiness or unhappiness. Craving also has its negative aspect, i.e. one craves that a certain state of affairs not exist.
3. Suffering ends when craving ends. This is achieved by eliminating delusion, thereby reaching a liberated state of Enlightenment (bodhi)
4. Reaching this liberated state is achieved by following the path laid out by the Buddha.
The Christian conception of happiness = not denying ALL desires, but involves recognition of what is truly and eternally valuable and pursuing that as life’s priority, rather than the pursuit of fleeting and empty sources of potential happiness.
When a rich young man, sought out Jesus’ direction for eternal happiness, Jesus replied:
“You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (Mark 10:21).
The Buddha taught that nothing lasts, so be attached to nothing. Jesus taught that One Thing lasts, so at all cost, be attached to that!
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:45)
Jesus and the Buddha agree that pursuing happiness in transient things is futile, but they direct us to opposite solutions.
The Buddha says suffering is caused by desire and “happiness” is overcoming all desire and treasuring nothing.
Jesus says desire is not the cause of suffering per se, but is in part due to desiring the wrong things. True happiness is discovering, pursuing and treasuring what is truly important in the Kingdom of God.
Apologetics Guy
on March 1st, 2011
Great post. I also wonder how a blissful nirvana can be reconciled with the idea of anata. If there’s nothing behind maya—nothing behind the illusion—what’s experiencing bliss if you—a soul, an enduring ” I ” —actually doesn’t exist?
pat
on March 2nd, 2011
this is incorrect – and why believing when folks from one religions write abt other religions only to prove their righteousness. Sorry – but then there is that wonderful theory that jesus’ missing years were spent in the far east studying buddhistm, which is why there are so many common themes taken straight from buddhist ideology………
rogermorris
on March 2nd, 2011
Pat,
How is this incorrect? What first century text supports your theory that Jesus went to the Far East and studies Buddhism?
The teachings of Buddha and Jesus may look superficially similar, but deeper study reveals they are completely divergent, particularly when it comes to the diagnosis and treatment of the human condition.
Dan Hopkins
on March 15th, 2011
You misrepresent Buddha if you say he claimed nirvana can only be obtained with no desires. The Pali gives us “few wants” and “content with little” . They rejected selfish desires and in my book, Father and Son, East is West , the Buddhist sources to Christianity, I point to the “four noble truths” inside of the gospels and how clever to say Jesus taught that certain desires are bad when that is what Buddha taught. The Buddhist desire for enlightenment is stressed.
Your quote of Jesus “treasure” parable is found with your other quote of Jesus in the pre-Christian dhamapada. The Buddhist pearl (Greek margaritas) was placed at the top of a stupa and the gospel version is taken from the mani pearl in the Vilmalakirti sutra and the same pearl is in the lost son parable in the Lotus sutra and the early church fathers mention that Mani was taught from Terebinthus who called himself Buddas (turpentine tree and obvious pun on Buddha as the Persian word is Butm).
Dan Hopkins
on March 15th, 2011
Jesus did not go to India. Nor did Thomas or Bartholomew. The so called Persian Kings/Magi at Jesus name all come from Alexandrian sources and mention two kings known to have had Buddhist marks on thier coins (Gaspardii and Gondophares Sases). This place in Egypts is where we have several birthdates for Jesus that were first said of Jesus and was were Buddhist fables took the name of Aesop’s fables. Jesus quotes from the Greek bible that was translated by Ptolemy Philadelphius, the same king has his name inscribed in Asoka’s edicts (300 bc) claiming that he welcomed Buddhism.
Besides recognizing Barlaam and Josaphat as a Buddha knock-off scholars aslo recognize that the legends of Saint Christopher and Eustace are Buddhist legends.
Heshan MK
on May 17th, 2011
buddha Dharma Is great picture for human life, anyone can see but cant left it……
Sophia xx
on July 18th, 2011
I dont understand :/