Jesus and Buddha on Happiness

Depends which Asian budhist that your talking about. The Dahli Lama states that he is no more a God than you or I. He's the first to admit it. (from a budhistic perspective)

 

Of course he says he's not a god. Nothing in Tibetan Buddhist thinking would make him a god. He's not supposed to be a god. But I have no doubt at all that he would say he practices and is a representative of a religion--though really he's more of a politician.

I recently read the biography of Geoffrey Bull, one of the very few Christian missionaries ever to make it to Tibet. (My parents were planning to go to Tibet in the late 1940's but were stopped by the Communist takeover.) The book tells many of the idolatrous practices of Tibetan Buddhists. Don't be fooled. It is a wicked, idolatrous religion.

 

I was out on dendo (evangelism) today and didn't get to witness to anyone, but doing street evangelism last Sat. I was able to witness to a Buddhist. I talked to him about escaping from Hell, which in some Buddhist sects has a mountain of needles as well as fire. The Buddhist Hell probably came from Nestorianism, which had a strong presence in China centuries ago.

I have given my entire life to reach Buddhists for Christ. I truly hope that no one on the Baptist Board thinks it is a harmless, peaceful religion. I know differently.

 

I'm not saying Budhism is not a religion just that many characterize themselves as such. I've also met some who believe in a type of budhism from Japan that isn't popular there called Mikkyo (spelling?). They characterize themselves also as a philosophy though they have a house shrine that they honor and (I think) pray to their ancestors or maybe seek guidance? Anyway I think the're different than Shintoism.

 

As you say, Mikkyo isn't popular here. I've never met a Mikkyo believer, but I've had literature from a Mikkyo cult called Reiki come into our mailbox.

Virtually all Japanese religions, cults and philosophies have ancestor worship in them, with a kamidana ("god shelf") or butsudan (Buddhist altar) in the home used to worship the ancestors--meaning usually just Grandma and Grandpa. Ancestor worship is just another form of idolatry, and idolatry is a wicked practice that saddens me deeply, and I've seen it often.

 

I think I should write a couple of educational posts. First of all, I'll write about Tibetan Buddhism, since the Dalai Lama is so popular in America (especially in Hollywood). Then maybe by Monday I'll have time to write about Chan/Zen.

Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Tantric Buddhism, which is the original Indian kind. Thus it has more mysticism in it. I won't describe it in detail, since you can look it up yourself on Wikipedia or some where, but there are various sects of it, of which the Dalai Lama's is only one.

The DL is supposed to be the reincarnation of a Buddhist who reached enlightenment and decided to stay in this world to help others learn the way. He was chosen as just a boy through a complicated process. He ruled most of Tibet (60%, I think) when he was young, but then was taken in by the Chinese when they were trying to take over Tibet--which explains some of the shenanigans nowadays.

Now, does this Lama Buddhism of Tibet help its people? Absolutely not. I'll give two case histories to show its sad results. First of all:

Bull Visits a Tibetan Home​

The host was very courteous and made a very ‘generous’ gesture to me, asking in all sincerity whether I would be requiring one of their young women of the village for the night. I had heard about such an evil practice but this was the first time I had been asked personally. Ga Ga confirmed that the landlord’s offer was perfectly genuine. From the Tibetan point of view it indicates a high standard of hospitality. One stands amazed at the almost unbridled promiscuity amongst the Tibetans. One day in Gartok, Ga Ga had pointed out a very striking Tibetan girl, still very young, and had said ‘Do you know what her name is? It’s “sixty-seven”!’ ‘Whatever do you mean?’ I asked incredulously. ‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘She is called sixty-seven because she had lain with sixty-seven men by the time she was seventeen.’ On one occasion I had asked Ga Ga about his own wife. As far as he knew, she had had about twenty-five men, but this seemed to give him no concern at all, apart from the gonorrhea from which they both suffered. He, like most other Tibetans, found his own alternatives when away from home.

When Iron Gates Yield, the autobiography of Geoffrey T. Bull, pp. 101-102.

 

Someone might object to the first case history, saying it didn't represent a devout Buddhist or they wouldn't live like that, since Buddhism teaches against lust. (By the way, this teaching is the very reason immorality results from Buddhism, since it is impossible to control lust on your own efforts without Jesus Christ. The more you try the more you fail.) So let's look at a devout Buddhist hermit monk who Bull and his friend visited before Bull was arrested by the Communists and put in prison for years just for being a missionary.

Bull and the Hermit​

In the days of my freedom, away in the mountains, George and I had once visited a hermit monk. This man, a brother of one of our older teachers, had already spent five years in isolation. Day after day he sat alone, before a rough hewn idol in the wall, his only reading the Buddhist scriptures, his only companions the colored prayer-flags hung from the beams. Above his head were a series of bleak pictures that seemed to portray intercourse (British English for communication—JoJ) with the dead. We were permitted to see him on medical grounds. When we entered with his brother, he began to weep and, when he spoke to us, it was obvious that he was already a nervous wreck. George handed him portions of the Christian Bible in Tibetan, which he willingly received. I, too, was beginning to taste something of the indescribable oppression of unbroken loneliness but, thank God, the terrors need never be mine for God was ever with me and I could talk with Him.

When Iron Gates Yield, the autobiography of Geoffrey T. Bull, p. 205​

 

"they have caused many wars (contrary to Bible-believers, though false Christians have been known to start wars)".

I agree with you that true Christians are peacemakers. Not many here accept that.

 

I would have to agree with you on that point.

 

Until Japan lost WW2 they were pretty agressive for much of their history. There was even at least one war during the samurai era when the supposedly peaceful Buddhist priests were the instigators, though I don't remember which one. And of course though WW2 in Asia was started under the principles of State Shinto, yet those same instigators were Buddhists. (Japanese can and do claim both religions with no conflict of conscience.)

Concerning the "peaceful Buddhist" Tibetans, it is not widely known that they fought hard against the Chinese from the early 1950s, and were not completely pacified until well into the 1960s. It can be debated, of course, that they were in a just war. However, what cannot be debated is that here were Buddhists, who claim to be against war, fighting a war--and even a civil war at times during that period!

 

I said I would also write about Zen Buddhism, called Chan in China, but wasn't able to get to it until now. Chan/Zen originated at the Shaolin (Little Forest) Temple in Honan Province, China, and its originator was an Indian prince named Bhodidharma, called Daruma by the Japanese. Daruma was a weird dude who supposedly stared at a cave wall for 7 years seeking enlightenment.

Contrary to the hype and propaganda, Zen is not a peace producing religion. Training in Zen is very stressful, as the American devotee soon finds out. He may begin his zazen (seated meditation) at 4 or 5 in the morning, and there will be a monk walking behind the meditators with a keisaku (a special stick) or even a shinai (bamboo sword used in kendo, sport sword fighting) to smack them on the shoulders or back when they get drowsy.

My wife taught English to two ladies who knew a young American man who came over to train in Zen. The poor guy had a nervous breakdown and had to head back to America! And you thought independent Baptists were strict. No comparison!

I have a book written by two Buddhist Westerners, a scholar and a reporter, about training in Zen Buddhism in Japan. So note that the following quotes are written by defenders of Buddhism.

“The quality of enlightened guidance varies. Outright charlatans are fairly rare, but even the best teachers have trouble distinguishing between essential Buddhism and the customs of Japanese Buddhism. Tradition weighs heavily on most, and many things are done simply because ‘they have always been done like that.’ Many masters have weaknesses for costly robes and fancy titles; some are heavy smokers and drinkers; a few espouse the most extreme right-wing politics; and the majority have high estimations of their own worth: ‘I am the only one who understands Buddhism’ is sure to be heard more than once.”

Zen Guide, by Martin Roth and John Stevens, p. xvii.​

"Sad to say, the current state of Japanese Buddhism is not what it should be. Buddhist priests here have a well-deserved reputation for greed, and not a few are little more than confidence men, demanding outrageous fees for funerals and other dubious services. At the other extreme, there are the caretaker priests who maintain their temples as museums. Make no mistake, much of what you will encounter is sham Buddhism. However, if you exercise caution and keep searching for the real thing, sooner or later you will find it."

Zen Guide, by Martin Roth and John Stevens, p. xxiii.​

 

You know, I'm not real sure. He probably means someone who believes in Buddhism just like he does! :laugh:

 

My concern with the Oriental countries is their dipiction of Christianity. They seem to have an unusual anomosity towards christians and christianity. I guess it really flies in the face of everything they believe. To me Japan is strange in a lot of respects such as their adherence to bushido or the right way of doing things and saving "face" a strange sence of honor. Where you are required to lie if it helps maintain your honor or family honor. In the west the consept honor is that no matter the obsticals even face you should always do the right thing like not lie. It seems backwards there. Yet it is for this reason (it seems) that they misunderstand christianity and fight it. However, I do remember a film about a mans salvation in the early part of the 20th century that became a christian there and sacrificed his life by jumping underneath a train.

Budhism seems to develope into two opposing consepts one where its all about yourself and the other is about so much selflessness that you end up demeaning yourself. I see this more in China though. I guess its the difference between taoism and confususism.

 

The main opponents to Christianity here in Japan are the Soka Gakkai radical Buddhists. Most Japanese I have talked to are ignorant and apathetic about Christianity. That makes them hard to reach.

Your depiction of the samurai ethic is pretty accurate. Quite often, we run into the idea of "saving face" and being dishonest to do so.

This is the story of Shiokari Pass, made into a book which was translated into English and then a movie. Interestingly enough, Shiokari Pass is just north of my town of Asahikawa, Hokkaido. And my Japanese translation partner, Uncle Miya, was the man who checked the final English of the translation of the book.

Taoism and Confucianism have both had a big influence on Chinese Buddhism and also some on Japanese Buddhism.

 

Here is one last educational post. This is an account of "the Buddha" and his disciples, and how he died. Compare this sorry story to Jesus Christ and His disciples. Only one betrayed Him, and a total of 500 prayed for God's power before Pentecost, at which time thousands were saved by the power of Christ's Gospel. However, the fruit of "the Buddha" in the form of his disciples proves that "by their (false prophets') fruit ye shall know them." Note also the last words of this false prophet, teaching selfishness and arrogance. Compare that to the last words on earth of Christ after His resurrection--the majestic, powerful Great Commission.


"There were those who did not see him as a human being at all, but as an embodiment of transcendental wisdom worthy of the grandest philosophical speculation.

"There were plenty of others who reacted less admirably to the presence of a fully enlightened one in their midst. Monks were constantly misbehaving, necessitating the promulgation of countless petty rules; schisms were created by a few demanding that everyone else use the same language or eat the same food; endless debates ensued over who possessed the 'true' transmission; a jealous relative tried to assassinate Buddha and take over the order; in short, the number of charlatans, hypocrites, and scoundrels always equaled, if not surpassed, the number of enlightened saints and sages.

"Buddha passed away at eighty surrounded by his disciples (among whom was his son). His last injunctions were: 'Everything decays, train with diligence' and 'Rely on yourselves, no one else!'”

Zen Guide, by Martin Roth and John Stevens, pp. xiv-xv. Tokyo & New York: John Weatherhill, Inc., 1985.​

 

Sure, Americans can be just as self-centered as Buddhists disciples!