STUDIES IN

BUDDHISM
 BUDDHIST Symbols

Mandala Wheel of Life Mantra Chorten

Mandala-reprent circle of life, used for meditation

Wheel of Life-Symbol depicting the Eightfold path to

Nirvana
Mantra-meditation chant.
Chorten-bell of wisdom
 BUDDHIST Symbols

Hand Prayer Lotus Flower Prayer Beads

Wheel

Hand prayer wheel-used to help in prayer

Lotus Flower-symbols of enlightenment
Prayer Beads-used to enhance prayer, meditation
Dalai Lama
The Spread Spheres of

of Buddhism Influence

Buddhism
out of India
by 1000 AD

Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana
The History
of Buddhism
Buddhism is a related to Hinduism, and
there are a number of similarities.
Buddhism began in India in about the 6th
century B.C., and from there it spread
throughout Asia. Today it is found mainly
in Japan, China, and the Far East. Very
few people in India itself are Buddhists
today.
 The system was begun by Gautama
Buddha (the title "Buddha" means "one
who is enlightened"). He was born about
563 B.C., and raised in a very wealthy
family where he was protected from
problems and suffering. Later he was
exposed to suffering and became
concerned with the cause of it. At age 29
he left his wife and son to seek a
solution.
He tried and rejected both Hinduism and
extreme self-deprival (asceticism).
 After 6 years of seeking, he arrived at
the system that became Buddhism. He
established an order of monks and one of
nuns devoted to his plan of overcoming
suffering, then he spent the rest of his life
as a wandering religious teacher.
 Major
Divisions
of Buddhism
Buddhists have tried to adapt their
religion to the views of people converted
from other religions. The result was that
people could believe almost anything
and be Buddhist. The differences within
Buddhism can be likened, not to the
differences between Catholics and
Protestants, but to those between
Christians, Jews, and Moslems. [WR 169]
We will examine two major branches of
Buddhism:
* Theravada is the older, conservative
wing which follows the original teachings
of Gautama. These Buddhists are found
mainly in Southern Asia - Thailand, Burma,
etc.

* Mahayana is the newer, liberal wing of

Buddhism. Those of this view refer to
conservatives as the "little vehicle" and
themselves as the "great vehicle" because
they believe their views are more practical
for most people. They are found mainly in
central and northern Asia - Japan, China,
Korea, etc.
Scriptures
of
Buddhism
* Conservative Buddhists (Theravada)
have three groups of writings called "3
baskets" - the Tripitaka. It is written in
the Pali language and is 11 times the
size of the Bible.
It is supposed to contain the sermons
and doctrines of Gautama, but it was
written centuries after he died. Hence, it
is not an eyewitness account of his life
or teachings. There is no such
eyewitness account. All we have are
traditions.
* Liberal Buddhists (Mahayana) follow
much more than the Tripitaka. Their
Scriptures contain over 5000 volumes.
Each sect emphasizes their favorite
portions. Teachings of various parts of
their Scriptures contradict one another.
 4 Noble Truths
2. Suffering is a part of Human life
3. Cause of Suffering-selfish craving
4. Cessation of suffering – absence of
passion
5. Eightfold path leads to cessation of
suffering
 Eightfold Path

3. Right views 5. Right Livelihood

4. Right intents 6. Right Effort
5. Right Speech 7. Right Mindfulness
6. Right Conduct 8. Right Concentration
 Buddhism
Teaching About:
God
The Conservative View
Gautama taught nothing about God. He
refused even to deny or affirm God's
existence. He definitely denied that he
himself was divine.
Instead his teachings were designed to
obtain relief from suffering by means of
human effort alone. Original and
conservative Buddhism involves neither
faith nor worship, neither prayer nor praise
nor forgiveness of sins.
In that sense, conservative Buddhism is
not really a religion but a moral philosophy
designed to overcome suffering.
The Liberal View
Liberal Buddhists do accept existence of
Deity, an absolute Supreme Being or power.
In fact they deify Gautama Buddha as
divine, even though he himself denied it!
They teach that many other men achieve
enlightenment as Gautama did. These are
also deified as Buddhas or Bodhisattvas.
They believe all men have the power or
potential to become Buddhas and be
deified. Various groups emphasize different
deities, some of which are equivalent to
Hindu deities.
 Prayers and worship are offered to
Buddhas, including use of images.
Note the contrast between conservative
teaching and liberals.
 Christians
Teaching About:
God
 God exists.

In contrast to conservative Buddhism,

which teaches nothing about God's
existence, the Bible says that the very
existence of the universe demonstrates
God's existence.
Psalm 19:1 - The heavens declare the
glory of God; and the firmament shows his
handiwork.

Romans 1:20 - Though God is invisible,

His power and divinity can be seen
through the things that are made.
 Buddhist
Teaching About:
The Destiny of
Man
Rebirth (reincarnation)

Buddhists believe that, when a man dies,

he will return to live as another human on
earth. The cycle of birth and rebirth
continues indefinitely until one is
"released."
Regarding the spirit of man,
conservatives believe man has no spirit or
inner part that lives after death. Only the
consequences of past deeds (karma) lives
from life to life. Liberals believe man has a
spirit that continues from life to life.
Karma (action)
Christians Teaching
About:
The Destiny of Man
Man lives and dies (physically) only once.
Hebrews 9:27

It is appointed to man once to die.

[Ecclesiastes 12:7]

James 2:26 - The body without the spirit is

dead. Death is separation of the spirit from
the body.

1 Corinthians 15:22,23 - All die as a result of

Adam's sin; as a result of Jesus, all live
again. Resurrection is the opposite of death,
hence the spirit is reunited with the body.
 Buddhist
Teaching About:
Suffering
 4 Noble Truths
2. Suffering is a part of Human life
3. Cause of Suffering-selfish craving
4. Cessation of suffering – absence of
passion
5. Eightfold path leads to cessation of
suffering
Christians Teaching
About:
Suffering
It is true that suffering is a part of life.
Job 14:1 - "Man, that is born of woman, is of few
days, and full of trouble."

This basically agrees with the first "truth" of

Buddhism.

Suffering exists as the consequences of man's sin

or as a temptation to sin.

Genesis 3:16-19 - Suffering, pain of childbirth, the

difficulty of work, and death all came into the world
because man sinned.
1 Peter 4:14-16 - Some suffering is the
result of our evil doing, but instead we
may suffer because others do some evil
to us. So not all suffering is the result of
our own sins. Sometimes we suffer
because others sin.

Hence, suffering may or may not be the

result or our own wrong desires.
 Buddhism teaches us to eliminate all natural
desires.

The Bible says that every natural desire has a

good and proper way to be fulfilled.
Example: Hebrews 13:4 - "Let marriage be held in
honor by all." The natural desire for sexual
fulfillment may be satisfied by proper means as
ordained by God. Buddhism, on the other hand,
teaches that to be saved one must overcome this
desire and learn to live without marriage .
The Bible, however, warns that human desires can
be perverted and lead to sin:

Hebrews 13:4 - Fornicators and adulterers, God

will judge.

The proper goal of man is, not to eliminate all

desires from his life, but to know God's will and
control the desires accordingly.

In particular, the desire to exist as an individual is

not bad. It is an act of God's creation.
God Himself possesses distinct characteristics of
personality - God loves, speaks, knows, wills, etc.
Furthermore, man is an individual created in
God's image. Genesis 1:26-28, 2:7

In fact, man will always exist in a state of

conscious existence as a separate individual. In
the resurrection we will have spirit bodies (1
Corinthians 15). In eternity, we will be conscious
and distinct individuals (Luke 16:19-31).
The claim that it is bad to desire to be an
individual blasphemes the work of God.
 The way to overcome suffering is, not to strive
to defeat it yourself, but to trust in God and serve
Him.
By serving God properly we can endure
suffering in this life.

Psalm 46:1 - "God is our refuge and strength. A

very present help in trouble."

Psalm 34:19 - God delivers the righteous out of

troubles.
 Buddhist
Teaching About:
Salvation
 Eightfold Path

3. Right views 5. Right Livelihood

4. Right intents 6. Right Effort
5. Right Speech 7. Right Mindfulness
6. Right Conduct 8. Right Concentration
 Many lifetimes are required to reach
perfection. One must pass through 4
stages in which 10 hindrances are
overcome. Each stage may take many
lives. Gautama took at least 550 lives to
achieve perfection.
Later stages require one to be a monk,
abandoning family life. Buddhists who are
not monks have not yet advanced to later
stages, but must do so in some future
lifetime to obtain salvation.
Christians Teaching
About:
Salvation
 Man cannot save himself without God.
Buddhism says all or some men must
earn salvation. The Bible says God must
provide the means of deliverance. No man
can earn salvation.

Ephesians 2:8,9, Romans 6:23

Liberal Buddhism says some men can save
other men. The Bible says no man can save
himself, nor can anyone else save him
except Jesus.
1 Corinthians 1:11-13 –

Romans 3:23 - All men have sinned. How

can another man who sinned die to pay the
penalty for my sins?
 God is no respecter of persons. Each
individual is responsible to meet the
conditions for forgiveness, and those
conditions are the same for all people.
It is not true that some must be perfect to
be saved but others can be saved on
lesser conditions. All must be saved by
accepting the same conditions.

Acts 10:34,35, 2:38,39

2 Corinthians 5:10 - Salvation is a matter of
individual responsibility. Each person will
be rewarded or condemned based on his
own personal conduct. No one else can
meet the conditions for you.
Salvation does require strict self-control.

1 Corinthians 9:25-27 - Like star athletes, we

must exercise self-control, and bring our
bodies into bondage in order to receive
God's reward. [Acts 3:22,23; Romans 12:1,2]
CONCLUSION
 Buddhism worship either no god or
else false gods. It teaches that man
must save himself over a period of
many lives by human effort.
The gospel provides the only true
way to worship the only true God. It
provides a way for man to be forgiven
by the death of the Son of God who
paid the penalty for our sins. To
receive the benefit, we must trust
Jesus and obey Him in this life. Then
we have the hope of eternal life.