Buddhism and Christianity

Analogies have been drawn between Buddhism and Christianity and Buddhism may have influenced early Christianity.[1] Buddhist missionaries were sent by Emperor Ashoka of India to Syria, Egypt and Greece beginning in 250 BCE and may have helped prepare for the ethics of Christ.[2] Others have noted the significant differences between the two religions beginning with monotheism's place at the core of Christianity, and Buddhism's orientation towards non-theism (the lack of relevancy of the existence of a creator deity) which runs counter to teachings about God in Christianity; and extending to the importance of grace in Christianity against the rejection of interference with karma in Theravada Buddhism, etc.[3][4][5]

Christ and Buddha by Paul Ranson, 1880

Some early Christians were aware of Buddhism which was practiced in both the Greek and Roman Empires in the pre-Christian period. The majority of modern Christian scholarship has rejected any historical basis for the travels of Jesus to India or Tibet and has seen the attempts at parallel symbolism as cases of parallelomania which exaggerate resemblances.[6][7][8][9] However, in the East syncretism between Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism was widespread along the Silk Road in Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and was especially pronounced in the medieval Church of the East in China, as evidenced by the Jesus Sutras.[10]

Origins and early contacts

See also: Buddhism and the Roman world and Buddhist influences on Christianity

Bilingual edict (Greek and Aramaic) 3rd century BC by Indian Buddhist King Ashoka, see Edicts of Ashoka, from Kandahar. This edict advocates the adoption of "godliness" using the Greek term Eusebeia for Dharma. Kabul Museum.

Mosaic of early missionary to the East St. Francis Xavier

The history of Buddhism goes back to what is now Bodh Gaya, India almost six centuries before Christianity, making it one of the oldest religions still being practiced.[11]

The origins of Christianity go back to Roman Judea in the early first century. The four canonical gospels date from around 70–90 AD, the Pauline epistles having been written before them around 50–60 AD. By the early second century, post-apostolic Christian theology had taken shape, in the works of authors such as Irenaeus,[12] although Christianity is seen as the fulfillment of Jewish prophecy regarding the "Messiah" which dates back much further.

Starting in the 1930s, authors such as Will Durant suggested that Greco-Buddhist representatives of Emperor Ashoka who traveled to Syria, Egypt and Greece may have helped prepare the ground for Christian teaching.[13] Buddhism was prominent in the eastern Greek world (Greco-Buddhism) and became the official religion of the eastern Greek successor kingdoms to Alexander the Great's empire (Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (250 BC – 125 BC) and Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BC – 10 CE)). Several prominent Greek Buddhist missionaries are known (Mahadharmaraksita and Dharmaraksita) and the Indo-Greek king Menander I converted to Buddhism, and is regarded as one of the great patrons of Buddhism. (See Milinda Panha.) Some modern historians have suggested that the pre-Christian monastic order in Egypt of the Therapeutae is possibly a deformation of the Pāli word "Theravāda",[14] a form of Buddhism, and the movement may have "almost entirely drawn (its) inspiration from the teaching and practices of Buddhist asceticism".[15] They may even have been descendants of Asoka's emissaries to the West.[16]

Buddhist gravestones from the Ptolemaic period have been found in Alexandria in Egypt decorated with depictions of the dharma wheel, showing that the Buddhists were living in Hellenistic Egypt at the time Christianity began.[17] The presence of Buddhists in Alexandria has led one author to note: "It was later in this very place that some of the most active centers of Christianity were established."[15] Nevertheless, modern Christian scholars generally hold that there is no direct evidence of any influence of Buddhism on Christianity, and several scholarly theological works do not support these suggestions.[18][19] However, some historians such as Jerry H. Bentley suggest that there is a real possibility that Buddhism influenced the early development of Christianity.[20]

It is known that prominent early Christians were aware of Buddha and some Buddhist stories. Saint Jerome (4th century CE) mentions the birth of the Buddha, who he says "was born from the side of a virgin"; it has been suggested that this virgin birth legend of Buddhism influenced Christianity.[21] The early church father Clement of Alexandria (died 215 AD) was also aware of Buddha, writing in his Stromata (Bk I, Ch XV): "The Indian gymnosophists are also in the number, and the other barbarian philosophers. And of these there are two classes, some of them called Sarmanæ and others Brahmins. And those of the Sarmanæ who are called 'Hylobii' neither inhabit cities, nor have roofs over them, but are clothed in the bark of trees, feed on nuts, and drink water in their hands. Like those called Encratites in the present day, they know not marriage nor begetting of children. Some, too, of the Indians obey the precepts of Buddha (Βούττα) whom, on account of his extraordinary sanctity, they have raised to divine honours."[22]

In the Middle Ages there was no trace of Buddhism in the West.[23] In the 13th century, international travelers, such as Giovanni de Piano Carpini and William of Ruysbroeck, sent back reports of Buddhism to the West and noted some similarities with Nestorian Christian communities.[24] Indeed, syncretism in the East between Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism existed along the Silk Road throughout Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and was especially pronounced in the medieval Church of the East in China, as evidenced by the Jesus Sutras.

When European Christians made more direct contact with Buddhism in the early 16th century, Catholic missionaries such as St. Francis Xavier sent back accounts of Buddhist practices.[24] With the arrival of Sanskrit studies in European universities in the late 18th century, and the subsequent availability of Buddhist texts, a discussion began of a proper encounter with Buddhism.[24] In time, Buddhism gathered followers and at the end of the 19th century the first Westerners (e.g. Sir Edwin Arnold and Henry Olcott) converted to Buddhism, and in the beginning of the 20th century the first westerners (e.g. Ananda Metteyya and Nyanatiloka) entered the Buddhist monastic life.[24]

Similarities and differences

Similarities

Main article: Comparison of Buddhism and Christianity

In the 19th century, some scholars began to perceive similarities between Buddhist and Christian practices, e.g. in 1878 T.W. Rhys Davids wrote that the earliest missionaries to Tibet observed that similarities have been seen since the first known contact.[25] In 1880 Ernest De Bunsen made similar observations in that with the exception of the death of Jesus on the cross, and of the Christian doctrine of atonement, the most ancient Buddhist records had similarities with the Christian traditions.[26]

Late in the 20th century, historian Jerry H. Bentley also wrote of similarities and stated that it is possible "that Buddhism influenced the early development of Christianity" and suggested "attention to many parallels concerning the births, lives, doctrines, and deaths of the Buddha and Jesus".[20] Some high level Buddhists have drawn analogies between Jesus and Buddhism, e.g. in 2001 the Dalai Lama stated that "Jesus Christ also lived previous lives", and added that "So, you see, he reached a high state, either as a Bodhisattva, or an enlightened person, through Buddhist practice or something like that."[27] Thich Nhat Hanh affirmed core Christian beliefs such as the trinity, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, in his book Living Buddha, Living Christ. Bokin Kim, similarly, sees Christ as the Buddha Dharmakaya, and Jesus as similar to Gautama who was just a historical manifestation of the transhistorical Buddha.[28]

Differences

See also: God in Buddhism and God in Christianity

God the Father on a throne, Westphalia, Germany, late 15th century.

There are inherent and fundamental differences between Buddhism and Christianity, one significant element being that while Christianity is at its core monotheistic and relies on a God as a Creator, Buddhism is generally non-theistic and rejects the notion of a Creator God which provides divine values for the world.[3]

The Nicene Creed, currently the most widely used Christian creed, states that "We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible".[4] However, the notion of theistic creation is generally foreign to Buddhist thought, and the question of the existence of God is perhaps one of the most fundamental barriers between the teachings of Christianity and Buddhism.[3][5] Although Mahayana Buddhism expresses belief in the saint-like state of a Bodhisattva, this is very different from the notion of Creator God in Christianity.[5][29] While some variations of Buddhism believe in an impersonal eternal Buddha or trikaya, in general Buddhism sees empty space as eternal and without a starting point of creation.[30][31] According to the Dalai Lama, belief in a Creator could be associated with the understanding of emptiness.[32]

According to the Oxford Handbook of Eschatology, there are inherent differences in the Christian and Buddhist beliefs regarding the End Times and eschatology.[33] Jan Nattier states that while Buddhism has a notion of "relative eschatology" that refers to specific cycles of life, the term "Buddhist eschatology" does not relate to any "final things", or that the world will end one day – Buddhist scripture routinely referring to the "beginningless Saṃsāra" as a never ending cycle of birth and death with no starting point.[34] However, Christian eschatology directly involves the concept of "end to all creation" at the Last Judgement when the world will reach its conclusion.[35]

There are other fundamental incompatibilities, e.g. while grace is part of the very fabric of Christian theology, in Theravada Buddhism no deity can interfere with karma, and hence the notion of any type of grace is inadmissible within these teachings.[29] Mahayana Buddhism however, differs on this issue.[36]

The crucifixion of Jesus as a single event in history that acts for the atonement of sins is a central element of Christian belief.[11] This, however, produces a strong difference between Christian and Buddhist teachings.[11][37] Buddhist scholar Masao Abe pointed out that while "the event of the Cross" is central to Christianity, it is not possible for Buddhism to accept its importance.[37] Buddhist philosopher D. T. Suzuki stated that every time he saw a crucifixion scene it reminded him of the "gap that lies deep" between Christianity and Buddhism.[38]

Buddhist influence on Christianity

Suggestions of influences

Main article: Buddhist influences on Christianity

See also: Buddhism and the Roman world and Buddhism and Gnosticism

Early depictions of Christ (left, Asia Minor, Roman period), and the Buddha (Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara .

Suggestions have been made that Buddhism may have influenced early Christianity.[1] Buddhist missionaries, sent by Emperor Ashoka of India to Sri Lanka, Syria, Egypt and Greece, may have helped prepare for the ethics of Christ.[2][39] Gnostics (a small number of sects) are not considered part of mainstream Christianity and some have been declared heretical. However, Elaine Pagels proposes Buddhist influences on Gnosticism. Pagels suggested that there are parallels with teachings attributed to Jesus Christ and teachings found in Eastern traditions, but concludes that these parallels might be coincidental, since parallel traditions may emerge in different cultures without direct influence.[40] Buddhist Jack McQuire has suggested that in the 4th century, Christian monasticism developed in Egypt, and it emerged with a corresponding structure comparable to the Buddhist monasticism of its time and place.[39]

The suggestion that an adult Jesus traveled to India and was influenced by Buddhism before starting his ministry in Galilee was first made by Nicolas Notovitch in 1894 in the book The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ which was widely disseminated and became the basis of other theories.[41][42] Notovitch's theory was controversial from the beginning and was widely criticized.[43][44] Once his story had been re-examined by historians, Notovitch confessed to having fabricated the evidence.[44][45]

Rejection of influences

A number of scholars have stated that suggestions of an influence from Buddhism on Christianity, particularly Jesus's alleged travels to Buddhist India, are fanciful and without any historical basis:

• Robert Van Voorst states that modern Christian scholarship has "almost unanimously agreed" that claims of the travels of Jesus to Tibet, Kashmir or India contain "nothing of value".[6]
• Marcus Borg states "Scholars have pointed out that Buddhist teachers lived in Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast, by the first century. Some have posited that Jesus might have traveled there, or that Buddhist teachings may have reached cities of the Jewish homeland, including Sepphoris, a major city in Galilee only four miles from Nazareth. Popular speculation speaks of Jesus having traveled to India during "the missing years", the decades before he emerged on the stage of history. There, it is suggested, he came in to contact with Buddhist teachings. But both explanations are unlikely and unnecessary. The similarities are not of the kind that suggest cultural borrowing".[46]
• Leslie Houlden states that although modern parallels between the teachings of Jesus and Buddha have been drawn, these comparisons emerged after missionary contacts in the 19th century and there is no historically reliable evidence of contacts between Buddhism and Jesus.[7]
• Paula Fredriksen states that no serious scholarly work places Jesus outside the backdrop of 1st century Palestinian Judaism.[18]
• Eddy and Boyd state that there is no evidence of a historical influence by outside sources on the authors of the New Testament, and most scholars agree that any such historical influence on Christianity is entirely implausible given that first century monotheistic Galilean Jews would not have been open to what they would have seen as pagan stories.[9][19]

Christian influence on Buddhism

Christian influence on Buddhism in the 18th and 19th centuries was primarily by example of modern forms of religious education.[47][48] During the last centuries, Christian missionaries have influenced many Buddhist groups such as the Buddhist nun Cheng Yen who, after being inspired by the humanitarian aid done by Catholic nuns, decided that Buddhists need "to do more than simply encourage the private cultivation of people's souls". Her works eventually led to the foundation of Tzu Chi, a non-profit humanitarian group in Asia.[49]

Contemporary Buddhist–Christian exchange

Main articles: Buddhism in the West and Buddhist modernism

Attempts at convergence

Buddhism has been gaining popularity in the west. Starting with a cultural and academic elite in the 19th century, it is now widespread in western culture, especially since the 1960s.[50]

In the 20th century Christian monastics such as Thomas Merton, Wayne Teasdale, David Steindl-Rast and the former nun Karen Armstrong, and Buddhist monastics such as Ajahn Buddhadasa, Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama have taken part in an interfaith dialogue about Buddhism and Christianity.[51][52] This dialogue aims to shed light on the common ground between Buddhism and Christianity.[53][54][55]

Although the prevalent romantic view on Buddhism sees it as an authentic and ancient practice, contemporary Buddhism is deeply influenced by the western culture. With the rise of western colonialism in the 19th century, Asian cultures and religions developed strategies to adapt to the western hegemony, without losing their own traditions. Western discourses were taken over, and western polemic styles were applied to defend indigenous traditions.[50]

Rejection of convergence

In 1989 the Catholic Church, through the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, rejected attempts at mixing some aspects of Christian and Buddhist practices, in a letter titled "Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on some aspects of Christian meditation", generally known as the Aspects of Christian meditation letter.[56][57][58]

The document issues warnings on differences, and potential incompatibilities, between Christian meditation and the styles of meditation used in eastern religions such as Buddhism.[59][60] Referring to some elements of Buddhism as "negative theology" the document states:

Still others do not hesitate to place that absolute without image or concepts, which is proper to Buddhist theory, on the same level as the majesty of God revealed in Christ, which towers above finite reality. To this end, they make use of a "negative theology", which ... denies that the things of this world can offer traces of the infinity of God.[58]

Similar warnings were issued in 2003 in A Christian reflection on the New Age which also referred to Buddhism.[61][62] The Southern Baptist Convention expressed agreement with those views.[63]

See also

• Barlaam and Josaphat
• Buddhism and Western Philosophy
• Buddhism in the West
• Buddhist influences on Christianity
• Buddhist-Christian Studies (journal)
• Christianity in Asia
• Index of Buddhism-related articles
• Jesus Sutras
• Nestorian Stele
• Parallelomania
• Persecution of Buddhists by Christians
• Secular Buddhism

References

1. Bentley, Jerry H. (1993). Old World Encounters. Cross-cultural contacts and exchanges in pre-modern times. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-507639-7.
2. Will Durant (7 June 2011). Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization. Simon and Schuster. pp. 711–. ISBN 978-1-4516-4668-9. Retrieved 27 August 2012.
3. The Boundaries of Knowledge in Buddhism, Christianity, and Science by Paul D Numrich (Dec 31, 2008) ISBN 3525569874 page 10
4. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: E-J by Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Mar 1982) ISBN 0802837824 pages 515-516
5. Communicating Christ in the Buddhist World by Paul De Neui and David Lim (Jan 1, 2006) ISBN 0878085106 page 34
6. Van Voorst, Robert E (2000). Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 0-8028-4368-9 page 17
7. Jesus: The Complete Guide 2006 by Leslie Houlden ISBN 082648011X page 140
8. The Historical Jesus in Recent Research edited by James D. G. Dunn and Scot McKnight 2006 ISBN 1-57506-100-7 page 303
9. Gerald O'Collins, "The Hidden Story of Jesus" New Blackfriars Volume 89, Issue 1024, pages 710–714, November 2008
10. In the 13th century, international travelers, such as Giovanni de Piano Carpini and William of Ruysbroeck, sent back reports of Buddhism to the West and noted the similarities with Nestorian Christian communities.Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 160
11. Jesus: The Complete Guide by J. L. Houlden (Feb 8, 2006) ISBN 082648011X pages 140-144
12. Irenaeus of Lyons by Eric Francis Osborn (Nov 26, 2001) ISBN 0521800064 pages 27-29
13. Will Durant, The Story of Civilization Part One (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1935), vol. 1, p. 449.
14. According to the linguist Zacharias P. Thundy
15. Living Zen by Robert Linssen (Grove Press New York, 1958) ISBN 0-8021-3136-0
16. "The Original Jesus" (Element Books, Shaftesbury, 1995), Elmar R Gruber, Holger Kersten
17. The Greeks in Bactria and India, W.W. Tarn, South Asia Books, ISBN 81-215-0220-9
18. Fredriksen, Paula. From Jesus to Christ. Yale University Press, 2000, p. xxvi.
19. The Jesus legend: a case for the historical reliability of the synoptic gospels by Paul R. Eddy, Gregory A. Boyd 2007 ISBN 0-8010-3114-1 page 53-54
20. Bentley, Jerry H. (1992). Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times. Oxford University Press. p. 240. ISBN 978-0-19-507640-0.
21. McEvilley, p391
22. Clement of Alexandria Stromata. BkI, Ch XV http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf02.vi.iv.i.xv.html (Accessed 19 Dec 2012)
23. Indian Buddhism: A Survey with Bibliographical Notes by Hajime Nakamura (Apr 11, 2007) ISBN 8120802721 page 95
24. Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism, 2004, page 160
25. Encyclopædia Britannica, 8 edition, article Buddhism by T.W. Rhys Davids
26. De Bunsen, Ernest (1880). The Angel-Messiah of Buddhists, Essenes, and Christians. Longmans, Green, and Company. p. 50.
27. Beverley, James A., "Hollywood's Idol", Christianity Today June 11 2001, Vol. 45, No. 8. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
28. Kim, Bokin. "Christ as the Truth, the Light, the Life, but a Way?" Buddhist-Christian Studies, vol. 19, 1999, pp. 76-80. Project MUSE, doi:10.1353/bcs.1999.0023
29. Encyclopedia of Reincarnation and Karma by Norman C. McClelland (Apr 1, 2010) ISBN 0786448512 page 149
30. Guang Xing, The Concept of the Buddha, RoutledgeCurzon, London, 2005, p. 89
31. Hattori, Sho-on (2001). A Raft from the Other Shore : Honen and the Way of Pure Land Buddhism. Jodo Shu Press. pp. 25–27. ISBN 4-88363-329-2.
32. http://hhdl.dharmakara.net/hhdlquotes2.html
33. The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology by Jerry L. Walls (Apr 16, 2010) ISBN 0199735883 page 552
34. The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology by Jerry L. Walls (Apr 16, 2010) ISBN 0199735883 page 151
35. The Oxford Companion to Christian Thought by Adrian Hastings, Alistair Mason and Hugh Pyper (Dec 21, 2000) ISBN 0198600240 page 206
36. Richard K. Payne (ed.), Tantric Buddhism in East Asia, Wisdom Publications, ISBN 0861714873, 2006, p. 74
37. Buddhism and Interfaith Dialogue by Masao Abe and Steven Heine (Jun 1, 1995) ISBN pages 99-100
38. Mysticism, Christian and Buddhist by Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki ((Aug 4, 2002)) ISBN 1605061328 page 113
39. Maguire, Jack (2001). Essential Buddhism. Simon and Schuster. pp. 159–160. ISBN 0-671-04188-6.
40. Pagels, Elaine (1979). The Gnostic Gospels. New York: Random House, repr. 1989.
41. The Unknown Life Of Jesus Christ: By The Discoverer Of The Manuscript by Nicolas Notovitch (Oct 15, 2007) ISBN 1434812839
42. Forged: Writing in the Name of God--Why the Bible's Authors Are Not Who We Think They Are by Bart D. Ehrman (Mar 6, 2012) ISBN 0062012622 page 252 "one of the most widely disseminated modern forgeries is called The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ"
43. Simon J. Joseph, "Jesus in India?" Journal of the American Academy of Religion Volume 80, Issue 1 pp. 161-199 "Max Müller suggested that either the Hemis monks had deceived Notovitch or that Notovitch himself was the author of these passages"
44. New Testament Apocrypha, Vol. 1: Gospels and Related Writings by Wilhelm Schneemelcher and R. Mcl. Wilson (Dec 1, 1990) ISBN 066422721X page 84 "a particular book by Nicolas Notovich (Di Lucke im Leben Jesus 1894) ... shortly after the publication of the book, the reports of travel experiences were already unmasked as lies. The fantasies about Jesus in India were also soon recognized as invention... down to today, nobody has had a glimpse of the manuscripts with the alleged narratives about Jesus"
45. Indology, Indomania, and Orientalism by Douglas T. McGetchin (Jan 1, 2010) Fairleigh Dickinson University Press ISBN 083864208X page 133 "Faced with this cross-examination, Notovich confessed to fabricating his evidence."
46. Borg, M., Jesus & Buddha: The parallel sayings, Ulysses Press, 2004, p.10
47. Theravāda Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to ... - Page 130 Richard Francis Gombrich - 2006 "The main Christian influence on Buddhists was by reaction. The missionaries propagated Christianity in three main ways: by education, preaching, and pamphleteering. Every mission station had a primary school, and the Church of England ..."
48. David L. McMahan The Making of Buddhist Modernism - Page 7 Associate Professor of Religious Studies Franklin & Marshall College - 2008 "Richard Gombrich and Gananath Obeyesekere have mapped similar trends specifically in Sinhalese Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Emphasizing the Christian influence on modernizing forms of Sinhalese Buddhism in the late nineteenth and ..."
49. "Biography of Dharma Master Cheng Yen". Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation. 22 May 2014.
50. McMahan 2008. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMcMahan2008 (help)
51. W.L. King, Buddhism and Christianity: Some Bridges of Understanding, Philadelphia, 1963.
52. Armstrong on Buddhism & Christianity
53. Tinker, Hugh (1966). South Asia: A Short History. Frederick A. Praeger. p. 83.
54. The Dalai Lama,The Good Heart: A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus, ISBN 0-86171-138-6
55. Thich Nhat Hahn, Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers, 1999. ISBN 1-57322-830-3
56. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 82 (1990) 362-379
57. Letter on certain aspects of the Christian meditation on the Vatican Document Index
58. Vatican website: LETTER TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON SOME ASPECTS OF CHRISTIAN MEDITATION October 15, 1989
59. Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on some aspects of Christian meditation on EWTN
60. The meeting of religions and the Trinity by Gavin D'Costa 2000 ISBN 0-567-08730-1 page 152
61. Handbook of vocational psychology by W. Bruce Walsh, Mark Savickas 2005 ISBN 0-8058-4517-8 page 358
62. Vatican website A Christian reflection on the New Age Archived October 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
63. Los Angeles Times, February 8, 2003 New Age Beliefs Aren't Christian, Vatican Finds