BUDDHISM WORLDVIEW
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Buddhism Worldview
Sherice Kapp
Liberty University
BUDDHISM WORLDVIEW
What is a Worldview?
A worldview is “A particular philosophy of life or conception of the world” (Oxford
Dictionaries, 2017). I believe the term worldview means how you look and think about the
world around you. I also believe that a worldview plays a huge role in your life, and how you
want to live it as well as what you want to achieve in your life as you grow older. I believe that
your worldview changes as you get older and wiser about the people and world around you; a
worldview is always changing and growing as the world changes and grows.
The Question of Origin. – Buddhism sees the world as not having a beginning or an end.
Buddhists believe that humans need to see things in this light due to the “poverty of our
thoughts” (“What Buddhist Believe-Main”, 2017). Buddhism has a more nature-oriented view
on life as well as how we are supposed to live our lives. They believe that the world we live in is
just a cycle of continuous deaths and rebirths. Buddhism does not believe in the revelation of
God. Buddha is not a God, but is the thought process of humans and the product we put into this
world based on our philosophy of life. In contrast, if a person has a Biblical Christian worldview
they would say, The Bible is how we know about this beautiful Earth that we live on as well as
how it came to be in existence. Those of us with a Christian worldview know that “’God created
man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”
(Genesis 1:27 NIV, 2017). The first book of The Bible Genesis, tells us “In the beginning God
created the heavens and the Earth.” (Genesis 1:1 NIV, 2017).
The Question of Identity – The Buddhist religion sees all life to be sacred and spiritual.
Buddhist are “encouraged to love all living things and to not restrict their love only to humans”
(What Buddhist Believe-Main”, 2017). Buddhists believe in Karma, which is the results or
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Buddhism Worldview
BUDDHISM WORLDVIEW
down to it, all religions are looking for the same things: respect, compassion and happiness in
life. If we look at the Christian worldview, we will find the same types of things. God want us
to treat all creatures on Earth with respect and kindness. If we look at Genesis 2:15 we can see
that our Lord wanted us to care for all he has put on this Earth. Our Lord and Savior also tells
us that if we take a life we must pay for what we have done. To better understand this concept,
we must look at Leviticus 24:17-18.
The Question of Meaning/Purpose – Buddhism and all other religions share a lot of
beliefs. The main things that differ is how each religion answers the fundamental questions of
life. Buddhism’s main purpose for the meaning of life is to end all suffering. In Buddhism there
are Four Noble Truths: life is suffering, the origin of suffering is desire arising from greed,
anger, and ignorance; cessation from suffering is possible, and this can be achieved by following
the Noble Eightfold path of right living through self-effort. The thinking behind the Four Noble
Truths is that we as humans suffer because we hold onto non essential thing in our lives like
material possessions that do not give us lasting happiness. For Christianity, one of the main
purposes we exist can be found in John 17:1-3. The Bible tells us we need to glorify our Lord in
heaven and serve him in any way we can. Deuteronomy 11:13 tells us to love the Lord with all
our heart and soul. If you do not believe in a higher power or God, I don’t know how you can
find your way in this world and understand the true meaning of life.
The Question of Morality – Buddhism is a religion based more on ethics and philosophy
so when it comes to morality all Buddhists are taught to live their life in the Eightfold path which
can lead to enlightenment and happiness. For the Buddhists, if they are truly living by the Four
Noble Truths and the Eightfold path, morality is just a back thought because the Buddhist
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consequences from good or bad decisions that are based on those decisions. When it comes
BUDDHISM WORLDVIEW
everyday life. However, as Christians all we need to do is ask ourselves What Would Jesus Do
(WWJD)? As Christians, we have the ability to look back to The Bible as a reference when we
have questions about life and how we should live life. Exodus 20:1-17 reminds us of the 10
most important commandments that God spoke. When you are struggling with the questions of
morality just look to The Bible and the Ten Commandments for help.
The Question of Destiny – Buddhists believe that God and the universe are one. For a
Buddhist, when it comes to the question of is there life after death, they believe there is life after
death. For a Buddhist the destiny of life after death is not controlled by any God but by their
actions. Buddhism sees the world as a cycle of rebirths and deaths that are based on ones karma
and the decisions they made in that life. Unlike Buddhism, Christians may ponder the question
of life after death, but we know that if we live a full life in the presence of God we can live an
eternity with our Lord and Savior in heaven, John 14:1-2. However, we must also remember
John 14:6 tells us that to enter into heaven we cannot get to the Father except through him. In
essence, all you need to do to get to heaven is to believe in our Lord and Savior and live a
righteous life and you will live an eternity in heaven with our Lord and Savior.
Word Count: 977
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teaching is all about mortality. As for Christians, many people struggle with their morality in
BUDDHISM WORLDVIEW
Worldview - Definition of Worldview in English | Oxford Dictionaries. (2017). Oxford
Dictionaries | English. Retrieved 8 April 2017, from https://en. oxforddictionaries.
com/definition/us/worldview
What Buddhists Believe - Main. (2017). Budsas.org. Retrieved 25 April 2017, from
http://www.budsas.org/ebud/whatbudbeliev/main.htm
Grigg, R. (2017). Buddhism - creation.com. Creation.com. Retrieved 25 April 2017, from
http://creation.com/buddhism
Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 1 - English Standard Version. (2017). Bible Gateway.
Retrieved 8 April 2017, from https://www. biblegateway. com/passage/?
search=Genesis+1&version=ESV
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