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Critical Thinking Paper
Jeffery Mayfield
Liberty University
Gabriela Ordonez
Selected worldview: Buddhism
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Buddhism
1
Introduction
Salvation is only achieved through one step and one step alone, the decision for Christ.
Other cultures and religions state differently, Buddhism being one of them. To state this by no
means is forbidden by law of man, for every man is free to believe what they decide to believe
but only one Truth is the Truth. The thesis of this paper will state that the Eight-fold path of
Buddhism has some commonalities with biblical truth but ultimately the Eight-fold path fails to
lead a person to salvation. Buddhism does not provide viable answers to the problems of sin,
salvation and human suffering because it rejects Jesus and the Gospel. This thesis will show the
anti-Christian belief of the Buddhist and why it's misleading many others.
Analysis of the Opposing Worldview
Buddhism is a mixture of monism and dualism, based on the fact that it recognizes the
body and mind as two qualitatively different kinds of experiences. Buddhism focuses on
reaching enlightenment by following certain steps in order to reach this. The Buddhist follows
two practices, the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The Four Noble truths consists of
four major steps of morality. The first truth is suffering, which is considered the major
characteristic of existence. Following the paths of birth, aging, sickness, death, or anything
related to unpleasantness. The second truth is origin which consists of being the cause of
suffering, which Buddhism calls it craving, attachments or anything based on negative emotions.
The third truth is the ending of suffering, known as nirvana. This is the moment where a
Buddhist reaches wisdom and enlightenment. The fourth and final truth is the path to ending the
suffering, this is where the
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Buddhism
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Eightfold Path follows through. Buddhism follow three main traditions: the Theravada,
considered the School of the Ancient Ones, takes the approach of avoiding all the poison of
evilness and attachment; the Mahayana, considered the Great Vehicle, follows the approach to
have a solution for all the poison in our lives, like taking an antidote instead of avoiding it; and
the Vajrayana, considered the Diamond Vehicle, is actually a subcategory of the Mahayana
Buddhism but adds more to it, like eradicating oneself of all the poison in our being, distilling
the poison in our self to reveal the pure part of our being.
The Eightfold Path, considered the middle way to salvation, also the middle way of two
extreme views. The asceticism, which involved avoiding self-indulgence, summarizes these
paths. The first path is to have an understanding of the basic principles of Buddhism, especially
the Four Noble truths. The second path is to avoid any negative thoughts, the third path involves
to avoid any ill-speech such as lying, deceiving, divisive speech or hate speech. The fourth path
focuses on keeping the right course of action in a physical sense, meaning no harming anyone.
The fifth path is to keep the correct thoughts of life, meaning to avoid causing direct and indirect
harm to others. The sixth path is to abandon negative states of mind that were already in the
process and to keep positive ways of thinking that are already present and in development. The
seventh path involves having the right mindset, feelings and ways of thinking, the equivalent of a
positive attitude. Finally, the Eight Path is to have single mindedness, this is considered.
In Buddhism they don9t believe in a Higher Creator this concept of belief and faith is out
of place. It9s even unsuitable to believe that a creator is in control of the Universe. They follow
the concept that humanity can be in control of their own salvation. Following monotheistic
religious practice of God being in control, affects the philosophy and practices of the Buddhist.
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Buddhism
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The meaning of Buddha is Awakened One, which defines someone who is in an awakened state
from a dream to discover they can stop their own suffering by producing counter-karmic actions,
removing the concept of a deity completely. This is actually a fundamental part of Buddhism,
Buddha Gautama, which wasn9t the first Buddha. Among many others, speaking of this concept,
no Buddha has acknowledged the existence of God as creator of the Universe. Instead they point
out to the Great Law or the Dharma, which is what controls and flows all things in the universe
by karmic actions. Buddhism focuses on the concept of humans following these sets of rules and
paths receiving salvation through their hands, unlike the Christian belief.
Critique of the Opposing Worldview
Buddhism teaches a spiritual sense of self control, but the fact it teaches no sense of
beginnings then there is no consummation of our actions. It simply follows the sense that all is a
cycle, a Christian finds fulfillment in the conviction that God created the universe, lives and it9s
our goal to find fulfillment in God. The Buddhist can9t grasp this concept. The Samsara which
envisions existence as a wheel of time, in which there is no goal or progress for the Buddhist.
They don9t want to improve through existence but instead wishes to escape it. This is an
antichristian mindset and one that is dangerous for those seeking a firm relationship with the
Lord and don9t read the Bible. For Christianity teaches us we must endure through our trust in
God and have faith in His promises. We can9t rely on ourselves, Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the
Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge him, and he will make straight paths." Only God can redeem and pull us through
our suffering.
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The Buddhist mindset of everything being in a state of perpetual flux, is the very reason
why there is no place for God in their view. Buddhism sees the concept of believing in a God,
having faith in such being and having complete reliance on Him as an illusion. Buddhism is
considered not being enlightened enough, considering a craving for satisfaction and not yet
in the path of true salvation. It9s considered a refuge or weakness to even believe our salvation
relies on a Higher God. This is also dangerous for any Christian or soul who wishes to encounter
God and form a relationship with Him, this is breaking the second commandment, you
shall not make for yourself false idols. To rely on oneself is to idolize yourself. As the one being
who can redeem yourself from your own actions, there is no consequence. For there is no end to
our actions, just a repeated cycle until you enlighten yourself. This is stating ourselves as
mortals, as gods. Christ is the only path to true salvation from our own self desires.
The Buddhism law is based on karma and reincarnation. To cease the desire of oneself is
the way to Enlightenment, because to the Buddhist, we desire to continue existing. Until we
don9t become enlightened, we will never escape this mindset. To the Buddhist karma governs all
things, we see this aspect in the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path. Even to all mystical
beings, this karmic laws apply. This danger in believing in God as a mortal being, subject to the
consequences of His actions, is to view God as human, therefore imperfect like us. Luke
18:19 <Why do you call me good?= Jesus answered. <No one is good—except God alone. As
scripture tells us, only God is good, therefore only He is perfect. No karmic or human law can be
subjected to Him, for He made such laws, He is the King of Kings.
Nirvana can be classified as denial of our desires. This is a self-copy of Christian
conviction, to renounce and sacrifice aspects of our own personal gains. John 3:30 says,<He must
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Buddhism
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increase, but I must decrease.= Buddhism is showing a contrast that denies the existence of God,
which implies we can do so ourselves. It9s in a way idolizing ourselves as gods. Buddhism takes
many Christians similarities apart and sets our own personal powers over God. It denies the need
and desire to form a proper connection with God, even stating that this desire is weakness. This
also puts God as weak on the Buddhist mindset. For God also desires to form a relationship with
us. Therefore, Buddhism's path to salvation is inexact. For it focuses only on removal of desire,
not on any moral ground but simply out of self-reliance and idolatry.
Defense of Christianity
Christianity as a whole comes to unify all races, cultures, nations and ideals to reach
fulfillment in God. 1 John 5:12 says, <Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the
Son of God does not have life.=
Buddhism teaches emptiness, which states that all the world has to be void of all
limitations and that all concepts dualism are done. This concept is very different from
Christianity, John 10:10 says, <I am come that you might have life (Gabbie), and that more
abundantly.=
Gabbie means life, this shows God9s life is within those who accept Him as their savior. When
we are apart from Christ, we do live an empty life. When we go to Him, He gives us life. As
scripture states in John 7:38, <He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart
will flow rivers of living water!= The Bible teaches us that in Christ, we are born and redeemed
again as Children of God. We should leave behind that old life, from which He has removed us
so we can be renewed each day as a new creature in Christ. The Bible gives spiritual
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teachings on what salvation really is, unlike Buddhism which teaches there is no beginning and
no end to ones existence. The truth is, there is no concrete evidence of reincarnation. The
concept of no beginning or end, goes against all Christianity9s teachings and even goes against
Scientific facts that support there was a beginning. Science tells us there was a big bang that was
the first cause of all matter, time and space. The Bible says in Genesis 1:1, <In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.= The word created in Hebrew is bara which means <to create
out of nothing=. This proves the Bible and science concur on the statement that there is a
beginning to all things in the universe. Only difference is, the Bible gives glory over to the Lord
as the Creator of all things. Stating in Psalm 19:1, <the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the
firmament shows His handiwork=.
Buddhism also teaches there are no souls. The Dharma provides teachings on this matter,
which is the contrary to Christianity. While Christianity tells us there is a soul and spirit,
Deuteronomy 4:29 says, <But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find
[Him] if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.= The Bible teaches we have a
soul, and the choices we make, whether we choose God or not, will determine the outcome of
our lives. In fact, it teaches that humans have three parts that form their life: the spirit, soul and
body. This is seen in Genesis when God created humankind from the dust of the Earth, in
representation of the body. He breathed into the human His 8breath of life9, and man became a
living soul.
Buddhism teaches that Buddha is Omniscient but not Omnipotent. This means that
Buddha can know everything but he isn9t all powerful. This teaching has big contradictions, for
If Buddha isn9t omnipotent, it means he doesn9t know how to be all powerful, therefore he
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Buddhism 7
isn9t omniscient. In contrast to the Bible which teaches only God, the King of Kings, knows
everything and can do anything. Christianity teaches that there is only one all knowing, all
mighty ever present Lord of all and that He is present in a triune state, The Father, The Son and
The Holy Spirit. So only one can be all knowing. Since Buddha can9t be all powerful and
is limited by its own mortality, this rules out Buddha.
Buddhism teaches meditation to help mind-body coordination. They teach it can calm
your mental faculties and your body state. Their meditation involves detaching oneself from
reality and the world, but it doesn9t bring fulfillment with the Creator of the Universe. It centers
only on human growth without a connection to our source. The Bible teaches prayer alongside
meditation. While meditation does help it doesn9t connect us with the Lord, that9s why prayer is
necessary. One thing the modern Christian needs to realize, meditation isn9t a substitute for
prayer. Only through prayer can we connect with the Creator, through the guide of the Holy
Spirit.
Buddhism teaches the concept of Samsara, which states a perpetual flux state of
existence, or endless rebirth. Truth is there is no proof of this. From a Christian point of view,
this is a very dangerous deception. It implies that we may never die, and that we have an
endless amount of second chances. Christianity teaches the opposite, Hebrews 9:27 says,<And
just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment.= Science supports the
Christians position on this. There is only one universe, but the Bible states that God seeks a
relationship with every single one of His creatures. The Bible teaches us He wishes to bring
eternal life to us, but in order for that we must choose Him, because we want to choose Him.
If we have a relationship with our savior, Jesus Christ, we have everything to look
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forward to, not only in this life but the next world. Peace and joy with our Creator is the only
fulfillment in which we can find our purpose in life. Walking alongside Jesus will help you come
to realize His purpose in your life and fulfill it.
Bibliography
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Psychiatry 55, no. 6: 165. https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-5545.105517
History.com Editors. 2017. <Buddhism.= HISTORY. A&E Television Networks. October 12,
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Teachings.= n.d. www.thebuddhistsociety.org
https://www.thebuddhistsociety.org/page/fundamental-teachings
Umbel, Daniel. 2006. <A Christian Encounters the Teachings of the Buddha.= EMU News.
March 2, 2006. https://emu.edu/now/news/2006/christian-encounters-teachings-buddha/
Lopez, Donald S. 2019. <Four Noble Truths | Definition & Facts.= In Encyclopædia Britannica.
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Smith, Alex. 2019. <Understanding the Buddhist Worldview.= OMF (U.S.). June 27, 2019.
https://omf.org/us/understanding-the-buddhist-worldview/
<Buddhism vs. Christianity.= 2013. Evidence to Believe. November 28, 2013.
https://evidencetobelieve.com/buddhism-vs-christianity/
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