Compare And Contrast Christianity And Buddhism

Buddhism and Christianity

An essay brought to you by Dave W. Messer

Through the course of time, there have been created numerous belief systems that have provided many functioning and self-sustaining civilizations the necessary guidelines and rules of society that allow them to be where they are today. In this essay, however, I will only be discussing two of the world’s largest populations: Christianity and Buddhism. Both of these religions have greatly influenced the course of human history all while providing their followers a sense of belonging and purpose in life.

Being the very largest and most popular religion in the world, Christianity is supported by an astonishing 2.3 Billion followers as of April, 2017. The sacred text that is

Buddhism, which began in ancient India around 5,000 BCE, is essentially an umbrella term used to describe the core values that all followers generally believe. However, the traditions and customs themselves can vary greatly depending on a variety of factors and other variants. One of the biggest beliefs of Buddhism in general is the belief of reincarnation and rebirth. Reincarnation is a process of dying and reanimating one’s soul into a different living being, which can recur repeatedly. Rebirth, however, is different in that the individual’s soul may be altered during the process, never quite returning as the same unaltered soul. After multiple cycles, if an individual separates their being from the attachment to themselves, they can attain Nirvana, which is essentially the ‘goal’ in Buddhism. However, achieving this is no small feat. It requires many years, if not decades, to perfect the three main elements or practices of Buddhism. These three terms are commonly referred to as Sila, Samadhi, and Prajna. Sila is mainly the concept of morality, which is usually defined by standards of equality and, surprisingly, the very same ‘Golden Rule’ that many Christians follow: “Do unto others as you wish others to do unto you.” Samadhi can be defined as an individual’s level of mental development, which can help lead to personal freedom and knowledgeability. This is commonly practiced by means of meditation and other mentally engaging activities. Finally, Prajna is basically a level or enlightenment. This is usually achieved through life experience, and was ultimately achieved by the well-known Buddhist prospect, Siddhartha, in a novel written by renowned author Hermann Hesse, a non-spoiler review of which can be found