...and on Buddhism
I’ve also been reading a lot about Buddhism recently. The interest started about 6 months ago or so when I started reading Japanese comics. Because of the visual nature of comic books, I discovered it was possible for me to understand the general story of a comic book without having to understand all of the words. As with reading the Bible (see previous entry) the sense of satisfaction I got from being able to work through the material was very gratifying.
Since comic books in Japan cover a much greater variety of material than comics in the United States, it is possible to read find comics in Japan on virtually any subject. I decided that I might as well try to learn something while reading comic books, and decided to work through the a comic series on the life of Buddha.
I was impressed by the richness of the legend, and when I was back in America this Christmas, I bought an English copy of the Buddhist scriptures, which I’ve been reading in my spare time.
The similarities between Buddha and Jesus are very interesting. The stories of their birth are very similar. Buddha’s birth, like that of Christ, is surrounded by supernatural events. And there is a story of a wise old prophet named Asita rejoicing after having seen the baby Buddha, which reads remarkably similar to the story of Simeon meeting the baby Jesus in the temple.
At Buddha’s birth, it was prophesied that Buddha would either grow up to be a great king, or he would end up rejecting the world. Therefore Buddha’s life, like that of Christ’s, was filled with tension over whether he would be a political or a religious leader. And Buddha, like Christ, suffered some frustration at not being understood in his lifetime by those who were closest to him.
But the thing that struck me the most was the dialogue between Buddha and the religious teachers of his day. Like Christianity grew out of Judaism, Buddhism grew out of Hinduism and Buddha conflicted with the established religious leaders much like Christ did. Although the content of the conversation is different, the dynamics are the same. Buddha criticizes the hypocrisy of the established religious leaders in words that are very similar to Jesus. And the religious leaders are jealous of Buddha’s popularity and try and trap him with questions just like the Pharisees did.
In any discussion of similarities between religions, I suppose Joseph Campbell gets brought up sooner or later. And I have to confess I have not actually read any of his writings, but my understanding of his thesis is that all myths share basic similarities which reflect the needs of the human beings who create them. I’m curious as to what he would say (or did say) about the similarities between Buddha and Jesus both conflicting with the established religions. If I had to guess, I would suspect he might say something about the struggle in every culture between the established traditions and new ways or thinking, or perhaps the generational conflict that occurs in every culture. But I am, as the expression goes, just “talking out of my ass” at this point. If anyone has read any Joseph Campbell or has further insight into this, please e-mail me.
However I can’t talk about the similarities between these religions without mentioning the differences. And the differences are more significant than the similarities. Buddhism, with its belief in reincarnation, represents a very different view of reality and human existence than Christianity. Which, I suppose, is what my Sunday School teachers have been telling me for years. I guess I was just never ready to listen before. This is an obstacle to my belief in religious pluralism (the belief that all religions are equally valid), but I guess I’m still somewhat sorting things out.
Perhaps less important but more striking to me is the emphasis Buddhism places on human suffering. For anyone not familiar with the story of Buddha it can be summarized like this:
When Buddha was born, it was prophesied that he would either grow up to become a great ruler or he would reject the world and become a spiritual leader. His father the king wanted Buddha to become a great ruler, and so tried to shield his son from all the unpleasantness of the world. One day when Buddha went outside the castle in his chariot with a charioteer, and saw a man who was old, a man who was sick, and a man who was dead. Overcome by how much suffering there was in the world, Buddha rejected his position as prince to go out and meditate on human suffering. (That’s a crap summary. Go out and read the real thing for yourself).
Anyway, the point being that Buddhism takes as its foundation the fact that existence on earth is full of suffering. In Christianity we of course acknowledge this point (the book of Job, some of the Psalms), but the emphasize is more on God being in control, and passages like Psalm 23 or the sermon on the mount.
When tragedy strikes, I don’t think it causes a Buddhist to question his or her faith in the same way it usually causes Christians to, because Buddhists accept human suffering as the corner stone of their faith.
I’m not sure which is better. The Christian world view might be more uplifting, but there is tragedy and suffering in the world. Perhaps we as Christians sometimes act like Buddha’s father. We try and protect people from the realities of the world, and then when people are exposed to suffering, their world view falls apart, much like what happened to Buddha on the chariot ride.
My favorite part of the Buddhist legend occurs right before Buddha gives up his throne. He appears to his father in a dream, and his father begs him not to go. Buddha agrees to stay if his father can grant him 4 wishes, and his father answers he will give Buddha anything he wants.
Buddha asks to never grow old, to never be weak, to never be sick, and to never die. His father pleads with him not to be so unreasonable, but Buddha leaves anyway.
I like this because I think it illustrates the truth of the human condition. With all his power and wealth, the king was powerless to protect his son from age or disease or death. And Buddha realized that all the money and power would not make him happy if he could not first make his peace with the suffering of human existence.
You can argue whether Buddhism provides the right answers or not, but I think it does a very good job of pinpointing the problems of human existence.