Buddhism and Christianity - do they differ?

As with all great traditions, there are few differences at experiential levels; however, at a belief level after we label and try to explain the experiences, some differences exist - such as beliefs about heaven and God. Heaven is achievable, but always only a temporary respite for a Buddhist, and there is no belief in a personal God; a difference between belief and actual knowing is recognized. We can believe in Santa Claus, but when we see him in our living room putting gifts under the tree, then our belief becomes reality, unless, of course, its dad all dressed up!

So what do Buddhists believe? They believe that we must follow the precepts, or guidelines, which number five, eight and ten for lay people, and two hundred twenty-seven for monks.The five precepts list not killing, stealing, indulging in inappropriate sex (with those spoken for or too young to understand), lying, or indulging in intoxicants. These are to be adhered to at all times.

The eight precepts are kept temporarily when a lay person attends a retreat or visits a monastery. They are the five precepts plus 6. no eating solid food after noon, 7. no dancing, singing, music, entertainment, jewelry, perfumes or cosmetics, and 8. no sleeping on high or large luxurious beds.

The ten precepts apply to people actually living in a monastery and add no touching of money, gold or silver to the list, and breaks the seventh precept into two. making ten. Buddhists believe that if these precepts are kept, the next lifetime will be in a happy realm of humans or devas (minor Gods). However, because past karma from many other lifetimes that has not been resolved, there is the possibility that after some time in this happy realm, a fall back into the hell, animal or ghost realms could occur. Therefore, only being a good person won't insure a happy destiny forever - that takes additional work.

Heaven to a Buddhist, unfortunately, is not a one-way ticket! If only it were that easy! A Buddhist must go a little deeper than being a good, kind, loving person and following the rules. The morality has to become natural where all actions are moral without thinking about how being moral will help me get to heaven. This requires what is called spiritual training of the mind, or meditation, which if perfected, removes all our bad karma so that we will not have to worry about falling back into the lower realms. This is called attaining supramundane morality.

It begins with mundane practices of meditation, or concentrating the mind. In Christianity, this is called orison (meditation), normally called introversion, which is further broken down into recollection, quiet and contemplation. These stages of meditation parallel Buddhist meditation very closely, with the outcome being an approach to the ground of our soul. The mind sinks into nothingness, which deepens until the Christian mystic completes his or her journey within, to the center of the divine Immanence where he or she comes face to face with God, no different than the prophets who have come before. The mystic doesn't read about God or imagine him, the mystic actually meets him! Why else would monks squirrel themselves away and give up all the good times to be had in the world. St John of the Cross, a famous Christian mystic has said that all the pleasures of the world are but crumbs from the table of God.

After the Buddhist practices meditation religiously and after living a moral life, he or she then goes on to the Brahma, or God planes of existence which span millions of years. Depending on their success with meditation, they will spend from one span to 84,000 spans in these realms. But, alas, eventually they will fall back into human form and be susceptible to all the physical and mental hardships.

The only way to insure never falling back into human form is to acquire supramundane wisdom, and this is done through advanced meditation practices, strict morality and the cultivation of wisdom. The meditator will observe materiality( material things in the universe including our bodies) with bare attention, not intellectual evaluations. He will see the arising and passing of all materiality.

The meditator will observe impermanence of all things in the universe, the suffering of beings here on earth, and the reality that no self stands behind it all. What the meditator sees as a self is only a reflection of the Ultimate, or God, but because we spend so much time on this apparition, we never really get to know God, and therefore can't be with him permanently.

The trick is to somehow see this self and break the self-hypnosis that we are under. This is called enlightenment; a direct personal experience that is totally intuitive and beyond the common mind. Once the self is seen through, there is no possibility of ever returning to the lower realms.

All of this can only be experienced, not something that is believed in. Buddhists only believe what they can prove true for themselves, and meditation is the means of doing that. Once a shift in consciousness occurs, then one can remain in the present. A base of calm underpins everything, so that no matter what the turbulent outside circumstances are, underlying peace and wisdom prevails without effort. Therefore, Buddhists need not look to future realms or other places for their happiness, happiness is present in every moment .

E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, http://www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com His twenty-eight years of meditation experience has taken him across four continents, including two stopovers in Thailand where he practiced in the remote northeast forests as an ordained Theravada Buddhist monk. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit http://www.AYearToEnlightenment.com

About the Author

E. Raymond Rock of Fort Myers, Florida is cofounder and principal teacher at the Southwest Florida Insight Center, http://www.SouthwestFloridaInsightCenter.com. His book, A Year to Enlightenment (Career Press/New Page Books) is now available at major bookstores and online retailers. Visit http://www.AYearToEnlightenment.com