Compare And Contrast Christianity And Buddhism

Christianity and Buddhism, two of the world’s largest religions, each have primary figures perhaps as big as the religions themselves. Jesus Christ, the primary figure in Catholicism, and Gautama Buddha, the founder and key figure of Buddhism, share many similarities as symbols of their respective religions, but generally have stark differences in their roles for each institution. Followed by billions across the world, the teachings of Jesus and Buddha have a profound global impact, even thousands of years after their lives on earth. For Christians, Jesus Christ serves as a definitive, divine symbol of unquestioned moral authority; while Buddha represents an enlightened human being whose teachings offer a more ambiguous set of guidelines for

Like Jesus, Buddha is the founder of his church, having founded Buddhism in the late sixth-century BC, some years before the birth of Jesus (Violatti). Unlike Christianity, however, Gautama Buddha, upon creating the institution, recognized himself as a mortal being with no relationship to a divine power. Along with this belief, Buddha insisted that there “is no almighty, benevolent God” that corresponds with the Christian beliefs. Rather, Buddha founded his religion on the principle that one can be “enlightened” and understand the concept of “dhyana,” or meditation as a means to seek peace and achieve a perfect balance and state of mind. The practice of dhyana is credited to Buddha, and while Buddhists across the world do not worship him for his intelligent teachings, they do hold him in a very high regard and attribute a divine like aura to him, recognizing his greatness and importance to the practice of Buddhism (Violatti). In addition to dhyana, Buddha has many other teachings emphasizing peace of mind and spirit that are still relevant to today’s Buddhists, but these teachings differ from Christian teachings in that they are often disputed by scholars and different types of Buddhists. For example, while Christians have the Bible as an absolute point of reference, the Buddhist teaching of “The Four Moral Truths,” or guidelines on

The two most important figures, Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha, are examples of the pinnacle of each religion, displaying supreme morality and a wealth of knowledge. Through the teachings of these figures, the followers of Christianity and Buddhism have a reference point for the hallmarks and practices of each religion. However, though Buddha is the most important figure in Buddhism, the lack of a divine power in the institution, the loose organization of his teachings, and the emphasis on the individual rather than a savior allow Jesus Christ to play a more compelling role in Christianity than Buddha plays in