Page 34

Where Buddhism and Christianity differ is in the ideas of first causes, rebirth, and exclusivity. On these points, Buddhist teachings reflect the influence of Indian thought but with important distinctions. The Buddha accepted and respected the existence of gods, but he taught they were not a necessary cause to bring the universe into being. Indian belief says the universe is without beginning or end, following an endlessly repeating cycle of creation, maintenance, and destruction. The Buddha taught these processes depend on webs of interrelated causes and effects and as such, a creator wasn’t necessary. In this regard, Buddhism parallels modern science and its discussions of causality. The Victorians were fascinated by this as Buddhism demonstrated the possibility of ethical conduct based on something other than a belief in God.

The Buddhist explanations of life after death also differ in important ways from that of Christianity. Like the Indian account of the universe, the Buddhist accounts of life after death go beyond one afterlife. Think afterlives, many, many afterlives. One can experience a rebirth in a hell or a heaven, but one can also experience a series of other types of rebirths and this process of rebirth, like the creation and destruction of the universe, is endless. According to this, we have had trillions upon trillions of lives in a variety of forms, both low and high. Thus, the Buddhist idea of salvation isn’t simply to get to heaven, which will ultimately end with yet another death and rebirth, but to escape the cycle of rebirths althogether.

Buddhism and Christianity also differ on the point of exclusivity. According to Christian tradition, only belief in Jesus and God will deliver you from the hells. By contrast, the Buddha’s teachings theoretically leave the door open to many paths to salvation. Buddhism isn’t necessarily the only one that will deliver you from rebirths in the hells nor the only one that secures a rebirth in the heavens. You just need to be a good person. Where Buddhism is potentially but not necessarily exclusive is in the path to escaping the cycle of rebirth.