Famous Quote: Zen Masters thoughts on Christian Bible. thoughts?

Question

A university student while visiting Gasan asked him: "Have you ever read the Christian Bible?"
"No, read it to me," said Gasan.
The student opened the Bible and read from St. Matthew: "And why take ye thought for rainment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these... Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself."
Gasan said: "Whoever uttered those words I consider an enlightened man."
The student continued reading: "Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened."
Gasan remarked: "That is excellent. Whoever said that is not far from Buddhahood."

i dont find Christ's teachings and Buddhas teachings to be incompatable, but do you?

Answer 1

Enlightened beings all see with the same mind.

Answer 2

The things you read are applications to everyday life. The basic doctrine of Christianity does not appear in the teachings of Buddha....in fact quite the contrary. What makes Christianity is CHRIST. Nothing more of less will do. It rests on the blood sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, the Son of God, perfect and sinless, taking mankind's place of punishment for mankind's sins, dying, buried, and coming alive out of the grave. Only Christ, the Son of God, could do that. Buddha on the other hand stayed in the grave. There is no comparison of the very core for which the faith is founded on. You can't ignore the work of Christ and say another religion is very like Christianity.
Example: Two children are dressed similarly. Each has a hat, a shirt, pants, shoes. And in fact they are dressed in the same colors. There skin is the same color. They both are dark headed and have the same hair cut. They are the same age. They both have an out-going personality and are will liked by everyone. But inside there is a core difference that cannot be denied. One is a girl, who will grow up and bear children. She has the qualities to nurture and nest. The other is a boy, who will grow up and marry, raise a family. His nature is to provide for and protect the family. They have some basic differences that defines them as very different. So it is with Christianity and other faiths.

Answer 3

The idea's and values are compatible in some ways, but as are many other religions idea's and values. It's not the values they hold that make them so different, it's the doctrine and what each religion claims to be ultimate truth.

Buddhism denies that Jesus is God and that we need forgiveness from him, which is the belief that everything else in christianity is based off of. Christianity denies Nirvana, which is when all separate beings die and cease to exist as individuals and become one unified entity, like a drop into an ocean. So these religions, although have some similar ideas about how to live life, are in fact very incompatible and different.

In the verse you quoted that says,"Ask and it shall be given...", It is talking about asking the christian God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), who is a very personal and relational God. Buddhism does not believe in a personal God separate from us. In Buddhism we are all part of "the oneness of "God" and our separate selves are a mere illusion.

So they both have claims about ultimate truth that are radically different. They both can be wrong but they both cannot be right. There are people who hold the view that whatever belief you hold to be true is true for you and therefore every religion or belief is right. Well the problem there is that most religions claim that they're doctrine and core beliefs are the ONLY ultimate truth. But if every religion is right then every religion is wrong because each religion claims that all of the other ones are wrong.

Don't be confused by similar value systems, most religions hold very similar moral values.

Answer 4

You might enjoy reading Thich Nhat Hanh's books on the subject, found in the Buddhist section of your local library or at an online store. His comparisons of the logic of Jesus' teachings (the ones that haven't been distorted for personal use) are generally quite like the Buddha's wisdom.

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Answer 5

No there is not any direct quote from the bible against it even though it continues to be intercourse or a sexual act. we are to act in a healthy way with one yet another and admire our own bodies besides via fact the bodies of others. there is not any loop hollow.

Answer 6

Its not like buddists have everything wrong but they have a whole bunch