Buddhism

Buddhism is an unorganized set of beliefs coming from ancient India between the fourth and fifth centuries BC, based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. His teachings became based around the Four Noble Truths, the Eight-Fold Path, and the Three Marks of Existence.

1. Dukkha- Life will lead to suffering
2. Samudaya- Suffering comes from desire
3. Nirodha- Suffering can end when all attachments and cravings end
4. Magga- You can end suffering by following the eight fold path

Wisdom (Panna):

1. Right View
2. Right Resolve

Ethical Conduct (Sila):

1. Right Speech
2. Right Action
3. Right Livelihood

Meditation/ Mental Discipline (Samadhi):

1. Right Effort
2. Right Mindfulness
3. Right Concentration

The most common understanding amongst those not in Buddhism is the thought that Nirvana is simply the afterlife of the faithful Buddhist; however, this is not the case. Nirvana in the native language meant extinguished, and Buddha, when asked about this, answered with the tetralemma, which was a decision-making matrix for the Buddha in which he rejected four possibilities of Nirvana to pave the way for another option. In this defense, he denied the idea that the enlightened being exists after death, denied that the enlightened being does not exist after death, denied that the enlightened being both exists and does not exist, and denied that the enlightened being neither exists nor doesn't exist.

It is Buddha's goal to show the path towards a transcendental awakening in which one is removed from their self, in the process from all suffering, and enters a state both birthless and deathless.

The main driving point behind Buddhism is the belief that suffering comes from desire: the suffering of hunger comes from the desire for food, so if you don't desire food, you can't be hungry.

In Buddhism, the answer lies in Tanha and Chanda: Tanha, meaning thirst, refers to the desires that lead to suffering, and Chanda to the desire for a more wholesome intent or a more noble desire.

In Buddhism, there are three forms of tanha: Kama-tanha, the desire to enjoy; Bhava-tanha, the desire for greater stature, greater ambition; and Vibhava-tanha, the craving for nonexistence, such as depression and suicidal thoughts. Buddhism is about eliminating the desires represented by tanha and desiring only Chanda.

Buddhism, as a major world religion, takes a sharp turn from the other religions by not embracing any deity. There is a general belief in many cosmological beings we would describe as god-like, as well as in various buddhas. Depending on the sect of Buddhism, responses to the relationship with these deities vary; however, there is no creator God in Buddhism, as the original Buddha questioned whether an all-powerful God could allow for suffering.

When we look at Buddhism objectively, we see a way of life that is agreeable to many people; few would protest living by the tenets of the eightfold path, and many can find individual alignments with them in the Bible. However, the reasoning behind the eightfold path is called into question, as Buddhism seeks to encourage someone to find meaning by abandoning oneself. In contrast, Christianity calls for you to find meaning in your relationship with God.

The idea of a no-creator God is illogical in our created world order, as everything that has been started needed something to start it, and that is the law of first motion. Buddhism completely sidesteps the idea of a creator. When something is created, it is created with purpose, and that includes us. We are told in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that everything we do, we must do for the glory of God. God created us to create a fellowship and union with God, which is why he made us in his image (Genesis 1), so that we can enjoy perfect fellowship with God.

Buddhism also has no desire for the restoration of creation after corruption, meaning that the world is visibly corrupted by wars, hunger, and the evil of man, and that there is no path to its restoration. Buddhism has no desire for you to receive the forgiveness of sin, but instead to move past it without proper atonement. If I harmed someone in the past and then follow the path of Buddhism, I have no call to make the individual I harmed whole; instead, I focus on my path ahead.

Buddhism underestimates the power of sin and seeks to find life in oneself, but life can only be found in Christ and his sacrificial death on the cross.