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UNDERSTANDING OTHER RELIGIONS
Week 4: Eastern Religions (Hinduism & Buddhism)
This includes:
1. Leader Preparation
2. Lesson Guide
1. LEADER PREPARATION
LESSON OVERVIEW
The focus of this lesson is to help your students understand the core teachings of Hinduism
and Buddhism. Once your teenagers understand the basics of these two religions, they will
be more prepared to explain God’s Word and discuss differences in their faith. They will be
better able to understand where Hindu and Buddhist beliefs are different from Christianity.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
1. WHAT: There are many differences between Christianity and Eastern religions, but
one of the most essential is the question of whether there is only one God.
2. WHY: Your students may encounter people who practice Eastern religions and need
to be equipped to explain Christianity and to share Christ with them.
3. HOW: Help your students be prepared to explain how there is only one God with
someone who is practicing Hinduism or Buddhism.
PRIMARY SCRIPTURE
John 14:6
SECONDARY SCRIPTURES
Exodus 20:3-6; Romans 8:28; 2 Corinthians 4:18; Ephesians 2:8-10; and Hebrews 9:27
TEACHING PREP
The short overview below is designed to help you prepare for your lesson. While you may
not want to convey this information word-for-word with your teenagers, you’ll definitely
want to refer to it as you lead your small group lesson.
When trying to understand these two major Eastern religions, it’s important to examine the
basics of each faith. This section will offer a broad overview of these two religions before
heading into the Lesson Guide portion for this week.
Hinduism
Hinduism is believed to be the oldest organized religion in the world. At the core of the
religion is the pagan worship of elements of nature and human and animal heroes that are
represented by statues that are worshiped and given offerings.
Hindu worship differs between the home and temple. It may be reflected in prayers, song,
dance, dress, colors chosen, diet, flowers, incense, or chants. Hinduism is a very personal
faith, and worship may take place in temples or homes, but for the most part it is individual
instead of corporate.
Hindus believe that their ultimate deity, Brahman, is unknowable and not a personable god,
unlike a Christian’s view of God. While Brahman is the ultimate god, Hindus are
pantheistic—they believe in multiple gods and worship many gods. It is estimated that there
are over 330 million Hindu gods. This means they reject the Christian belief that only one
God was responsible for all creation.
One of the most commonly known teachings of Hinduism is reincarnation. Hindus believe
that we are an eternal part of Brahman trapped in the human body, and through a process
of being reborn after death, an individual may ultimately, if good, be rejoined with
Brahman. If the individual isn’t good, this person may return in a lower state as
punishment.
Hindus do not believe in the concept of sin as Christians do. For the Hindu, the goal is to be
morally good enough in this life to be reincarnated “closer” toward being united with
Brahman. They believe that karma—the blessings or punishment of your actions—can be
helped and increased through meditation and the practice of yoga, or “self-centering” where
people clear their minds of all distractions.
Buddhism
Buddhism is the religion that follows the Buddha, the Enlightened One, a title given by its
founder Siddhartha Gautama who lived from 563-483 B.C. He founded the religion as a
form of atheism that rejected the belief of a personal creator god (Ishvara) who controlled
the eternal destiny of all human souls. He rejected the theistic (one God) beliefs because of
the pain, suffering, and evil that existed in the world. He taught his belief to the people in
his native country of India for about 45 years before dying. Interestingly, the religion that
was founded in India was nearly wiped out by the Islamic armies around the 10 th century
A.D. To this day it is not widely practiced in India, but it is practiced in Southeast Asia and
parts of East Asia.
Buddhism at its core is a religion that was created because its founder had a philosophical
problem with the existence of pain and suffering in the world. The Buddhist belief system
can be summarized in the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and other key
principles.
Four Noble Truths:
1. Life is full of suffering
2. Suffering is caused by craving
3. Suffering will cease only when cravings ceases
4. This can only be achieved by following the Noble Eightfold Path
Noble
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Eightfold Path:
Right views
Right aspiration
Right speech
Right conduct
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right mindfulness
Right contemplation
Other
1.
2.
3.
4.
key beliefs:
Nothing is permanent
Individual selves do not truly exist
All is determined by an impersonal law of moral causes (karma)
Reincarnation is an endless cycle of continuous suffering
5. The goal in life is to break out of this cycle by finally extinguishing the flame of life
and entering a permanent state of pure nonexistence (nirvana)
When it comes to talking to people who practice Eastern religions about faith in general or
Christ specifically, it’s helpful to know about their beliefs and to use Scripture and the
teachings of Jesus to share the truth of God’s love for them.
Read John 14:6.
Jesus clearly asserted that he was the only way to enter into heaven with God. Regardless
of how good or moral we are, we experience eternity with God through trusting in Jesus.
THE BEFORE & AFTER [optional]
Text Message Questions
We’ve provided a couple of different text message questions to send out to your students
prior to your meeting. Feel free to use one or both of the questions below. As with the rest
of the curriculum, edit these questions to fit the needs of your ministry.
Do you want to know more about Eastern religions? Come to small group tonight.
Is there only one way to heaven? Let’s talk about it tonight at small group.
Parent Email
We’ve provided you with an email below that you can send to your parents following the
lesson. Our hope is to encourage parents to continue the conversation at home. Feel free to
edit and customize the email to fit your ministry needs.
Dear parents,
This week in our small group series on other religions, we focused on Eastern religions,
specifically Hinduism and Buddhism. We wanted our young people to understand the basic
beliefs of these two religions and how those beliefs differ from what Christianity teaches.
Our main passage was John 14:6. We shared how both Buddhism and Hinduism focus on
works to achieve salvation and both worship idols. Our students examined what God’s Word
says about this, and they discussed how to share God’s love.
During the week, I’d encourage you to take a few minutes to talk with your teenager about
our lesson and about our ongoing small group series. Here are some questions that can help
fuel your conversation:
Many people in our culture say Christianity is closed-minded because it teaches that
Jesus is the only way to heaven. How would you respond to that statement?
What is “truth”? How do you define that word?
Both Buddhism and Hinduism focus on the idea that one day you may be good
enough and perform enough good deeds to reach your ideal eternal state. As a
Christian, how important are your actions? Why would a Christian desire or strive to
live a “good life”?
Find out if this series is helping your teenager grow spiritually or gain a clearer
understanding of the differences between Christianity and other religions. Because of our
time each week, we’re only able to offer a broad overview of each of these world religions,
but my prayer is that your student is benefiting from this series. Have a blessed week!
UNDERSTANDING OTHER RELIGIONS
Week 4: Eastern Religions (Hinduism & Buddhism)
2. LESSON GUIDE
GETTING THINGS STARTED [optional]
Welcome your students and invite them into your meeting area. Open in prayer, then ASK:
What do you know about the Hindu or Buddhist religion? [NOTE: Provide some time
for your students to speak from their experience. Give them time to respond and ask
questions. You may need to encourage them to keep from being judgmental or
condescending—an easy trap when talking about someone who is different.]
If you came up with an opening activity, movie clip, or game that worked well with your
group, and you’d like to share it with other youth workers, please email us at
[email protected].
TEACHING POINTS
The goal of the Teaching Points is to help students capture the essence of each lesson with
more discussion and less lecture-style teaching. The main points we have chosen here are
(1) One way, (2) One truth, and (3) One God.
Remember: All throughout these lessons, it’s up to you to choose (1) how many questions
you use, and (2) the wording of the main points—keep ours, or change the wording to make
it clearer for your audience.
Read John 14:6 together as a group. Consider allowing one or more of the teenagers to
read the text.
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Tonight we’re going to have a look at how Christianity compares to
the Eastern religions of Hinduism and Buddhism.
Read through or explain some of the basics of each from the lesson introduction. Give your
students some time to respond and ask questions.
1. One way
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Many world religions say that there are multiple ways to get to
heaven; Scripture clearly states that there is only one way to reach heaven—through a
personal relationship with Jesus.
ASK:
Many people in our culture say Christianity is closed-minded because it teaches that
Jesus is the only way to heaven. How would you respond to that statement?
How can you know that there is only one God and one path to God, instead of
different names for God and different paths for reaching God?
2. One truth
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: Many of the other world religions teach that they have the truth.
Jesus wanted his followers to understand that he was the fulfillment of the Old Testament
Scriptures.
ASK:
What is “truth”? How do you define that word?
How can you have multiple “truths” and have them all still be true?
3. One God
SAY SOMETHING LIKE: While many of the world religions teach that there are multiple
gods, the Bible clearly teaches that there is only one God who created the universe and
desires a personal relationship with us.
ASK:
Hindus teach that their god Brahman is an impersonal and unknowable god who has
nothing to do with the daily lives of his followers. They also worship numerous gods
through statues. Read Exodus 20:3-6. Why does God command people to not
worship other gods?
ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION [optional]
ASK:
How might Christianity be different if Jesus had never directly or clearly said that he
was the way to get to heaven?
In John 14:6, what is Jesus referring to: physical life, spiritual life, or some other
kind of life? Explain.
How is Jesus “the life” for you?
How might studying and understanding this verse shape the way you share God’s
love with people of other faiths?
For the Hindu, “salvation” is based on doing enough good deeds to eventually make
it to heaven. Read Ephesians 2:8-10. How does a person receive salvation based on
this passage? How is this different from what Hindus teach, and why is that
difference important?
APPLICATION
ASK:
Why might God want you to have spiritually focused conversations with people who
practice an Eastern religion, even if their views don’t change?
Hinduism says man has always existed and is manifested as a spark from Brahman
that is trapped in a physical body. The individual must live and do good deeds to be
reincarnated and eventually be reunited with Brahman. The concept of reincarnation
is contrary to what Christians believe. Read Hebrews 9:27. How does this verse
address the topic of reincarnation?
Buddhists are deeply concerned with the suffering in the world and their own
personal lives. They see the cycle of suffering continuing over and over. For
Christians, our belief is that while we may suffer here, we can experience the hope
and life of Jesus Christ right now, as we look forward to the hope for heaven that lies
ahead. Read 2 Corinthians 4:18. What does this passage tell you about suffering?
How might this perspective affect the way you view suffering here in this lifetime?
For Buddhists, karma plays a significant role in day-to-day life. They believe they
have no control over what happens to them and that there is no escape from the
“gravitational pull” of karma. Read Romans 8:28. Christians believe God is in control
and is putting everything together to teach and bless us. What are some ways God
has shown love for you? How have you recently seen God work things out for your
good?
Pair up with another student for these questions.
ASK:
Both Buddhism and Hinduism focus on the idea that one day you may be good
enough and perform enough good deeds to reach your ideal eternal state. As a
Christian, how important are your actions? Why would a Christian desire or strive to
live a “good life”?
What’s the best way to pray for a friend or family member who is a Hindu or
Buddhist, and why?
SUMMARY
End your small group lesson here. Provide your teenagers with a quick summary or takehome challenge based on (1) the content of this lesson, (2) the dialogue that took place
during the lesson, (3) your understanding of the issues and struggles your teenagers are
facing, and (4) the big picture of your youth ministry and what your leadership team wants
accomplished with the teaching and discussion time.
FOR KEEPS [MEMORY VERSE]
Encourage and/or challenge your teenagers to memorize the verse below.
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except
through me” (John 14:6).