Download Analyze and compare the origins and tenets of Buddhism

Analyze and compare the origins and tenets of Buddhism and Christianity as global belief systems.
Buddhism and Christianity are two world religions that have their origins in ancient Asia. Born
out of older traditional Hindu and Hebrew belief systems, Buddhism and Christianity have spread to
many parts of the world. The traditional beliefs of these two religions have basic differences in that
Christianity emphasizes the person-God relationship while Buddhism promotes the spiritual
“enlightenment” of the practitioner and although they have similar origins and ethical frameworks that
spread to other areas, they have different perspectives of the nature of their gods and obtaining
afterlife.
The beginnings of Buddhism resulted in part from dissatisfaction with ancient Hindu rituals.
Before becoming the Buddha, Gautama was searching for answers to existential questions that
Hinduism did not address such as determining the causes of suffering in the world and solutions to
alleviate it. Buddhism focuses on this question and the Four Noble Truths examine the nature of
suffering and how to escape it. The elimination of human desires that cause pain is a central focus.
The Buddhist path is one of disengagement from human wants so that freedom can be found in
detachment and meditation.
Christianity also originated in part as a reaction to another religion, particularly Jewish law and
ritual. Many found these rituals to be increasingly meaningless and impersonal. Jesus taught that
God was not interested in the outward signs of piety but cared what was in the hearts of people. In
claiming to be the promised Messiah, Jesus also appealed to the hope of a perfect kingdom guided
by God. The tensions within an occupied Roman colony were a counterpoint fro the spiritual
message of Jesus that urged peace and charity in a difficult time. This same message found a
receptive audience in the larger Greco-Roman world after the death of Jesus.
Both Buddhism and Christianity appeared as alternatives to the standard orthodoxies of their
day. Buddhism grew out of Hindu asceticism and was later pushed out of India by the Brahmins.
Likewise, Christianity grew from a rejected sect within Judaism into the official belief system in Asia
Minor and Europe. In terms of beliefs, the two religions have little in common. Buddhism encourages
the individual search from enlightenment while Christians are to follow the teachings of Jesus as
active and engaged members of the community they live in. The Christian God is presented as both
a forgiving and vengeful deity. Buddha said little about the attributes of the “Absolute” and did not
suggest an engaged personal God in his teachings. Buddha did not profess to be divine, while Jesus
claimed to be the Son of God. Both religions borrowed somewhat from their parent religions in terms
of their view of the afterlife. Buddhists clung to the Hindu cycle of rebirth and Christians expanded on
the Jewish belief in eternity with God as judge.
The origins of Christianity and Buddhism are strikingly alike. They challenged the traditional
beliefs of their day and both Christens and Buddhists were persecuted for their faith. Orthodox
Hinduism and Judaism fought back against these challenges and the new faiths had to be
transplanted elsewhere to thrive. Buddhism became the dominate belief system in East Asia and
Christianity established its own orthodoxy in southern Europe and beyond. While both religions have
ethical frameworks that prohibit behaviors such as stealing and covetousness, they differ greatly in
their views of the nature of God and the afterlife.
KAPLAN AP WORLD HISTORY 2004 EDITION, Mark Bach, Simon & Schuster, pgs. 73,74