Buddhism is a religion that has started in India thousands of years ago. However, like other religions, it has spread across various cultures, mostly in Asia. Unlike other religions, Buddha is not based on a fundamental religious system. In fact, Buddhism has been described as a religion, a philosphy, an ideology, and a way of life. It is a flexible religion in that different cultures have adapted to it and that Buddhism has adapted to them.
It rejects the concept of a God, as Christians, Jews, and Muslims believe. Buddhism is well know for its diverse nature. In fact, there is no one Buddhism. In Buddhism there are no moral absolutes. It also offers many different paths for diverse people with various needs and capacities. The Basic Teachings of Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths, the Kalama Sutta, and the Eightfold Path.
The First truth is the undeniable existence of suffering in the world of birth and death. Solving a problem involves using the other three principles and using virtue, concentration, and discernment. Discernment is developed through meditation. In order to alleviate the suffering and stress, one must abandon our self-identity. There is strong emphasis on meditation and a denial of “self”. Faith is about a heartfelt confidence in our own awakening. In other words, we become our own gods and we are the masters of our destiny.
Because of its flexibility, Buddhism has no Commandments, but moral guidelines. They reject the “rigidities” that are associated with Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Freedom is the promise of Buddhist practice. It is about freeing ourselves from psychological restraint and responding to each situation. Their view of ethics is different from that of Christianity whereas Buddhist views of ethics is about contributing to one’s own well-being and that of others, including in sexuality. Whereas in Christianity, the only sex that is not sinful is that between a man and a wife. In Buddhism, sexuality is not based on constructs such in marriage, but that sexuality is consentual, but not harmful or perverted. The structure of sexual desire is unique, and the limit is within the precepts of sexuality. In fact, marriage is a civil matter not a spiritual matter. They feel that the sexual ethics of Christianity are repressive; however, they feel that they have a strong sexual ethic. This includes sexuality in a consentual, honest, respectful, and not in a ill-willed, manipulative way. Buddhism does not buy into the social constraints, or social engineering, of reproduction.
Buddhism is a religion that has evolved throughout its history. That is a problem. In Christianity, there is a God who has never evolved. He has stayed the same through all time. He is not a God of repression. He does not have suggestions. He has commands us not to hate, to steal, to lie, or to kill. He commands us to love, to serve and worship Him. Sex is not to be taken lightly. Adultery and fornication are sins, plain and simple. In the Bible, those constraints are there for the purposes of right, moral living, and obedience to God. Salvation and “higher living” is through faith in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins. He loved us enough to die for our sins. We were called to reproduce. Marriage is a spiritual matter, between man and wife, for according to the Bible, man and wife are one. Faith is the substance is the things hoped for,the evidence of things not seen. (Heb. 11:1) It is not about awakening. Those who believe on Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God, should not perish, but have everlasting life. Christianity is a religion of hope. Suffering is in the world, but Christians should rejoice at their suffering. To be a Christian, no meditation is necessary, and the only self-denial there is to take up your cross and follow Jesus. Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord. (Romans 10:9)
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