Human beings are complex living organisms. They see, hear and feel. They think about the reality and form judgments to separate what is right from wrong, beautiful from ugly. They can also feel profound emotions of joy, love, hate, discouragement, hope, and gratitude. It is even more complicated to precisely tell the destiny of human beings, what happens after death? Essentially, there are concepts about human beings, the environment, and the world that one cannot rely on science to get the answers. Nonetheless, religion attempts to answer such seemingly complex questions; why are humans on earth, what happens to them after death and so forth. The purpose of this paper is to find out answers on human identity, destiny, cosmology, morality and the sacred by comparing how these concepts are explained in both Christianity and Buddhism.
Human Identity
The question of identity (who are we as human beings?) is one of the most pressing questions that every human being wishes to answer before their time expires here on earth irrespective of who they are, what religion they adore or whatever corporate ladder they belong to. According to Christians, human beings are holy, pitied and chosen God's possession (Prestige, p. 34). Human beings are beings are not merely part of the world, they are set aside for God and as holy as God (Peter: 9). Christian identity is holiness to Lord. Human beings are objects that God has mercy on them, and their identity is built from being acted upon with pity from God (Prestige, p. 45). Also, human beings are God's possession. "People for God's possession," (Peter: 9). Christians exist on earth and keep their bodies holy so to be God's inheritance in the end. Consequently, the basic problem facing humanity is the heart. "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure" (Jeremiah 17:9). God assures human beings of inheriting their kingdom if they remain holy (Calvin, John, and Anthony, p. 47). Human beings would live in harmony with one another, but the heart of hatred and jealousy is the source of all problems facing humanity today ranging from crime, terrorism, violence, corruption, drugs and broken relationships.
Similarly, Buddhists understand their identity to be that of Buddha's descent. Humans have established their identity through the teachings of Buddha, and the identity of a Buddhist represents His for that they adore and it is the spiritual image that every Buddhist places at their heart (Kostenberger, Andreas and O'Brien, p. 89). As a result of connecting identity with the heart, the basic problem facing humanity is the tendency to hate others who do not identify as they do. For example, a Buddhist will feel like rejecting those who do not identify under the form of Buddha idol as they do. This is where the problem of hatred that leads to violence emanates.
Christians and Buddhists answer the question of identity in connection to their creator and that they represent His picture. The problems facing humanity emanate from coming into contact with those who do not identify with their understanding of human identity, which is, those who possess a different meaning of identity.
Human Destiny
A Christian answer to why are we humans on earth is largely grounded in creation. Christians believe that God created man to fulfill His eternal plan (Fromm, p. 234). To back up this idea, Christians believe that God created man to love His creations. "Love the Lord yours with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5). "Love yourself as yourself" (Mathew 22:39). "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ to do good works" (Ephesians 2:10). All these verses justify why Christians exist on earth as humans; it is simply to do God's wish of remaining holy and showing love to His Creations. As a result, God promises those who live according to His wish eternal life (Corinthians 5: 18-19). Christians who live according to God's instruction in the Bible are destined to eternal peace while those who disobey God's commandments, such as the simplest one that asks to love your neighbor, will end up in hell (John 3: 18).
According to Buddhists, human destiny, also known as Nirvana, is the final aim of human striving where. It is a place where there is no more pain, desire or prospect of birth. This is similar to eternal Christian peace where there is no struggle, prospect of life or any more suffering (Revelations 21:3-4). The Buddhists believe that they exist here on earth to strive for human destiny, a journey through which one must do well and minimize suffering to others to secure (White, p.276). This is again similar to the Christian position that those who do well, love others will be assured of eternal peace. Buddhists have to do well to others to be assured of liberation in the end.
Cosmology
According to Christians, the story of creation and how the world will end is fairly clear. The world was created by God. "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). So God created the world and all its contents and that is how everything came into being. Also, the Bible makes it crystal clear how the world will end. The world is a home of mankind who disregard God (James 4:4). The mankind will undergo judicial punishment for everlasting destruction here on earth (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9). Because of this, the world will end when God comes to punish and destroy humankind for the destruction they have caused on earth and those who have accomplished God's eternal plan will be uplifted to heaven whereas those who disobeyed God's guiding in the Bible will perish in hell (McGovern, p. 282).
According to Buddhism, the origin of the world can be answered through three schools of thought. The first school believes that the earth came into existence by nature without an intelligent being (McDonald, p. 23). The second school says that the world was created by almighty God (McDonald, p. 26). This is similar to Christian view on cosmology who believes God created the world. The third school claims that the origin of the world and life is inconceivable because they do not have a beginning or an end (McDonald, p. 29). In the first school of thought, the world existed by nature and will not end. The second school that believes God created the world believes that the world will end when the trees burn, oceans dry up, and this will occur after six billion years (McDonald, p. 32). The life will die before the world is destroyed. The third school does not have any idea about the world ending because they cannot conceive.
There is a similarity about the origin and the end of the world between Christianity and Buddhism. Though not all Buddhists hold to this belief, those who ascribe to the second school of thought believe that the world was created by God and will come to an end. Christians also believe God created the world and will destroy it.
Morality
In the current world, right and wrong are determined through a grid of what one perceives to be good for oneself and other humans. However, Christians and Buddhists have a different view. Christians know what is right based on the Biblical teachings and God's directions (Huang, p.882). Whatever does not conform to the Biblical teachings is wrong. Christians consult the bible to know what is right. Also, Christians have been directed to love others and help them as they are able including sharing whatever they have with the needy (Mathew 22:39; Deuteronomy 15:11). To the environment, Christians believe that the environment is God's creation to which they are entitled to look after. "Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground" (Genesis 1: 26-28). As a result, Christians have a responsibility to protect the environment against destruction as they are commanded by God.
According to Buddhists, what is right is taught through the Noble Eightfold Path, which is a code that embraces a commitment to self-restraint and harmony with a motivation of non-violence (Shmueli et al., 133). In essence, Buddhists deem what is right as being any action that does not harm or cause suffering to others. Consequently, Buddhists believe that they should help others towards enlightenment by creating peace for them and allowing them to choose what can potentially lead them to enlightenment (Shmueli et al., 135). On the environment, the Buddhism teachings command humans not to kill other living things or their natural habitat or even relieve themselves near running water (Shmueli et al., 138).
Christianity and Buddhism hold almost the same moral values such as taking what is right as being that was directed by their God and protect the environment.
The Sacred
According to Christians, the Bible is the sacred holy book of God. It is the direct word of God. God inspired the writers of the Bible, and thus, the Bible is sacred as it contains God's words (Huang, p.885). Whatever is in the Bible is sacred. Also, Christians consider places of worship as sacred. These include churches and places where offerings are made (Huang, p.887).
According to Buddhists, there are certain objects and places considered as sacred. Objects that represent manifestations of Buddha are considered sacred, and these include paintings, statutes and small figures (Keown, p. 89). Also, structures, where monks and laypeople meditate and focus on Buddhists teachings, are considered sacred (Keown, p. 96). Such places include temples or part of the homes that have been dedicated to prayers. Therefore, both Christians and Buddhists consider places of worship as sacred.
Conclusion
The Christian believes regarding the origin of the earth, human identity, destiny, morals and sacred things almost overlap with that of Buddhists. Both religions believe in God as the creator of the world and that the world will be destroyed to mark the end. Also, both religions believe in doing what is right according to the instructions of their God. Both religions hold that it is the responsibility of human beings to protect the environment. Lastly, both Christianity and Buddhism consider their places of worship as sacred.
Work Cited
Calvin, John, and Anthony Uyl. Institutes of the Christian religion. Lulu. com, 2016.
Freeman, Laurence. The good heart: a Buddhist perspective on the teachings of Jesus. Simon and Schuster, 2016.
Fromm, Erich. Vision of Dhamma: Buddhist Writings of Nyanaponika Thera. Pariyatti Publishing, 2016.
Huang, Weishan. "From Comrades to Bodhisattvas: Moral Dimensions of Lay Buddhist Practice in Contemporary China. By Gareth Fisher." Pacific Affairs 89.4 (2016): 880-882.
Keown, Damien. The nature of Buddhist ethics. Springer, 2016.
Kostenberger, Andreas J., and Peter T. O'Brien. "Salvation to the Ends of the Earth." Salvation to the ends of the Earth (2017).
McDonald, J. Ian H. The crucible of Christian morality. Routledge, 2016.
McGovern, William Montgomery. A Manual of Buddhist Philosophy: Cosmology. Vol. 28. Routledge, 2013.
Prestige, George Leonard. God in patristic thought. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008.
Shmueli, Deborah F., Noga Collins-Kreiner, and Michal Ben Gal. "Conflict over sacred space: the case of Nazareth." Cities 41 (2014): 132-140.
White, Dominic. The Lost Knowledge of Christ: Contemporary Spiritualities, Christian Cosmology, and the Arts. Liturgical Press, 2015.
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