Buddhism
Buddhism does not provide any basis for certain knowledge, because there is no belief in Buddhism of any God that has revealed things to us with certainty. Buddhism is a moralistic and atheistic religion where people believe they should try to be good, but how do you know for certain what 'good' is? And why does one have to be good if there is ultimately no God that you are accountable to?
While many Buddhists may tend towards the sin of apathy towards social evils and injustices due to the inward individual focus of Buddhism, why not commit evil acts yourself and kill others as some extreme Buddhist sects promote doing? (See Why are Buddhist monks attacking Muslims - BBC News). People may object that this is not what Buddhism teaches (and the context of the violence in Myanmar is opposition to Muslim domination, plus I don't think that the monks themselves actually advocate violence), but the teachings and goals in Buddhism are more like guidelines to help you live a better life rather than absolute commands from any deity.
So why not kill babies in the womb for the sake of convenience if you consider it to be personally beneficial for you and you believe that there is no supreme God holding anyone accountable for their actions? Indeed I believe it is for exactly that reason that Buddhism is attractive to many westerners who are unwilling to face up to their own sinfulness and turn to Jesus Christ who alone can forgive.
When it comes to violence many people do not realise that Buddha himself is reported to have killed people:
When Budha punishes anyone, or casts him down, or takes his life, it is that he may be benefited thereby; for the same reason a father chastises his child. (Hardy, Manual of Budhism, 385.)
Furthermore, a core teaching of Buddhism is to strive to have no desires. But the desire 'to have no desires' is a desire in itself, and therefore absurd and impossible to achieve.
Compare all of that with the teachings of Christianity and the life of Jesus Christ and there is a stark contrast. Jesus never killed anyone and taught not just an inner piety but a social responsibility to love our neighbors and even to love our enemies, not just for our own good but because we are all created in God's image and we will all eventually have to give an account of our lives and the things that we have done to the God who created us.
Buddhism and Suicide
Suicide is a problem in cultures influence by Buddhism, and one of the reasons for this is because of the teaching that life is suffering. Why not kill yourself if you believe that life is suffering and that the goal of life is ultimately to escape this life? The ultimate escape of Nirvana is seen as some kind of eternal death where you cease to exist as a person. Some Buddhists even advocate self-immolation (burning yourself to death) as a good thing.
Someone that embraced these ideas is Kurt Cobain, who tragically took his life. It is likely that his reference to burning out is related to this idea of Nirvana and death. The Wikipedia entry on Kurt Cobain says: "The band name "Nirvana" was taken from the Buddhist concept, which Cobain described as "freedom from pain, suffering and the external world", a concept that he aligned with the punk rock ethos and ideology. Cobain would regard himself as both a Buddhist and a Jain during different points of his life."
While many Buddhists may tend towards the sin of apathy towards social evils and injustices due to the inward individual focus of Buddhism, why not commit evil acts yourself and kill others as some extreme Buddhist sects promote doing? (See Why are Buddhist monks attacking Muslims - BBC News). People may object that this is not what Buddhism teaches (and the context of the violence in Myanmar is opposition to Muslim domination, plus I don't think that the monks themselves actually advocate violence), but the teachings and goals in Buddhism are more like guidelines to help you live a better life rather than absolute commands from any deity.
So why not kill babies in the womb for the sake of convenience if you consider it to be personally beneficial for you and you believe that there is no supreme God holding anyone accountable for their actions? Indeed I believe it is for exactly that reason that Buddhism is attractive to many westerners who are unwilling to face up to their own sinfulness and turn to Jesus Christ who alone can forgive.
When it comes to violence many people do not realise that Buddha himself is reported to have killed people:
When Budha punishes anyone, or casts him down, or takes his life, it is that he may be benefited thereby; for the same reason a father chastises his child. (Hardy, Manual of Budhism, 385.)
Furthermore, a core teaching of Buddhism is to strive to have no desires. But the desire 'to have no desires' is a desire in itself, and therefore absurd and impossible to achieve.
Compare all of that with the teachings of Christianity and the life of Jesus Christ and there is a stark contrast. Jesus never killed anyone and taught not just an inner piety but a social responsibility to love our neighbors and even to love our enemies, not just for our own good but because we are all created in God's image and we will all eventually have to give an account of our lives and the things that we have done to the God who created us.
Buddhism and Suicide
Suicide is a problem in cultures influence by Buddhism, and one of the reasons for this is because of the teaching that life is suffering. Why not kill yourself if you believe that life is suffering and that the goal of life is ultimately to escape this life? The ultimate escape of Nirvana is seen as some kind of eternal death where you cease to exist as a person. Some Buddhists even advocate self-immolation (burning yourself to death) as a good thing.
Someone that embraced these ideas is Kurt Cobain, who tragically took his life. It is likely that his reference to burning out is related to this idea of Nirvana and death. The Wikipedia entry on Kurt Cobain says: "The band name "Nirvana" was taken from the Buddhist concept, which Cobain described as "freedom from pain, suffering and the external world", a concept that he aligned with the punk rock ethos and ideology. Cobain would regard himself as both a Buddhist and a Jain during different points of his life."
However, Jesus Christ said "I am the way the truth and the life" (John 14:6), and "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)
Do not be deceived. Buddhism is not some nice religion - it is a satanic deception that is just another form of rebellion against the one true Creator God.
Buddhism and Asceticism
Buddhism teaches that suffering and being hard on yourself is a good thing. Suffering for the sake of suffering is seen as meritorious.
But Christianity teaches that suffering does happen but that we should not try to suffer needlessly because Jesus Christ suffered on our behalf through his death on the cross.
Buddhism and Moderation
Many people these days even in the West extol the virtues of moderation in all things. This may be in part due to the influence of Buddhism on western culture coming from the Buddhist teaching of the Middle Way. Christians that take strong stands against evil are often accused of being too extreme. But this is absurd. Some things are black and white. Real evil does exist and it is right to oppose evil. Dan Millman sums it up well:
For more info on Buddhism: Eastern Philosophies - Proof That God Exists.
From Buddha to Christ - Peter Donnelly's Story
