Rev. David Holwick C Jesus and Other Faiths First Baptist Church Ledgewood, New Jersey January 17, 2016
I. His eyes were opened. Siddhartha Gautama was born about five and a half centuries before Jesus. His mother died about a week after his birth. He was the son of a rajah and his father wanted him to succeed him as king. At his birth a court prophet predicted he would be a great king if he stayed at home, but a savior for mankind if he left. So his father surrounded him with wealth and pleasures to keep him home. Everything ugly or painful was kept from his sight. One day Siddhartha told his father he wanted to see the world. His father immediately ordered the streets to be cleaned and old and sick people to be spirited away. However, some did not get the message. The first person Siddhartha saw was a decrepit old man. When Siddhartha asked what had happened to him, he said he was old and everyone would end up like him. Later, he ran into a sick man and was told anyone could get sick and suffer pain like that person. He then saw a funeral procession with people weeping bitterly. When he asked what it meant, the prince was told it was the way of life, for sooner or later everyone, including princes, would die. The last person he ran into was a monk begging for his food. The beggar's face was so tranquil the prince decided that this was the kind of life he wanted to live. That night he left his family and home and began to search for enlightenment. This event is called the Great Renunciation. He wandered from place to place seeking wisdom. Siddhartha had been brought up Hindu but the Hindu religious scriptures did not satisfy him. He tried asceticism - living a harsh life - but this didn't give him any peace, either. Then one day he sat to meditate under a fig tree. He reached Nirvana, the highest state of God-consciousness. They say he stayed under that tree of wisdom for seven days. The truths he learned he would teach to the world, not as Siddhartha Gautama, but as the Buddha, the enlightened one. [1] II. The essence of Buddhism. A. It is not easy to pin down. 1) There is a great deal of information out there but it is often contradictory. a) There are two major schools of Buddhism. b) Each school has its own subgroups, much like Protestants are splintered. 2) Even where there is agreement on doctrine it is not always easy to for this non-Buddhist to determine what they are really teaching. B. It is a radical adaptation of Hinduism. 1) Hinduism seeks nirvana through learning truth through thousands of reincarnations. 2) Buddhism doesn't have reincarnation, but rebirth. a) You don't have a soul, but something like an energy field that continues in future lives. b) As you refine your thinking, you can reach nirvana. C. Pain is a big problem: Buddhism's Four Noble Truths. 1) Suffering exists. a) Birth, aging, unfulfilled desires and death hurt us. 2) Suffering is caused by craving pleasures. a) Seeking happiness and prosperity end up torturing us. 3) Suffering can be ended. a) We must renounce and extinguish all passion and desire. 4) Following the Eightfold Path is the solution to suffering. D. God-consciousness comes through the Eight-fold Path. 1) Right views. 2) Right resolve or intention. 3) Right speech. 4) Right behavior. 5) Right occupation. 6) Right effort. 7) Right contemplation. 8) Right meditation. a) For me, it brings to mind Philippians 4:8 - "...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." b) Even though Buddhism says our perception of reality is just an illusion, it does believe in a moral universe - there is right and wrong. c) This is also reflected in their commandments... 1> The five commandments of Buddhism. A> Kill no living thing. B> Don't steal. C> Don't commit adultery. D> Don't lie. E> Don't use intoxicants or drugs. 2> Very similar to the Ten Commandments except that it takes out the God-centered ones. A> (Some websites say there are additional commandments that are more religiously oriented, but are geared to the super- committed.) III. Appreciating Buddhism's points. A. Pain and inequality in the world are real issues. 1) Every Christian should be vexed by them. a) Suffering in the world is the greatest question believers face. b) It is hard to reconcile a good, all-powerful God with the continuation of evil. c) For Southern Baptist pastor Thomas Dyer, this was perplexing. He saw so much suffering in the world and he wanted to be happy. He hoped that his religious convictions would bring him contentment, but it didn't. Thomas didn't see many other contented Christians, either. So he became a Buddhist. #35998 2) Pain cannot be willed away. a) It still exists even if we change our attitude about it. b) Pain is real, and not a product of our imaginations. 3) The solution is not disengagement from reality. a) Christians believe in wrestling with pain, not running away from it. b) We seek to comfort the hurting, and binding up wounds. 1> Christian philanthropy reaches every corner of the world. 2> Buddhism often results in inaction. B. There is power in meditation. 1) Even the Bible commends focusing our thoughts on God. a) Consider these statements in the Psalms: Psalm 48:9 "Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love." Psalm 77:12 "I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds." Psalm 119:27 "Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders." b) Jesus praying all night on numerous occasions, and for 40 days once. c) How often do you meditate? For most American Christians, the answer is, not much. We rarely sit quietly for an hour to contemplate God, but we should Americans value action and accomplishment but there is something to be said for seeking quietness. 2) Our goal in contemplation is different. a) We contemplate God and his goodness, not empty our minds of all thoughts. b) The mind is powerful but it is not the ultimate power. 1> We do not seek the God within us. 2> We seek the God who is Beyond us. IV. Real Buddhism is hard. A. The Japanese experience. 1) There are very few Buddhist monks in Japan these days. The training is particularly harsh. In 2012, five monks presented themselves for training, and four ended up running away. Their diet is rice and sometimes a pickle. They are giving many menial tasks, not enough time to do them, and then other monks yell at them. The constant screaming, running and exhaustion are intended to produce a spiritual state. They want unbearable suffering to produce transformation. #64287 2) Christians also recognize the educational aspect of pain. a) It teaches us to rely on God. b) But like any spiritual discipline, it can lead to pride. Paul warned the Colossians 2:23, after describing rules-based religion: "Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." B. The paradoxes of Zen. 1) Buddhism has many variants. a) Some versions have 5,000 volumes of Scripture. b) No one can master them all, and contradictory concepts can exist side by side. 2) Zen is the most esoteric branch. a) Illogic is exalted: one famous illustration is "the sound of one hand clapping." b) It is impossible (for me) to pin down its meaning. V. Christianity is different. A. There is a God and he is separate from us. 1) Buddhism is essential atheistic, or pantheistic - everything is God, including us. 2) Christians say that we are creatures who can be glorified, but God will always be God. 3) Any glory we achieve is just a reflection of him. B. We need salvation more than enlightenment. 1) Buddhists try to focus their thoughts to become more pure. a) Christians can appreciate this. 1> But we acknowledge that we can never make ourselves completely pure. 2> We will always remain sinners. b) In the end, we don't need a teacher, we need a Savior. 2) Jesus is more than an Enlightened One like Buddha. a) Many Buddhists fit Jesus into their system. 1> They see him as an enlightened teacher. 2> They see many parallels between Buddha and Jesus, especially in their births and ministries. 3> But Jesus did more than teach about God - he proclaimed that he WAS God. When you see him, you see the Father. John 14:9 b) Jesus can do what Buddha cannot. A native of China wanted to become a Christian but couldn't understand how Christianity was superior to Confucianism and Buddhism. One morning he came to the missionary in a happy mood saying, "I dreamed last night, and now I understand. I dreamed I had fallen into a deep pit where I lay helpless and despairing. Confucius came and said, 'Let me give you advice, my friend; if you get out of your trouble, never get in again.' Buddha came and said, 'If you can climb up to where I can reach you, I will help you.' Then Christ came. He climbed down into the pit and carried me out." #21181 C. Jesus came to eliminate our pain and death. 1) He took our pain upon his own body. 2) He gained a victory over it through resurrection. a) Buddha died like everyone else, and stayed dead. 1> A Chinese temple collapsed in 1981 and a small stone casket was recovered. Inside they found what is believed to be one of Buddha's fingers. It was sent on a spiritual tour around Buddhist areas and drew tens of thousands of worshippers. #17987 2> I can't show you Jesus' finger - he took it with him. b) A non-believer saw it clearly. Daniel Akin is a Baptist who went to Thailand on a short-term mission trip. Thailand is Buddhist and famously resistant to the gospel. He hired a guide to take him around Bangkok and Daniel told him he was a Christian. To Daniel's surprise, the man had never heard about Jesus. The guide politely allowed Daniel to talk about his faith for some time. When Daniel got to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, the man literally stopped the car. He turned around and asked if he really said that Jesus had been raised from the dead. Daniel told him that was correct. The guide said nothing for several minutes, then he looked at Daniel and said, "If this Jesus really did come back to life from the dead, he did something that no one else has ever done. If that is true, he would have the right to make a claim on every person that no one else could." That Buddhist man did not become a Christian that day, and maybe never did. But he saw what is at stake with crystal clarity. #29303 3) Do you believe you need to be saved? 4) Do you believe Jesus can do it for you? a) He came to earth to take your pain. b) He is the only way of salvation. c) Put your faith in him. ========================================================================= SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON: [1] This introduction was adapted from “Understanding Non-Christian Religions” by Josh McDowell and Don Stewart (Here’s Life Publishers, San Bernardino, California, 1982), pp. 48ff. Many of the points in this sermon were distilled from this chapter. #17987 “The Finger of Buddha,” Rodney Buchanan, www.sermoncentral.com newsletter, August 19, 2002. #21181 “Christ Carried Him Out,” Fredericksburg Bible Illustrator Supplements, Gerald Rodgers Collection. #29303 “The Resurrection: What Difference Does It Make?” Daniel L. Akin, Baptist Press, March 29, 2005, http://www.baptistpress.org. #35998 “Southern Baptist Preacher Becomes A Buddhist,” Michael Lollar, Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper; August 23, 2009.
#64287 “Brutality Brought Him Enlightenment,” Larissa MacFarquhar, The New Yorker magazine, June 24, 2013, page 60. These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html ========================================================================= |
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