Questions Buddhists ask
Honest answers to honest questions
The questions Buddhists and seekers most often ask Christians, answered straight, with the Bible and the Buddhist texts quoted word for word.
Aren't all religions different paths up the same mountain?
No. They contradict each other on the biggest questions: is there a Creator, is there a self, what happens at death, who is Jesus. Even the Buddha did not think all teachings were equal.
Wasn't Jesus a bodhisattva or an enlightened master?
Jesus did not claim to be enlightened. He claimed to be the eternal Son of God, to forgive sins and to be the only way to the Father. A bodhisattva would never say that.
Isn't Buddhism a philosophy, not a religion?
In Asia Buddhism has always been a religion: temples, monks, merit, gods, rebirth and worship of relics. The philosophy-only version is a modern Western form.
Can a Christian meditate or practise mindfulness?
Christians are commanded to meditate, on God's word, day and night. Attention and calm are good gifts. What matters is what fills the stillness.
If God is good, why is there so much suffering?
The Bible does not hide suffering. It says it came through sin, that God entered it in Jesus, and that he will end it. Buddhism says suffering is just how existence is, with no one to answer for it.
Doesn't karma make more sense than grace?
Karma makes sense as a law. But nobody can live under it: every one of us has done harm we cannot repay. Grace is not unfair; it is justice paid by someone else.
Didn't Jesus learn from Buddhists in India?
No. The story comes from Nicolas Notovitch's book of 1894, refuted within two years. The Gospels show Jesus grew up in Nazareth and taught from the Hebrew Scriptures.
Isn't the self an illusion anyway?
If there is no one there, there is no one to suffer, to practise, to be freed or to be loved. The Bible says you are real, made by God and known by name.
What about my parents and ancestors who were Buddhists?
We do not know the hearts of those who have died, and we are not their judge. God is. He is perfectly just and merciful, and he invites you today.
What will my family and community think if I follow Jesus?
It may be hard. Jesus told the truth about the cost, and promised he would never leave you. Many believers from Buddhist families have walked this road with love and patience.
Didn't the Buddha also teach love?
Yes: the Discourse on Love (Metta Sutta) is beautiful, and Christians can honour it. The difference is where love comes from. In the Bible, love starts with God, who loved us first and gave his Son.
Didn't the Buddha say: test everything for yourself?
In the Kalama Sutta he told people not to go by tradition alone but to know for themselves. Good: apply that test to Jesus, who invited it, and to the resurrection.