Questions Of Faith

Buddhist and Christian Views On Death and Faith

Faith helps Us to Be Strong

Recently my mother died and I spent many weeks by her side in a hospice before she passed away. My day to day life became focused on death and dying and I was forced to broach my own mortality once again. The Buddhist teachings on death and impermanence were very valuable to me and helped me through this difficult time, although I am still sceptical about reincarnation I find it a more likely outcome than heaven, but at the end of my mother's life it was faith that kept her strong and fearless in the face of death. She really belived that heaven was waiting for her.

Jesus And The Buddha

All that are born will die, we all know that but the Buddha taught us to meditate on this fact. How will it feel at the end when we have to say goodbye to everything we know, own and love? How will it feel to let go of our bodies and our loved ones? My mother wasn't a Buddhist, in fact she was a devout Christian and we had many discussions about our spiritual beliefs. She had such a strong faith in what she believed that she had no fear at all towards the end of her life, it was amazing to see and an inspiration to us all, her faith clearly helped her. Many of her Christian friends came to the hospice and the subject of Jesus was a frequent topic. I spent hours reading the Bible to my mother and enjoyed the wisdom therein very much. I believe a man named Jesus existed and was a very wise and wonderful human being who gave some wonderful teachings that are actually very similar to many of the Buddhist teachings. It is interesting to note that Jesus and the Buddha existed around the same time in history; I propose that it could have been the same man but with different interpretations resulting from his words.

Christian Nuns In A Buddhist Temple

The Venerable Ajahn Cha
1918-1992

Ajahn Cha is an exponent of the Thai Forest Tradition that has millions of followers world wide. He left the worldly life and whent off into the forest to start his spiritual practice. As is often the case with spiritual teachers in the east, a monastery grew up around him and many monks and nuns came to live there with him. It transpired that some of the nuns in the monastery converted to Christianity and set about trying to convert the other inhabitants. Word got back to Ajahn Cha and people began to complain about this spiritual intrusion. Ajahn Cha's reaction was to say that the nuns might be right and let them remain in the monastery. Not that he himself was considering Christianity as a faith. I really respect that stand point and have surmised that actually it is having faith in what you believe that is the most important thing, and to me being a Buddhist means I will let all others follow their own faith without trying to convert, judge or change them.

A Question of Faith

The question of the after life will always be a mystery although many will say that they know the truth. The teachings of the Buddha come from many different schools as do the Christian teachings. One Buddhist will say of another “ they have the eight fold path that's silly, we have the four miracles”. One Christian will say of another “ we don't say the lords prayer because it was only meant for the disciples, but they do in their church”...add infinitum the list goes on and on.

"Although the Christians I met recently are lovely people and cared for my family very much, I found their certainty and self righteousness offensive at times and many of them just brushed my beliefs aside without any real understanding of what I was trying to say". Me. 

Accepting Others

As Christianity certainly helped my mum, Buddhism has surely helped me in my life. I follow the eight fold path and remain mindful of the four noble truths constantly. It has helped me to become a more genuine and compassionate person. The practice of meditation has enabled me to overcome anxiety and depression and I have become friends with a wider section of the community. There is a genuineness and compassionate kindness that emanates from the monks that I have befriended and Buddhism is the path I would like to follow. Faith is the important factor and it is faith that will help us to carry on. Faith is such a crucial factor in all of our lives as human beings because we are the only species with the ability to question our existence. The fundamental floor is when we refuse to accept the others point of view and try to change them. “Peace can not be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding”. Albert Einstein. Follow these links for more on the similarities between Buddhism and Christianity.  

Buddhism and Christianity: Webster's Quotations, Facts and Phrases
Serene Compassion: A Christian Appreciation of Buddhist Holiness