The Convergent Theology of Buddhism and Christianity

I use the word “convergent” since the similarity in the faiths is due to the “unrelated” and “separate” but “similar” or “like-kind” messages given by God to the 5th century BC people of India through Siddartha Gautama and 1st century AD Jews/Gentiles of the Middle East through Jesus (5 BC-33 AD) and the fact Isaiah 1:65 can be applicable to both nations and peoples:

I revealed [M]yself to those who did not ask for [M]e; I was found by those who did not seek [M]e. To a nation that did not call on [M]y name…

Even though Jesus may have been exposed to elements of Buddhism during the “missing years” that comprised his childhood and adolescence since most trade routes “between India and the West… came through Jerusalem… via the Mediterranean Sea”[2], no historical evidence exists to suggest such exposure was significant or profound – otherwise scripture would have indicated he was raised as a Buddhist instead of a Jew. Likewise, based on historical evidence, it is also unlikely Jesus and his family ever traveled outside the Middle East, no less to India or Tibet since Jesus was the son of a carpenter, Joseph of Nazareth based on Matthew 13:55 and most carpenters simply put, were “not among the wealthy.”[3] Their lack of means is further corroborated to preclude such a trip when the family’s year-long exile in Egypt is considered – “So [Joseph] got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where [they] stayed until the death of Herod.” [Matthew 2:14-15] During this period, the family likely had no income, living off of and exhausting the gifts of the magi (gold, frankincense and myrrh per Matthew 2:11) to attain food, shelter, clothing and the other necessities of life since by the time they had returned to Judea, they could not afford the traditional lamb and bird for the purification ceremony – offering “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” [Luke 2:24] instead.

Nevertheless, both Jesus and Siddartha Gautama preached radical messages of love since “God is love” [1 John 4:8, 16], they were endowed with insights by the same Creator (“Father”) and anything from the God, who is love could be nothing less. Consequently, both addressed socio-economic, political and spiritual issues of society based on simplicity, non-violence, compassion and love.
___________________________________________________________________

Sample Sayings:

Jesus: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” [Luke 6:31]
Siddartha Gautama: “Consider others as yourself” [Dhammapada 10.1]

Jesus: “If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also.” [Luke 6:29]
Siddartha Gautama: “If anyone should give you a blow… you should abandon any desires [to hurt them] and utter no evil words.” [Majihima Nikaya 21.6]

Jesus: “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” [Matthew 25:45]
Siddartha Gautama: “If you do not tend one another, then who is there to tend you? Whoever would tend me, he should tend the sick.” [Vinaya Mahavagga 8.26.3]

Jesus: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you…” [Luke 6:27-28]
Siddartha Gautama: “Let us live… not hating those who hate us. Let us therefore overcome anger by kindness, evil by good…” [Dhammapada 1.5 & 17.3]

Jesus: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one had greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.” [John 15:12-13]
Siddartha Gautama: “Just as a mother would protect her only child at the risk of her own life, even so, cultivate a boundless heart toward all beings. Let your thoughts of boundless love pervade the whole world.” [Sutta Nipata 149-150]
___________________________________________________________________

Another similarity that reflects the convergent thoughts of Christianity and Buddhism is messianic scripture that reflects the life of Jesus when three fragments of Buddhist psalms are pieced together:

54He who is of [God]… 71[the] Lord that was made flesh… 54ordain[ed] that His saving grace should be made manifest. 126…[T]hrough [Him] we attain… the final deliverance…[4]

Consequently Buddhism and Christianity are not completely different nor incompatible. Rather they complement and support each other, which is best illustrated by the Luminous religion, an ancient Chinese faith that had adopted elements of Buddhism and Christianity in a coherent and cohesive manner. The Luminous religion that in words of Martin Palmer, author of The Jesus Sutras (Ballantine Wellspring, New York, 2001) – “presented [a] peaceful, insightful interaction between Eastern and Western cultures…” – was practiced in China from about AD 635-1399. Although the Luminous religion was stamped out by oppression and persecution in mid-to-late 14th century China, some of its sutras still exist providing corroborative, insightful and inspirational texts. Below are a few examples:[5]

The True Lord of the Primordial Void, in absolute stillness and constant naturalness, crafted and nourished all things. He raised the earth and established the sky… The sun rises; darkness is banished… Every living thing comes from… [God]… [Who has] no beginning and no end… Everything visible and invisible is [created by God]…

[God]… appointed [humanity] as the guardians of all creation.

The Lord of Heaven sent the Pure Wind (Holy Spirit) to a girl named Mo Yen (Mary). It entered her womb and at the moment she conceived…Mo Yen became pregnant and gave birth to a son named Ye Su (Jesus)…

…When Ye Su Messiah was born, the world saw clear signs in heaven and earth. A new star that could be seen everywhere appeared in heaven above. The star was as big as a cart wheel and shone brightly…

[The Messiah], 'the raft of salvation and compassion,' suffered terrible woes so that all should be freed from karma. All of us are saved by his works… [H]e will not leave you without qi (life)… So have no fear, not even of death; you will live as the Messiah lives… raised after death… [There] will be such joy and happiness…

Some women followers… came to where the tomb was. A number of Jews also came at dawn on the third day to the same place… The stone [had] rolled away and the beautiful cloth that hung there was ripped in two from top to bottom… It shone with a bright light and the Messiah had gone… By the tomb stood a[n] [angel]… dressed in white, as white as snow. The [angel] told them to go and tell the [people] what they had seen… [They] spoke of… what they had seen… that the Messiah had risen from the dead.

[T]he Heavenly Honored One sends the [Pure Wind] to all places to save everyone…

Practice… universal loving kindness that is directed toward everyone… Act toward others as you would have them act toward you, and do for others what you would have them do for you…

Look for the best in others and correct what is worst in yourself…

Whatever you seek, you will obtain from [God]. Kno[ck] on the door and it will be opened for you… Don't hesitate when you pray. Ask first for forgiveness for your sins and at the same time forgive those who have sinned against you.

In fact, when viewing the Luminous religion that combined elements of Buddhism and Christianity, one could even say it represented the fulfillment of Siddartha Gautama’s prophesy that can be considered as the Buddhist equivalent of Isaiah 53:

In due time [One] will arise in the world, a Holy One, a supremely enlightened One, endowed with wisdom in conduct, auspicious knowing the universe, an incomparable leader… a Master of angels and mortals. He will reveal… [and] preach… eternal truths… wholly perfect and pure… He will be known as "Maitreya," which means "He Whose Name is ‘kindness.’"[6]

This is demonstrated by the love Jesus showed during his ministry based on another sutra of the Luminous religion:

After the Messiah had gathered 12 disciples, he concerned himself with the suffering of others… [H]e sought out people with bad karma and directed them to turn around… Those who had died were made to live. The blind were made to see. The deformed were healed and the sick were cured… He showed love to all around him…[7]

At the same time, one can also say the Luminous religion influenced by Buddhist thought and Jesus’ great love was ahead of its time based on a 7th century AD sutra that unequivocally and without exception viewed all people as equal – “[H]ave neither male nor female slaves, see all people as equal…” The beginnings of ending slavery did not occur until 1315 when King Louis X (1289-1316) abolished it in France. Yet, despite gains from the “Age of Enlightenment” that focused on one’s inalienable rights endowed from God and numerous equal rights and suffrage movements across the world, we still live in an imperfect, unjust world where forms of discrimination persist.

Because of the convergent theology of Buddhism and Christianity, many Buddhists including Tenzin Gyatso (b. 1935), the 14th Dalai Lama and one of the most influential Buddhist leaders of this age view Jesus as a “Bodhisattva” or “one who dedicate[d] his life sacrificially to the service and betterment of others.”[8] Furthermore, it is not by coincidence the Dalai Lama does not elevate Siddartha Gautama above Jesus when discussing the two and holds Jesus in high esteem. Consequently, with the hope we can all one day “look for the best in others” and direct “universal loving kindness” toward each other as the Luminous religion’s sutras exhort since in reality we are the creation of the same, one loving God, I end this article with a prayer also from the Luminous religion:

…Compassionate Joyous Lamb, [l]oving all who suffer, [f]earless as [Y]ou strive for us, [f]ree us of the karma of our lives, [b]ring us back to our original nature [d]elivered from all danger.