Welcome to Gaia! ::

I just want to say that I am no longer Buddhist, I haven't been since October. I am a fully devoted Christian now ^^

FYI hear are some Biblical quotes as examples of the different "flavors" of teachings found in the main gospels:

(Matthew 5:21-22) Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

(Matthew 10:34-39) Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

(Matthew 21:19-22) And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be though removed, and be thou cast into the sea, it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. [this is told in Luke to the same effect but in different chronological order]


(Mark 7:17-23) And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable [in response to Matthew 7:5 "Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?"]. And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him; Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats? And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts...[etc.], All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

(Mark 7:25-29) For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet: The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

(Mark 10:17-23) And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments...[recitation of Commandments]...And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

(Mark 16:15-18 ) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.


(Luke 10:8-12) And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.

(Luke 12:49-53) I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? But I have baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division; For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against the daughter in law, and the daughter in law against the mother in law.

(Luke 14:25-27) And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

(Luke 23:27-31) And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?


(John 3:14-21) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Ironically, Jesus would hide when sufficiently reproved...(John 8:57-59, similarly repeated in John 10:34-39 and lead to practical exile from John 11:54 on) Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him; but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

(John 13:34-35) A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

(John 14:9-14) As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

Buddhism is compatible with any religion that does not directly teach the opposite of what the Buddha taught, and sometimes even then--Buddhism is a PHILOSOPHY. Buddha was not a diety or prophet, but just really tuned-in. Christianity allows for many people who are favored by their God to recieve wisdom or guidance from him, so the idea that Buddha was enlightened by God is not a problem at all.

i guess. if you believe in god and believe in buddha principles..:/

I'll just add to Swordmaster's points...

The fundamental principles of Buddhism are largely incompatible with orthodox Judeo-Christianity and Islamic beliefs and world-view [see my first post]. You can be a practicing Christian Buddhist to the point that you are ignorant of Christian and/or Buddhist teachings and scriptures. For instance, belief in an immortal soul and/or the Resurrection are fundamental to Christianity, but Buddhist teachings are directly contrary to both points (e.g. the doctrine of No Soul or No Self and the impermanent, aggregate nature of personality and mind). Christian salvation is through the holy grace of Christ alone, whereas Buddhist enlightenment is attained through careful self-discovery that can't be "delivered" by an external force (though external forces may be able to aid through various measures)...I could make a series of threads on the differences between Buddhism and Christianity, let alone any other religion!

Buddhism is a religion whose adherents hold a variety of "philosophies" that are held to be in accord with the core teachings (e.g. Mind-Only School, Middle Way School, teachings on gradual vs. sudden Enlightenment, tantrism, etc). It was started as a religion from the get-go by the historical Buddha (Gautama or Shakyamuni), who established a discipleship of sorts as well as monastic communities that he led and taught directly. The Buddha saw himself as a religious figure more than a philosopher, as he framed his teachings in the context of escaping suffering and rebirth and began his "career" as an ascetic hermit along the lines of contemporary Hindu and Jain practices.

The Buddha did not claim to be a prophet or god because his realization was that he was just like every other sentient being (not only humans), just that he had brought his mind "back to the source" and became "awakened" to true reality. He established his Dharma (teachings; hence Buddhism) during the remainder of his life so that countless others could become enlightened just like himself; the Sangha (religious community) was established to promote and maintain the Dharma in our world after Gautama's passing.

How is Buddhism less of a religion and more of a lifestyle or philosophy? All religions are not centered around the worship of god(s) and Buddhism presents not only a code of conduct but a detailed description of how the world works and how one can attain transcendence from cyclic existence ("salvation"; moksha). Additionally, as I've already stated, Buddhism began as an organized religion and has been actively maintained as such since the beginning.

The core beliefs that distinguish Buddhism from Christianity are diametrically opposed; the whole world view is almost completely different!
Buddhists hold that there is NO Creator, NO beginning of time to have been begun, NO immortal souls, NO immortal gods (devas are considered long-lived lifeforms needing Enlightenment), NO everlasting paradise* (or permanent hell), NO Final Judgment or other end of time, and NO one external Savior.

*The closest is the awakened original state of Nirvana, which lacks location.

You can be a Christian and share some of the principals and beliefs of Buddhism, but that wouldn't make you a Buddhist, and it'd would likely make you one black sheep Christian (from a traditional standpoint).

my friends christian buddhist

Mazuac, I think I understand what you're getting at. Buddhism is not a religion in the same manner as most (or all) Western religions, to say the least. Buddhism places its focus on mindset, habits, the underlying mental and spiritual structures that we have erected to cope with samsara. At heart, there are precious few rules other than "Understand, obey, and preach the pure Dharma."

Have you ever heard of the term "macaroni art", or phronesis? They both refer to the notion that some actions are appropriate given the state of understanding that you currently have. Western religions dictate one code of laws/rules for all people; the right thing to do is exactly what Jesus would do in that situation. Buddhism attains much of its peaceful nature by understanding that the path to Nirvana is not a direct one, nor is it the same for all peoples at all times. Your actions accord with the Dharma based on your personal mental and spiritual understanding of the Dharma.

People often confuse this lack of absolute rules for lack of a religion, or lack of a distinct philosophy. It is not "just a lifestyle"; that is merely the beginning of the journey.

You do not achieve enlightenment merely by imitating the Buddha in every deed. Enlightenment is buried deep within your own Path, and only by listening to the Dharma and finding that Path will it arise.