Realizing Liberation

Realizing Liberation

Buddhism and Christianity share a common goal: realizing liberation. Yet their paths to liberation are radically different, as are the envisioned ultimate destinations. The Sanskrit word for liberation is moksha, which also means "enlightenment" or "nirvana." Whatever nirvana is, it is not the heaven of Christians. For all of the Western elements present in Buddhism, its Eastern tilt prevails.

Each path, both Buddhist and Christian, is littered with hazards. Dramatic differences in the nature of these hazards reveal sharp contrasts in the true nature of each religion. Buddhism appeals to intelligent, highly educated, free-thinking, very disciplined, self-directed people. It offers down-to-earth methodologies for self-improvement: right living and meditation. However, the possibility of liberation is limited to the elite few who have the mental discipline and the intense commitment to consistently meditate for prolonged periods for many years, and possibly many lifetimes.

Liberation through Buddhism is restricted to those who have maintained a very high standard of ethical conduct throughout their life. Otherwise, the weight of bad karma from past misdeeds is too debilitating to allow a sincere seeker to progress toward enlightenment. Since Buddhists do not have access to the mercy and forgiveness of God to clear them of the weight of past bad karma, they must struggle against its daunting consequences.

The Buddhist path is so demanding and unnatural to westerners that it will quickly demoralize them—if they seriously try to follow it. Nirvana is as unreachable spiritually as the top of Mt. Everest. As noted in the Invitation to the Website Visitor, the Dalai Lama had this to say: "In the West, I do not think it advisable to follow Buddhism. Changing religions is not like changing professions. Excitement lessens over the years, and soon you are not excited, and then where are you? Homeless inside yourself."¹

Westerners are initially attracted to the parts of Buddhism that may have originated from the West. But then they become estranged from it as they encounter and try to adapt to its truly Eastern elements, such as homelessness and utter solitude. These were extolled by Buddha:

While Buddhism is largely restricted to highly intelligent, disciplined people, Christianity, and its heaven, are wide open to people of virtually every level of intelligence and ability to exert self-discipline. If anything, pride, exceptional intelligence, good self-discipline, and worldly success are obstacles to becoming a Christian, though they are not insurmountable. Each of these admirable qualities can be serious obstacles to understanding that one is in need of a savior, of accepting the notion of grace through faith alone, and of following the leading and direction of the Holy Spirit. While the Buddhist path is slow and arduous, conversion to Christianity and entering a state of salvation can be rapid, causing a radical upgrade in moral behavior almost overnight.

The Christian author and apologist C. S. Lewis³ observed that the spiritual life of a Christian is like the opportunities and risks available to an egg. If an egg never advances beyond just being an egg, it will rot and decay. It is designed to hatch, become a bird, and take flight. A major problem with Christianity is that too many of its followers:

never really break out of their shell, or
if they do, they don't spread their wings, or
if they do, they try to fly by relying on their own power and direction.

The third option is much like a bird leaping from a tree branch without spreading its wings. It will plummet even though it wants to fly. The opportunity to receive the uplifting wind of the Holy Spirit is always available, but it requires not only an initial leap of faith but also the ongoing, moment-by-moment surrender of one's life to God. Without that surrender, the believer's behavior can easily become a blight on the reputation of Christianity.

Practicing Buddhism is much like swimming,⁴ while attempting to be a Christian is like flying. If a way can be found to fly, it is a more efficient way of getting around. Yet an air crash draws much more attention than a drowning. Like meditation, swimming is incredibly repetitive and inward focused. Like seeking the direction in which the spirit of God is leading you as a Christian, the flying bird can easily be blown this way or that by puffs of wind.

Footnotes

¹Patrick French, Tibet, Tibet (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2003), 27.
²Dhammapada 87.
³"Coming In Out of the Wind," July 8 reading, in C. S. Lewis, A Year with C. S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works, edited by Patricia S. Klein (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003), 208.
⁴Buddha used this analogy when describing his path, referring to it as "entering the stream." Dhammapada 178, in Harischandra Kaviratna, trans., Dhammapada, Wisdom of the Buddha, 1980, Theosophical University Press Online, TheoSociety.org, retrieved April 15, 2011.

Dhammapada Reference

Friedrich Max Muller, trans., The Dhammapada: A Collection of Verses, Being One of the Canonical Works of the Buddhists, in vol. 10, Part 1, The Sacred Books of the East, translated by Various Oriental Scholars, edited by F. Max Muller, available at Dhammapada (Muller), Wikisource. This work is cited as "Dhammapada" hereafter. To save space, line breaks in quotations from the Dhammapada have not been retained.