International Bible Teaching Ministries
Buddhism
Question 1: Is there anything to suggest, besides cultural/linguistic/metaphoric phrasing, that the Buddha and Christ didn’t find the same truth within themselves?
ANSWER: Buddha did not teach the truth that Christ taught! For example: (1a) Although Buddha did not directly deny the existence of God, he did say that the question of His existence "tends not to edification;" (1b) Christ, without question, is God, as is His Father to whom He often prayed (John 1:1-14; John 17:1-26; (2a) Bhudda taught reincarnation to different forms of life and is said himself to have been reincarnated 530 different times, and one of those times as a frog; (2b) The New Testament of Jesus Christ teaches that there is one life and one death (Hebrews 9:27); and (3a) Buddhism is a striving for Nirvana, a cessation of existence as a separate entity; (3b) Christ laid out a goal of eternal life in Heaven for His faithful (John 3:16; John 14:1-6). The list of differences is endless, but these, as set forth, reject the notion of the "same truth!"
Question 2 :Is there anything that the Buddha has said which is not true when considered with a fully open mind? If so, what is it?
ANSWER: As above: Reincarnation is not true; the attainment of something called Nirvana when the soul allegedly merges with the great soul of the universe is not true; and the suggestion that the existence of God "tends not to edification" is untrue!
Question 3:How does one master his body, emotions, and unruly desires? Wouldn’t it be better to meditate and lose unwanted clutter before looking inward?
ANSWER: Simply by following the teachings of Christ, God the Son, as He has expressed through His Spirit in Colossians 3:1-14. Adherence to this teaching has resulted in a myriad of souls attaining eternal life in prospect without paying any service whatever to the false concepts of Bhuddism. That the Bible is truth (John 17:17) and stands wholly against the teachings of Bhuddism cannot be denied, even by the casual reader, for it is through Christ and Him alone that salvation to eternal life comes (Acts 4:12; John 8:24). If "all" eternal goals are to be attained in and through only Him there can be nothing of eternality to be gained in Buddha or Buddhism!