“Sporting the guise of a saffron-robed monk;
Holy refuge savior, I prostrate at your feet.
You eliminated all faults and their imprints from the root”
Like the Buddha, I spent the first 29 years of my life pursuing sensual pleasure and satisfaction through various means and methods, including Buddhism (Matthew 13:52). Shakyamuni may have been imprisoned in pleasure palaces constructed by his overprotective father, King Shuddhodana, but mine were self-made. The Buddha was moved by the overwhelming pain that pervades our world and remained sensitive to death, sickness, and mortality. He knew that sensuality and hedonism were vanity so he spent a further six years in self-denial and asceticism but these were also vain and painful. What Shakyamuni Buddha sought was some method to end all suffering.
First within himself and then in the lives of all other beings. What he landed on is called the middle way of balanced living between confident sensuality (Tantra Yana) and measured self-discipline (sutra Yana). To give you an approachable example: you see the Western inheritance of Tantra Yana when you attend a Yoga class. In Yoga, you develop attention towards and appreciation of the body and thereby access peace in the mind. Tantra Yana is the idea that by acting now as if you are fully enlightened you can move towards enlightenment. In contrast, Sutra Yana is the notion that through patient practice of the Dharma and development of appropriate self-discipline you can also move towards enlightenment. What does it mean to be enlightened?
In Eastern thought including Taoism and Buddhism there is a central idea: you already have within you love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control(Galatians 5:22-23). The Dharma is the set of practices, teachings, and methods (sutra Yana and Tantra Yana included) which allow one to realize these traits – and by extension to achieve enlightenment. Yet why, then, do so few practitioners become Buddhas? To answer this question let’s dive a bit further.
There are three mainstream Buddhist traditions to which we should look for recognized Buddhas. Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Within Theravada Buddhism only Shakyamuni Buddha is accepted as a known, proven Buddha who has lived and was seen in this world. Mahayana Buddhism is more interesting and teaches that there are infinite Buddhas across infinite realms and time. But none of them have existed on Earth save Shakyamuni. In Vajrayana Buddhism some consider Guru Rinpoche to be a Buddha but it’s not set in stone.
This lack of Buddha-creation is not meant to hinder the pursuit of Buddhism but to temper the ego of practitioners. Yet, if enlightenment is so necessary to end suffering of ourselves and our neighbors then why is it so hard? If living in a monastery or opening one’s mind during Yoga class are required to live in right-ness then what hope do we have? There is hope in Christ.
Before I compare the work of Christ to Buddhism (1 Corinthians 9:22-23) allow me to address a fundamental issue: Why have so many young-people in America fled from Christianity to Eastern teachings such as Buddhism? One part of the answer is that many young people are sick and tired of being told they are flawed and sinful. Being told they were born in sin eats away at their self-confidence and harms their self-perception. That was never Jesus’ intent.
Matthew 11:28-30
28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Jesus came not to condemn the world but that the world through Him might be saved. Yes, as Christians we must first acknowledge our sin, or as the Dharma teaches “that our minds are clouded”. But upon believing on Christ’s death and resurrection and accepting him as our Lord we gain everything promised by Buddhist enlightenment without having to ever set foot in a Yoga studio. We are given the Holy Spirit of promise and are able to display the Fruit of the Spirit.
I respect and look up to the efforts and heart of earnest Buddhist practitioners because they show the law of God written on their hearts.
Romans 2:14-15
14 Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. 15 They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.
My goal with this article is not to dismantle the Buddhist tradition but to show that all things in this world point to Christ. The next time that you set foot in a Yoga class consider whether you are there to exercise or there to pursue enlightenment. And if it is the latter, I promise you that the burden of bearing your cross is gentler than warrior two 🙂
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