Buddhist and Christian Comparison

Buddhist Basic Beleifs

• Buddhists believe in the eightfold path, which guides them to enlightenment
• Buddhists believe enlightenment is their ultimate goal
• They also believe in the four noble truths, these are the four core beliefs the Buddha discovered

Basic Christian Beliefs

• Christians are monotheistic, but believe that God is represented by the holy trinity, which manifests as the father, the son, and the holy spirit
• Christians believe you must repent for your sins, so you can go to heaven instead of hell.
• They also believe Jesus, sent by God, was crucified for our sins, so we are allowed to repent
• They follow the bible, most importantly, the ten commandments

Zen Parable Meaning

• As learned in the Biblical and Buddhist Parable lesson, Zen parables are used as a tool to to live a better life.
• One of the parables taught against lust (even when not directly touching a woman), while the other taught forgiveness, and learning to live a better life
• The end goal of Buddhists is to become enlightened, and these skills help to become enlightened.

Christian Parable Meaning

• These parables differ because they are used to entice the readers to follow God.
• The parable in the lesson mentioned how God views us all the same, and loves every single one of us, even when we stray to a different path.
• Christians want people to learn the message of God, which is why missionaries are so common.

Parable structure comparison

• Zen parables were shorter, and used much more direct language. This could be directly from the fact, Buddhists strive to live a more simple and basic life, to eliminate suffering
• The Christian parable was a bit more difficult to understand. The bible was written in a time period, where only scholars could read and write, which would explain the thoroughness and more obscure words.