You Will Have No Other God

I guess this will be part 2 in a series (which will most likely end here). It's not that I think I'm an amazing writer and want everyone to read my stuff and bestow praises upon me, but I happened to write a lot of personal stuff in my writing class, and part of the idea behind this blog is to let people who read it know a little more about me. Ummm.... so, yeah. The assignment was to write an exploratory essay: one in which you ask a pretty broad and perhaps unanswerable question. You attempt to answer it, and that answer leads you to another question, the answer of which leads to yet another question, and so on until there is a more legitimate answer to the original question. So here's mine:

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I sit in the basement of my church, eager to learn my Sunday School lesson. After practicing a new song we’ll sing next week, it’s time to study the 10 Commandments. “Oh, good, I’ve always wanted to know what they are,” I think. We hear God’s rules, perhaps in a euphemistic form, but for the most part they seem obvious: don’t kill, respect your parents, don’t steal, don’t have another god, and a few more. Well, I never really planned on killing anybody, I don’t steal, I love my parents, and, since I’m going to go to this church forever and ever, I don’t really need to worry about the having another god clause. So, I decide the 10 Commandments will pretty much take care of themselves.

Ten years pass and I, now even more Christian than I was during my Sunday School days, have become fascinated by Buddhism. I think, in some way, I already am a Buddhist: a strong believer in Karma, I feel our good deeds are rewarded and our injustices punished by a power higher than ourselves. I envy Buddhists’ ability to completely clear their minds through meditation, and am in awe of their simple yet noble lifestyles. I think I’d like to learn more about Buddhist beliefs and perhaps adopt them as my own, when, out of Sunday School, the words “You must not have any other god but me” (New Living Translation, Exod. 20.3), flash in my brain.

I sit in my writing class, concerned. “Uh-oh,” I think. I don’t want to be a bad Christian, or, at least, I don’t want to be a hypocrite. In The Snow Leopard, Peter Matthiessen is dedicated to his Buddhist quest and does not mention any former beliefs he may have had. I cannot be so cavalier in my pursuit: I won’t abandon the beliefs I hold in exchange for new ones. Furthermore, would following Buddhism violate the very first commandment? I propose a question to my writing class: Is it possible to be both a Christian and a Buddhist? Some people begin to reply, as if the answer is obvious, but quickly check themselves when they realize the matter is much more complicated than they originally thought. I finally receive a response, but I’m not satisfied: this question cannot be answered after 30 seconds of thought in a classroom.

In order to determine if one can be both a Christian and a Buddhist, it’s important to define Christianity and Buddhism. So what makes someone Christian? Although Christians’ answers may differ slightly, there are a few things we all have in common. We believe God created the universe, Jesus is the Messiah, our savior, and He died to save us from our sins so that we could have eternal life. Typically, Jesus’ teachings provide the guidelines of our lives: we follow the 10 Commandments, aid the poor, and celebrate Christian holidays. We believe, through knowing or believing in Jesus, we will have a place with Him in Heaven.

It would be convenient, for me, if Buddhists had the same beliefs as Christians; however, they don’t. How are Buddhists defined? First, Buddhists seek to attain, over the course of many lives, Nirvana, or communion with the universe. Therefore, they believe in reincarnation and that by doing “good” in one life, they will have better lives when they are reborn. They do not worship a god, but they follow the teachings of the Buddha, Sakyamuni, who said:
Man’s existence is inseparable from sorrow; that the cause of suffering is craving; that peace is attained by extinguishing craving; that this liberation may be brought about by following the Eight-fold Path: right attention to one’s understanding, intentions, speech, and actions’ right livelihood, effort, mindfulness; right concentration, by which is meant the unification of the self through sitting yoga. (Mattheissen 17)


I sit on my futon, intrigued, reading this passage. Sakyamuni’s words look conspicuously similar to Jesus’ teachings. So how do Christianity and Buddhism compare? First, they both promote giving up desires in order to see (God or the Path) more clearly. They encourage doing good for others, though the reasons are slightly different – Christians do it because it is God’s Word, whereas Buddhists believe in Karma. The word “karma,” however, has transcended Buddhism to become part of the American vocabulary, suggesting Karma is a universal belief that helping others is “right.” I think a lot of humanity’s intrinsic beliefs are related to Buddhism. For example, when we do something wrong or evil, we’re generally not surprised when something bad happens to us in turn, and we attribute those consequences to the retribution of God or the universe.

How, then, do Christianity and Buddhism differ? Mainly, Christians don’t believe in reincarnation, and Buddhists don’t believe in God. Or is that true? As a follower of Jesus, I believe in the life everlasting, and that when I die, I will be resurrected into Heaven. Resurrection, of course, is a synonym of rebirth. Though this only happens once and our new life isn’t on Earth, in a new body, we still believe there is a new life after death. The difference may be significant, but the fundamental belief in reincarnation, in one form or another, is shared by both Christians and Buddhists. Buddhism’s lack of a God is also worth exploring, since Buddhists do believe in Karma and the universe’s power of balance. Though they don’t believe God created the Earth, they do believe in a power higher than themselves. It’s almost just semantics at this point: their higher power isn’t one supreme being, but it still governs their lives.

I sit in my chair, perplexed, contemplating what I just wrote. Are the only differences between Christianity and Buddhism theoretical, rather than practical? It seems obvious, since Buddhists don’t believe in Jesus, and this belief is what defines Christianity, that the answer is no. But this doesn’t mean the two religions are incompatible, especially when Buddhism is considered more than a way of life and less of a religion. The belief in Jesus is entirely unrelated to being an American, yet millions of people are Christians living an American lifestyle. Maybe people can be Christians, but at the same time hold Buddhist ideals, just as they hold American ideals. I decide to call an older (and Christian) friend of mine, Chris Farlekas, to talk about his relationship with Buddhism, knowing that he meditates every morning before he begins his day. He tells me of some of his experiences in the Korean War, when he met some Korean Buddhists and was impressed by their “core of peace.” He wondered how Buddhists can carry that peace with them through their lives while Americans “relegate it to a few hours on Sunday morning.” I ask him about meditation, and he says it “centers him,” so he doesn’t “go off in different directions.” While meditating, he prays to God, usually that he’ll be ready for anything that comes into his life, and that he’ll be able to “see” (on a deeper level than most people can or bother to attempt) the people he comes across. Suddenly, the cloud that was blocking my solution evaporates, and I thank Chris for the conversation and his insight.

I sit at my computer, glad I called Chris, and finally satisfied with my new answer. Chris has been able to adapt Buddhist qualities he admired into his own life, and, if I’ve ever met saint, he’s it. As for that First Commandment, I can rest easy, knowing that by holding Buddhist ideals and incorporating Buddha’s teachings into my life, I’m not actually worshipping another god. There are still differences between the two religions – I don’t think one could be both a Catholic Priest and a Buddhist Lama – but for my purposes, they’re not prohibitive. And so I’ve concluded that not only is it possible to be both Christian and Buddhist, but holding Buddhist beliefs actually can make people better Christians.

I sit in the library, eager to learn, a pile of Buddhist literature on the table in front of me.