Christians versus me as a Buddhist

Some times, I simply don’t have high regards for Christians.

I’m not sure what’s the exact whole depth of Christianity, but time and again, I get some disturbing comments from my fellow Christian friends with regard to other religions, and ppl who believes in other religions.

Someone told me before, besides Christianity, other religions are simply nonsense.  This somehow really annoys me.  For all the popular religions to survive til today, something has to be right about each and every religions.  It’s simply the approach that is different.  That’s what I believe.  For a Christian to make such remark, I think it’s just the case of classes, discrimination and all unfair.  I’m a Buddhist and I don’t think Christianity is nonsense, neither is Islam or Hinduism.

Perhaps I shall just mention a bit on my exposure on religions.  I’m a born Buddhist, and am still one today.  As a child, however, I’ve attended Sunday school.  Though my parents motivation to send me to Sunday school was not entirely right, but me being at such classes had exposed me to the teaching of Jesus Christ.  And as I grew older, my parents sent me to another Sunday school as well, Buddist version.  So at one period of time, I was going to the church in the morning, and then to the temple in the afternoon on Sundays. (Yeah yeah! Criticized me of what I have becomed right now after all those religious school…).  And then, I began reading Hinduism and Buddhism to further understand these two religions, and my friend will invite me to their churches for all sorts of programmes and events.  And for my secondary school time, I went to one with about 80-90% Malay occupancy.  Want it or not, having so many Malays, Islamic teaching and exposure were there…  My experience include things like, having syukur prayers before and after major examination in halls, sitting through Islamic ceramah, having the school surau blasting the 5-time-a-day prayers, having the principal telling me about Adam and Hawa, and I’ve learnt Jawi, and I can go on and on.  I wouldn’t say I have the full depth of all the religions, but I believe I’ve been exposed to them.

Now back to the the topic.

I’ve another friend who told me about ‘the good news’ through Christianity point-of-view.  My respond was to provide my opinion on that, as well as what I understand from a Buddhist point of view.  He stopped me and told me he doesn’t want to start some kind of debates on religion.  WTF.  it wasn’t me who started it, okay?!?

I believe that, some or most people confused what’s between Buddhism and what’s Chinese customs.  Ching Ming celebration and all kinds of praying and asking for 4D numbers and all the Chinese New Year practices and others, they are Chinese customs.  Vesak day and meditation and some other practices, that’s Buddhism.  (Okay, my question is, does Christianity prohibits Chinese customs?)  Some times, I wonder, if Christians have tried understanding Buddhism before making remarks.  I’ve read the Bible, and of course, I have questions in my mind, especially when I compared to what I understand about Buddhism (THIS, i shall not mention here…)

So here’s what I offer as to what I understand about Buddhism.  I believe the popular ‘worshipped’ Buddha is a teacher.  He’s not a God.  He’s just a teacher, who offers certain teaching about life.  And that’s what makes him so-called ‘divine’.  It’s his teaching which is equivalent to Buddhism.  I believe that they are sets of ‘rules’ from Buddhism, which are meant to do good to mankind.  I believe all those Buddha statues, they are not what I pray to, they are not what I worship.  They serves to remind me of the Buddha’s teaching.  And all those different poses, they are meant to remind me of all the different teaching in Buddhism.  (Again, I wonder if Christians see it that way…)

I’ve an aunt who’s a Buddhist, and her husband is a Christian.  Their kids had grown up with a bent minds, thinking that one day, they will be with only their dad in heaven, whereas their mom will be bound for hell, for sure, for certain.  Now, let me remind you…  Chinese believes that they will go to hell for sure, but that is actually a Chinese belief.  A Buddhist believes that life is in a cycle, where you’ll get reincarnated.  The only way to get out of that cycle is to do good deeds, until you can free yourself from this cycle.  Christians, however, believe that by believing in Jesus (the person or the God), you’ve found your ticket to heaven.  A teacher once posted a puzzling question to the class: If a full-time robber, on his dying bed, say this: I believe in you Jesus, will he go to heaven?  I’m not saying that that’s what Christianity is, but I can safely say that most Christians had conveyed such message to me.

So what now?

I think my Christian friends need to find out more about Buddhism before making all kinds of remarks.  My Islam friends don’t even make all the kinds of remarks I get from my Christian friends you know, and the fact that they got branded at one point of time as a violent religion, it makes me sick… I’ve once read somewhere, that a Christian priest actually remarked something along the line that, if Christian die, and at Judgement Day, realized that the one he’s facing is in fact the Buddha, what then? (Anyone can help me find the exact quote? PLEASSSEEEEEEE…..)

DYK: I wear this string-thingy bracelet which I got during Vesak Day from a Buddhis monk.  Some ppl think that that’s meant to protect from evil, but for me, that ‘bracelet’ is meant to remind me of my actions, on what I need to do good…