Jesus vs Buddha
Throughout the history of mankind, there have been attempts to unravel the mysteries of the unknown, the Supreme Being, the creator of the world. This is precisely we have so many religions as an attempt to teach us the way to reach the almighty God. Christianity and Buddhism are two of those. Though there are more Christians than Buddhists in the world, Buddhism is an older religion or faith than Christianity. On the looks of it, there seems to be no connection between Jesus and Buddha, the two enlightened ones. However, there are both similarities, as well as differences between Jesus and Buddha and this article attempts to highlight the differences.
Jesus
Jesus is believed to be the savior, the messiah of mankind by millions of Christians, the followers of Christianity. He was the son of God himself, sent by God to liberate the mankind by sacrificing his own life at the altar. He was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born to Virgin Mary in Bethlehem. His father on this planet was Joseph, a carpenter, and Jesus worked as a laborer for 30 years before starting on his mission and setting up the church. His life and works and all his sayings are contained in Bible, the holy book of the Christians. He ascended to heaven after crucifixion, briefly returning to give sermons, and followers of Christianity believe that there will be a second coming of Jesus to liberate the mankind once again.
Buddha
Buddha is the name or the title given to Siddhartha Gautama, a Hindu Prince who achieved enlightenment and founded the order or religion called Buddhism. It is believed that Siddhartha saw pain and suffering in life at an early age to become disenchanted and disillusioned with this world. Astrologers predicted that the prince one day either would become a great king or a great holy man. To shield him from religious knowledge and also from human suffering, his father gave him all the wealth and grandeur that money could bring. He was married off to princess Yashodhara at an early age and also gave birth to his son Rahul. Siddhartha, despite all the facilities at his disposal, soon realized that material wealth was not the ultimate goal of his life. He was depressed to see disease and old age and decided to lead the life of an ascetic. However, he chose the Middle Path when he found that self mortification or depriving the body of food did not bring enlightenment.
Jesus vs Buddha
• Jesus was born in a poor family, whereas Buddha was born as a prince in a royal family.
• Jesus was born when Virgin Mary conceived through Holy Spirit, one of the three Holy Trinities. He is believed to be the son of God Himself whereas Buddha remains a spiritual leader at best who attained enlightenment or Nirvana through meditation or the Middle path.
• Buddha died a peaceful death at a ripe old age of 80, whereas Jesus had to die a violent early death through crucifixion.
• Jesus preached Christianity that has at its core the belief that God is the creator. On the other hand, Buddha rejected the notion of God the creator.
• Jesus is believed to be the son of God, whereas Buddha is not seen as a God.
• Crucifixion remains the biggest difference between Jesus and Buddha and the importance of Cross for the Christians as a symbol of atonement cannot be explained through nonviolence of Buddhism.