In the fifth century B.C., a young Hindu prince from Nepal was shocked by the incredible amount of suffering in the world. Named Siddhartha Gautama, this man could not understand why there would be suffering if God was a reality. On his 29th birthday, Gautama left his wife and infant son to search for truth and meaning. For six years he searched, dabbling in yoga and asceticism. At the point of starvation, he vowed to sit under a tree in meditation until he found the truth. There Gautama stayed until, days later, he became ‘enlightened.’ His name was changed to ‘Buddha’ meaning the ‘enlightened one.’ And thus Buddhism was founded.
Today it is the fourth largest religion in the world, with approximately 600 million followers. Satan has established a powerful stronghold, one that has hindered the spread of the Gospel for years. There are 238 people groups that are Buddhist majority. Most of these have never heard the Gospel. Yet even though these people clearly need to be released from this dark religion, less that 1% of missions work is directed at the Buddhist people. There is only one missionary for every 175,000 Buddhists.
According to the teachings of Buddha, the ultimate goal is to be rid of suffering. The religion of Buddhism has developed what is called the ‘Four Noble Truths’ to find peace, happiness, and joy. They are: 1) Life is full of suffering; 2) Suffering is caused by craving; 3) Suffering will cease only when craving ceases; and 4) Suffering can be eliminated by following the Noble Eightfold Plan. The Noble Eightfold Plan is really just telling people to live their lives in a morally acceptable way. The eight principles are: Right Understanding; Right Thought; Right Speech; Right Action; Right Livelihood, Right Effort; Right Mindfulness; and Right Concentration. Basically, we are to live peaceful lives, do good, and spend time in meditation.
Buddhism is simply just one more religion that tries to earn salvation through good deeds. While on the surface this seems like a logical idea, doing good does not remove sins; only Christ can do that. Their goal is to live right, and to finally come to perfect peace, without suffering or desire. Until then, they believe, we are caught in an endless cycle of reincarnation and suffering. When the cycle is finally broken, life will be ended, and the Buddhist will enter a state of non-existence. This is Heaven for the Buddhist, where the mind is free from all desire and suffering.
Life for the Buddhist can be very depressing. Their laws are rigid, and the weight of trying to live a perfect life is hard to bear. The drive to earn more karma (good deeds) is one without mercy, with no escape except through the obtaining of self-perfection. It is an unspeakable tragedy that 600 million people are held in the tight grip of legalism, with little hope of perfection. Will they never hear that the answer is found only in Jesus? That all their good karma could not and never will be enough to earn their salvation? I can almost imagine that Paul wrote Romans 10:15-16 for us to wake up to the desperate needs of those trapped in false religions around the world: “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’”
Today, take the time to pray for the Buddhist people, that their chains will be broken, and God’s Kingdom of Light will shine in their lives. We cannot sit idle while people slip into eternity without even hearing the Gospel.
Reagan Schrock, GOA blog manager
Much of the information in this post was obtained from the books, Peoples of the Buddhist World by Paul Hattaway, and World Religions in a Nut Shell by Ray Comfort. Joshua Project has also provide much material (www.joshuaproject.net).
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