A Study on the Words of the Buddha and the Christian Faith in the Resurrection
*This article is not intended to compare specific religions in terms of superiority or inferiority. It is an attempt to place two philosophies—the words of the Buddha and the Christian faith in the resurrection—side by side as a single line of thought. Please read this with respect for the freedom of religion, thought, and conscience.
1. Introduction
Recently, I read a manga about the words of the Buddha ("Manga de Dokuhas: Buddha no Kotoba (Sutta Nipata)"). It was written for a general audience and covered very basic content.
The content was straightforward and seemed to resonate with the sensibilities of modern people.
What struck me in particular was that Buddhism does not romanticize human life, but rather starts its philosophy from the concept of "suffering" (dukkha).
On the other hand, as an individual, I have also been thinking about the Christian faith, especially the teaching of the "resurrection faith."
Christianity is often understood as a "religion of the cross," but at its center lies the faith in the fact of the resurrection, that "death has been conquered."
When I thought about these two together, the following thought suddenly occurred to me.
Can the world of "suffering" that the Buddha gazed upon and the "resurrection" spoken of by the Christian faith be considered completely unrelated?
This article is a record of the reflections that began with that thought.
(The explanations of the terms have been slightly rephrased and reconstructed.)
2. Understanding the Buddha—The Starting Point of the Eight Sufferings
The teachings of the Buddha can be learned through the term "shiku-hakku" (the eight sufferings).
"Shiku" (The Four Sufferings)
Birth suffering: The suffering of being born
Aging suffering: The suffering of growing old
Sickness suffering: The suffering of becoming ill
Death suffering: The suffering of dying
These can all be considered events that cannot be separated from life. They are not misfortunes experienced only by certain people, but are considered conditions that no one can avoid as long as they are alive.
Furthermore, the Buddha's teachings add the following four to these sufferings.
The four sufferings added to the four basic sufferings (the eight sufferings)
Separation suffering: The suffering of parting from loved ones
Encounter suffering: The suffering of having to meet those one hates
|Suffering of not getting what one seeks: The suffering of not obtaining what one desires
|Suffering of the five aggregates: The suffering of things not going as one wishes
It can be considered that what is depicted here is not a 'special tragedy' that occurs in life. Rather, it can be said to be a reality that is unavoidable if one lives normally.
The sharpness of the Buddha's words is thought to lie in the insight that this world is not just a place where 'there is suffering sometimes,' but that the world itself is structured to contain suffering.
3. How the cause of suffering was perceived—The organization of the Four Noble Truths
The Buddha sought to organize this 'suffering' logically rather than through emotional argument. This is the teaching known as the |Four Noble Truths|.
|Dukkha-sacca: The truth that this world is full of suffering
|Samudaya-sacca: The truth that there is a cause for suffering
|Nirodha-sacca: The truth that if the cause is extinguished, suffering disappears
|Magga-sacca: The truth that there is a path to extinguish the cause
What is important here is the point that the Buddha did not 'curse the world' nor 'lament fate'.
Calmly facing suffering, analyzing its causes, and presenting a manageable path. This attitude seems rational and also modern.
4. The Eightfold Path—A concrete path to depart from suffering
What was presented as that 'path' is considered to be the '|Eightfold Path|'.
|Right View|(Way of seeing things) Seeing the world and life correctly without bias
|Right Intention|(Way of thinking) The attitude of how to think about and accept things
|Right Speech|(Use of words) Avoiding lies and harmful words, and speaking sincerely
|Right Action|(Conduct) Choosing correct actions that do not harm others
|Right Livelihood|(Way of life/Establishing a living) A healthy way of living that does not exploit others
|Right Effort|(Direction of effort) Striving in a good direction without being lazy
|Right Mindfulness|(keeping in mind)
To not forget important understandings or realizations and to keep them in one's consciousness|Right Concentration|(mental focus)
To calm the mind and fix it on one point
What I would like to focus on here is that the Eightfold Path can also be considered as more than just a moral code. In particular,
Right View (way of seeing things)
Right Intention (way of thinking)
Right Mindfulness (keeping in mind)
Right Concentration (mental focus)
are deeply involved in how we understand and perceive the world.
According to the Buddha's words,
"seeing rightly,"
"thinking rightly,"
"remembering rightly,"
and "fixing the mind rightly"
are considered extremely important for being released from suffering.
5. A thought that arises here—where does the root of suffering lie?
As I read on, I felt the following:
At the root of the various sufferings of life, might there be the very "human condition" itself, where the body decays, things do not go as planned, and we head toward death?
In other words, I have a sense that the greatest cause of suffering might also be due to the very fact that "this body and this world are imperfect and have a structure that leads to death."
Here, I was reminded of a certain teaching within Christian faith.
6. In Christian faith, the fact of the resurrection is spoken of
At the heart of Christianity is the teaching that Christ actually resurrected.
It is, in a sense, a bold faith that Christ rose from the dead, and that those who believe will also be resurrected.
This faith does not deny the suffering in this world.
It can be said that it acknowledges aging, illness, and death as realities.
However, at the same time, it thinks this way:
It does not end with death.
This seems to be a response from a completely different angle to the "structure of suffering" that the Buddha taught.
7. Right View, Right Intention, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, and "Remembering the Resurrection"
Here, a certain line of thought becomes possible. If,
Christ truly resurrected
and death is not the final end
were to be true, then holding that as a correct view (Right View and Right Intention), keeping it in mind (Right Mindfulness), and thereby stabilizing the mind (Right Concentration) would seem to align, to a certain extent, with the 'correctness' one seeks when thinking based on the words of the Buddha.
What is important here is not something like 'the words of the Buddha teach resurrection'.
If the root cause of suffering lies in a 'world dominated by death,' then the faith that this death has been overcome could potentially bring about a significant change within a person.
8. The Eightfold Path as Action—The Remaining Differences
On the other hand, regarding the remaining four parts of the Eightfold Path—Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, and Right Effort—it is also thought that the differences between Christian faith and the words of the Buddha remain clear.
In Buddhism, these could be said to be emphasized as practices. While ethics are also considered important in Christianity, it is possible to think that they are often positioned not as 'conditions for salvation,' but as results born from faith.
There seems to be no need to force these differences to be bridged. It seems that the very emergence of contemplation regarding the understanding of suffering and how to face death is what is important.
9. Conclusion
It can be considered that the words of the Buddha looked sincerely at the fact that this world is a place where suffering cannot be avoided.
The faith that Christ resurrected can be thought of as a response to the reality of 'death,' which is considered to lie at the root of that suffering, saying, 'Even so, it is not the end.'
Neither of them treats life lightly. This article is not intended to decide which one is correct.
However, regarding the questions of how to understand suffering and how to position death, I think it can be said that I wanted to consider the possibility that these two philosophies might intersect.
Even that alone seems to give this contemplation sufficient meaning.