What is Buddhism, and what do Buddhists believe?
Buddhism is a major world religion that continues to influence spiritual and philosophical thought across cultures. It centers on the pursuit of spiritual enlightenment, or nirvana, a state understood as freedom from suffering and the cycle of rebirth. The religion traces its origins to Siddhartha Gautama, a prince born around 600 B.C. in India. After witnessing human suffering for the first time—sickness, aging, and death—he renounced his privileged life in search of understanding. Through disciplined meditation beneath a fig tree, he reached enlightenment and became known as the Buddha, the “enlightened one.” Buddhism developed from his teachings and eventually spread throughout Asia, forming several distinct traditions.
1. What are the core teachings of Buddhism?
Buddhism is built on several foundational doctrines that shape how Buddhists understand the world and the human condition. Central among these are the Four Noble Truths:
Life inherently involves suffering (dukkha).
Suffering is caused by desire and attachment.
Suffering can be eliminated by removing attachment.
The way to end suffering is the Eightfold Path.
The Eightfold Path includes:
right view
right intention
right speech
right action
right livelihood
right effort
right mindfulness
right concentration
Buddhism is commonly described as nondeistic, focusing on enlightenment rather than worship of a supreme Creator. However, many schools include supernatural beings or divine spirits. Some Buddhists treat these beings literally, while others interpret them symbolically.
2. How do Buddhists view the universe, life, and the human soul?
Buddhism teaches an eternal universe in which beings move through endless cycles of reincarnation (samsara). Key concepts include:
Karma: actions in this life shape future rebirths.
Samsara: the ongoing cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
Nirvana: the liberation from this cycle through enlightenment.
Parinirvana: complete enlightenment at death, ending rebirth altogether.
Buddhism does not affirm a permanent soul in the way many religions do. Instead, it teaches anatman—the “no-soul” doctrine—which views personal identity as a changing, impermanent collection of physical and mental components.
There are two major branches:
Mahayana Buddhism: enlightenment is open to all.
Theravada (Hinayana) Buddhism: enlightenment is limited to a disciplined few.
3. How did Buddhism arise, and how has it developed?
Buddhism originally emerged as a reform movement within Hinduism. Scholars note that it reacted strongly against certain social and religious conditions of its day, especially:
the caste system
ritualism without inward transformation
the authority of the Vedas
From this setting, Buddhism spread across India and into Central, East, and Southeast Asia, developing diverse schools with different emphases. Some traditions lean toward philosophical reflection; others embrace devotional practices or monastic discipline.
4. What are major critiques of Buddhism?
Buddhism has received criticism from philosophical, moral, and theological perspectives. Common critiques include:
Lack of objective grounding for truth: Buddhism does not claim divine revelation or a personal Creator, leaving no final basis for truth or justice.
No foundation for meaning or moral obligation: its worldview centers on escaping suffering rather than fulfilling a divinely given purpose.
An ultimately pessimistic outlook: its portrayal of existence as suffering can be viewed as denying the goodness of creation.
A goal that ends in the cessation of individuality: nirvana is often described as extinguishing desire, identity, and conscious continuity.
Weak moral grounding: Buddhist morality is based on karma and future consequences rather than love of God or a sense of duty to a Creator.
Additional critiques highlight Buddhism’s disconnect from family and societal life in some traditions. Some strands discourage marriage, family bonds, and manual labor—practices that stand at odds with the Bible’s positive view of family, work, and community.
5. How does Buddhism differ from Christianity?
Buddhism and Christianity differ at foundational levels involving the nature of God, the human person, salvation, and the meaning of the world. Distinct differences include:
View of God
Buddhism: generally nondeistic or atheistic; Northern Buddhism commonly denies a personal Creator.
Christianity: affirms the eternal, personal God who made all things.
Human condition
Buddhism: suffering is caused by desire.
Christianity: suffering is rooted in sin and the fall.
Goal of life
Buddhism: escape from rebirth through enlightenment.
Christianity: reconciliation with God and resurrection into new creation.
Morality
Buddhism: shaped by prudential karma.
Christianity: shaped by love for God and neighbor, grounded in God’s revealed will.
These fundamental differences place the two religions on entirely different paths in worldview, ethics, and their understanding of human destiny.
Conclusion
Buddhism is a far-reaching and influential religion rooted in the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. Its doctrines of suffering, attachment, and enlightenment have shaped millions of followers across centuries. Buddhists seek liberation from the cycle of rebirth through meditation, moral discipline, and the pursuit of detachment. While Buddhism offers philosophical depth, it lacks a personal Creator, divine revelation, and a basis for objective moral truth. Christianity, by contrast, proclaims a God who creates, reveals, redeems, and restores through Christ. These differences make the two worldviews fundamentally distinct in their understanding of life, suffering, morality, and the ultimate hope for humanity.
Bible Verses about Other Religions
Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before me.”
Deuteronomy 4:39, “Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.”
Joshua 24:14, “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt.”
Psalm 96:5, “For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.”
Isaiah 44:6, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.’”
Jeremiah 10:10, “But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King.”
Matthew 4:10, “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
1 Corinthians 8:5–6, “For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth… yet for us there is one God, the Father.”
1 John 5:21, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”
