The Buddha said, "I teach one thing and one only: dukkha and the end of dukkha."
The Apostle Paul said, "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2 KJV)."
Monday, December 6, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
How Dukkha Came Into the World - Bible's Version
The Bible tells us that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth Genesis 1:1 NASB)." "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day (Genesis 1:31 KJV)."
It was very good. Everything were component/conditioned things but there was no dukkha.
Now in the middle of the Garden of Eden was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Now Man already had the knowledge of good because everything that God created was very good (Genesis 1:31), but he did not have the knowledge of dukkha. Now there was a great saleman in the Garden, who would persuade Man to know dukkha.
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5 NASB)"
It is true that God has the knowledge of good and evil, but because He is unborn 不生, unoriginated 不有(非緣起), uncreated 非造作, unformed (un-fabricated) 無爲(之維度), He is not affected by it. But Man, being a conditioned / component being, cannot handle dukkha without being affected. But the serpent packaged dukkha as something nice to have. It is a wonderful to have the knowledge of good and evil. The emphasis is now on "knowledge", a special knowledge that God has, but selfishly withheld from Man. So Man wanted the "knowledge" and through him, now all men have this "knowledge". When imperfection comes, perfection will go away. It is not possible to be perfect and imperfect at the same time. Life is now dukkha.
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12 NASB)." "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23 KJV)." "For the wages of sin is death; (Romans 6:23 KJV)"
Now that sin had entered the world (i.e. all the conditioned / component / created things), everything is dukkha. Nothing is perfect.
But God, the unborn 不生, unoriginated 不有(非緣起), uncreated 非造作, unformed (un-fabricated) 無爲(之維度), is the only Being that is able to save because He is the Unchanging One. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8 NASB)."
Every serious religion or philosophy is aware that salvation can only come outside time and space, from eternity. Even Buddha knew this:
"There is an un-born, un-become, un-made, un-fabricated. If there were not that un-born, un-become, un-made, un-fabricated, there would not be the case that emancipation from the born, become, made, fabricated would be discerned. But precisely because there is an un-born, un-become, un-made, un-fabricated, emancipation from the born, become, made, fabricated is discerned. (Udana VIII.3; Nibbana Sutta; ‘Total Unbinding’).
"比丘們，不生、不有(非緣起)、非造作、無爲(之維度)實有。若無不生、不有、非造作、無爲(之維度)，則不能辨知從生、有、造作、有爲的解脫。
然而，正因爲不生、不有、非造作、無爲(之維度)實有，才得以辨知從生、有、造作、有爲的解脫。(自說經) 8:3"
"For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:15 NLT)." "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23 KJV)."
How does God saves us? "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NASB)" Jesus, "who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, (Galatians 1:4 NASB)" "Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8 NLT)" "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10 KJV)"
It was very good. Everything were component/conditioned things but there was no dukkha.
Now in the middle of the Garden of Eden was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Now Man already had the knowledge of good because everything that God created was very good (Genesis 1:31), but he did not have the knowledge of dukkha. Now there was a great saleman in the Garden, who would persuade Man to know dukkha.
"Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5 NASB)"
It is true that God has the knowledge of good and evil, but because He is unborn 不生, unoriginated 不有(非緣起), uncreated 非造作, unformed (un-fabricated) 無爲(之維度), He is not affected by it. But Man, being a conditioned / component being, cannot handle dukkha without being affected. But the serpent packaged dukkha as something nice to have. It is a wonderful to have the knowledge of good and evil. The emphasis is now on "knowledge", a special knowledge that God has, but selfishly withheld from Man. So Man wanted the "knowledge" and through him, now all men have this "knowledge". When imperfection comes, perfection will go away. It is not possible to be perfect and imperfect at the same time. Life is now dukkha.
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned (Romans 5:12 NASB)." "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23 KJV)." "For the wages of sin is death; (Romans 6:23 KJV)"
Now that sin had entered the world (i.e. all the conditioned / component / created things), everything is dukkha. Nothing is perfect.
But God, the unborn 不生, unoriginated 不有(非緣起), uncreated 非造作, unformed (un-fabricated) 無爲(之維度), is the only Being that is able to save because He is the Unchanging One. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8 NASB)."
Every serious religion or philosophy is aware that salvation can only come outside time and space, from eternity. Even Buddha knew this:
"There is an un-born, un-become, un-made, un-fabricated. If there were not that un-born, un-become, un-made, un-fabricated, there would not be the case that emancipation from the born, become, made, fabricated would be discerned. But precisely because there is an un-born, un-become, un-made, un-fabricated, emancipation from the born, become, made, fabricated is discerned. (Udana VIII.3; Nibbana Sutta; ‘Total Unbinding’).
"比丘們，不生、不有(非緣起)、非造作、無爲(之維度)實有。若無不生、不有、非造作、無爲(之維度)，則不能辨知從生、有、造作、有爲的解脫。
然而，正因爲不生、不有、非造作、無爲(之維度)實有，才得以辨知從生、有、造作、有爲的解脫。(自說經) 8:3"
"For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:15 NLT)." "but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23 KJV)."
How does God saves us? "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NASB)" Jesus, "who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, (Galatians 1:4 NASB)" "Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8 NLT)" "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10 KJV)"
Friday, December 3, 2010
Buddha's Four Noble Truth in the Light of the Bible
The primary teaching of Buddha is to address a problem that lies at the heart of human existence - suffering (dukkha 苦). "Life is dukkha." Buddha seeked to answer this question, "Why does dukkha exist?"
The answer Buddha gave was the Four Noble Truths (四諦). The First Noble Truth is the axiom (a self-evident truth that requires no proof) that Buddha expect you to accept without question - dukkha exists. The Second Noble Truth reveals the cause of dukkha - tanha (thirst/cravings/desire/集). The Third Noble Truth prescribes the cure - nirvana (cessation 滅). The Fourth Noble Truth tells you how to achieve nirvana - by following the eight-fold paths (道).
Dukkha is self-evident. The Apostle Paul wrote, "For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now (Romans 8:22 NASB)." But is the cause of dukkha tanha (craving)? Is tanha the cause of dukkha or did dukkha cause tanha to become bad? A desire (tanha) can be good. The Bible tells us that there are good things to be desired. "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things (Philippians 4:8 NASB)." But the problem is that we do not always do what is good. In fact, we like to do what is bad. "For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15 NASB) but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. (Romans 7:23 NASB)" So is it sin that cause dukkha and bad tanha? Let us now look at the alternative cause of dukkha as presented in the Bible.
The Bible explicitly tells us that suffering is caused by God's curse on the whole creation because of Man's sin of disobedience. "Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (Genesis 3:17-19 NASB)" and "Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. (Romans 8:20 NLT)" So dukkha is caused by sin.
Sin has a moral and judicial dimension. All who sinned must be punished. "For the wages of sin is death, (Romans 6:23 NASB)" All human beings since Adam had died. This is the effect of sin. But the same God also provide for the deliverance from sin, death and dukkha. So how does God reconcile mercy with justice?
God does so by taking the punishment of sin on our behalf. Apostle Paul wrote, "I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. (1 Corinthians 15:3-6 NLT)" "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV)" Sin cause dukkha and death for all men, "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NASB)"
While the First Noble Truth may be a self-evident fact, the Bible disagrees with Buddha on the Second Noble Truth and the cause of dukkha. Dukkha is not caused by desire or craving, but by sin. The different analysis lead to different solutions. Is this different path to the same goal? No. The goal is different. The assumption behind the solution is different. If one is true, the other must be false.
The answer Buddha gave was the Four Noble Truths (四諦). The First Noble Truth is the axiom (a self-evident truth that requires no proof) that Buddha expect you to accept without question - dukkha exists. The Second Noble Truth reveals the cause of dukkha - tanha (thirst/cravings/desire/集). The Third Noble Truth prescribes the cure - nirvana (cessation 滅). The Fourth Noble Truth tells you how to achieve nirvana - by following the eight-fold paths (道).
Dukkha is self-evident. The Apostle Paul wrote, "For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now (Romans 8:22 NASB)." But is the cause of dukkha tanha (craving)? Is tanha the cause of dukkha or did dukkha cause tanha to become bad? A desire (tanha) can be good. The Bible tells us that there are good things to be desired. "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things (Philippians 4:8 NASB)." But the problem is that we do not always do what is good. In fact, we like to do what is bad. "For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. (Romans 7:15 NASB) but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. (Romans 7:23 NASB)" So is it sin that cause dukkha and bad tanha? Let us now look at the alternative cause of dukkha as presented in the Bible.
The Bible explicitly tells us that suffering is caused by God's curse on the whole creation because of Man's sin of disobedience. "Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return." (Genesis 3:17-19 NASB)" and "Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. (Romans 8:20 NLT)" So dukkha is caused by sin.
Sin has a moral and judicial dimension. All who sinned must be punished. "For the wages of sin is death, (Romans 6:23 NASB)" All human beings since Adam had died. This is the effect of sin. But the same God also provide for the deliverance from sin, death and dukkha. So how does God reconcile mercy with justice?
God does so by taking the punishment of sin on our behalf. Apostle Paul wrote, "I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. (1 Corinthians 15:3-6 NLT)" "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV)" Sin cause dukkha and death for all men, "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NASB)"
While the First Noble Truth may be a self-evident fact, the Bible disagrees with Buddha on the Second Noble Truth and the cause of dukkha. Dukkha is not caused by desire or craving, but by sin. The different analysis lead to different solutions. Is this different path to the same goal? No. The goal is different. The assumption behind the solution is different. If one is true, the other must be false.
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