Explaining Christianity to Buddhists
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Explaining Christianity to Buddhists (Contents)
Part 1: Understanding the Buddhist Mindset Part 2: The Language Barrier – From Revelation to Realisation Part 3: Speaking of God – Explaining a Personal Creator to a Non-Theistic Listener Part 4: Explaining the Soul and the Self Part 5: Grace, Karma, and Moral Cause Part 6: Sin and Suffering…
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Part 1: Understanding the Buddhist Mindset
Bridging the Light: Explaining Christianity to Buddhists with Clarity and Compassion 1. Introduction Before Christians can explain their faith to Buddhists, they must first learn to think as listeners, not lecturers. Buddhism is not merely another religion with different rituals — it is a distinct worldview, a way of seeing…
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Part 2: The Language Barrier – From Revelation to Realisation
Bridging the Light: Explaining Christianity to Buddhists with Clarity and Compassion 1. Introduction When Christians speak about God, sin, faith, and salvation, they are using a vocabulary born from revelation — truths given by a personal God who speaks and acts in history.Buddhists, however, understand truth as something realised through…
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Part 3: Speaking of God – Explaining a Personal Creator to a Non-Theistic Listener
Bridging the Light: Explaining Christianity to Buddhists with Clarity and Compassion 1. Introduction For Christians, speaking about God is natural — the entire faith begins and ends in Him.But for most Buddhists, the word “God” (Deva, Īśvara) refers not to the supreme source of being but to finite celestial beings…
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Part 4: Explaining the Soul and the Self
Bridging the Light: Explaining Christianity to Buddhists with Clarity and Compassion 1. Introduction Among all differences between Christianity and Buddhism, the idea of the “self” or “soul” is one of the most profound.For Christians, the soul is the immortal centre of personal identity — the seat of consciousness, moral choice,…
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Part 5: Grace, Karma, and Moral Cause
Bridging the Light: Explaining Christianity to Buddhists with Clarity and Compassion 1. Introduction For Christians, the word grace (charis) lies at the very heart of faith.For Buddhists, the word karma (kamma) defines the moral structure of reality. Grace means unmerited love — God giving goodness not because it is earned,…
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Part 6: Sin and Suffering — The Christian Meaning of Deliverance
Bridging the Light: Explaining Christianity to Buddhists with Clarity and Compassion 1. Introduction Every religion wrestles with the same universal question: Why do we suffer? For Buddhism, the answer is found in ignorance and craving (avijjā and taṇhā).For Christianity, the answer is found in sin — the breaking of relationship…
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Part 7: Jesus Christ – Saviour, Teacher, and the Living Word
Bridging the Light: Explaining Christianity to Buddhists with Clarity and Compassion 1. Introduction For Christians, Jesus Christ is the centre of all truth — the Son of God, the Saviour, the Word made flesh.For Buddhists, the idea of a divine incarnation or a personal saviour is unfamiliar.They revere the Buddha…
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Part 8: Faith and Practice — The Path of Transformation
Bridging the Light: Explaining Christianity to Buddhists with Clarity and Compassion 1. Introduction To a Buddhist, spiritual progress depends on practice, not belief.Wisdom (prajñā) and compassion (karuṇā) arise through discipline, mindfulness, and meditation, not through accepting doctrines.Therefore, when Christians say “salvation by faith,” many Buddhists hear “passive belief without effort.”…
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Part 9: The Church and the Sangha — Community as Spiritual Support
Bridging the Light: Explaining Christianity to Buddhists with Clarity and Compassion 1. Introduction Both Christianity and Buddhism recognise that spiritual growth is not a solitary journey.Faith and practice flourish within a community of encouragement, learning, and compassion. In Buddhism, this community is the Sangha — monks, nuns, and lay followers…
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Part 10: Dialogue and Witness — Building Bridges without Barriers
Bridging the Light: Explaining Christianity to Buddhists with Clarity and Compassion 1. Introduction Interfaith dialogue is not about winning arguments but about sharing light.When Christians speak to Buddhists, the goal is not conversion through debate, but understanding through compassion.Truth does not compete; it illuminates. Both Christianity and Buddhism are paths…