"The Road to Enlightenment?"

“The Road to Enlightenment?”

World Religions Series: Buddhism

Olathe Bible Church - May 28, 2006

I. History:

The story of Buddhism begins like a fairy tale:

            Once upon a time, in the sixth century B.C. there lived a handsome prince. He lived in wealth and luxury, and he distinguished himself at a remarkably young age by his strong mental power.  At his birth it had been prophesied that he would become either a great king or a great monk.  His father, the king, did everything in his power to raise the prince inside the palace, lest he be tempted to become a monk, for of course, he wanted his son to be the next king.  The prince’s name was Siddhartha Gautama.

            Well, overcome with curiosity as to what the world outside the royal court might be like, young Siddhartha requested that he be allowed to travel in a chariot around the countryside.  The king agreed but cleared the proposed route where the chariot would pass so that his son would not see any old or sick people, funerals, or any monks.  However, the gods, who wanted Siddhartha to become a great monk, positioned four visions along the way:  on old person (so the prince could learn that every person will eventually fade and decline); a gravely ill person (so that he could understand the fragility of life); a funeral procession (so that he could confront the fact that all life must come to an end); and a monk in a state of meditation (so that he could realize the solution to these problems).

            From this day forward, Siddhartha’s entire mind was occupied with the inevitability of old age, sickness and death.  So a short time after the four visions, Siddhartha, now 33 years of age, accompanied by a faithful servant, mounted his horse and rode off into the world.  Eventually, he dismounted, disrobed, and sent the servant back to the palace with his clothes and his horse.  He then cut off his long hair and began the life of an impoverished monk in search of answers to the enigma of life.

            As he wandered around the country, he always subjected his body to the harshest possible treatment, hoping that in this way he would obtain enlightenment.  However, after seven years of this lifestyle, Siddhartha still had not attained what he was looking for and decided that his efforts were futile.  He accepted a bowl of rice from a village girl, sat down under a tree and resolved to stay there until either he reached enlightenment or he dies on that very spot. 

            It was then that Siddhartha found his answer.  He became the Buddha, “the Enlightened One.”  For he realized that it was neither in self-indulgence nor in self-denial, but somewhere in between that true enlightenment can be attained.

Transition:

Buddhism, then, is based on the teachings of a man (a monk) whose birth name was Siddhartha Gautama, but came to be known as the Buddha, which means “Enlightened One”.

Having it’s origins in India and Southeast Asia, Buddhism shares a number of fundamental assumptions with other religions – Hinduism being the primary one.

The most commonly known practices of Buddhism are meditation and chanting, which are practiced in order to find wholeness by searching within one’s self and disengaging from the realities of this life.

* Concept of God *                * Sacred Writings *               * Unique Beliefs *

II. Concept of God:

Ø      Buddhist belief has no theology – belief in a “Supreme Being” is purely optional.  One can be a Buddhist and believe in a god or be a Buddhist and not believe in a god. Those who do believe in a Supreme Being view god as an impersonal energy made up of all living things, much like the “Force” in the movie Star Wars.

Ø      So, technically speaking, Buddhism is not so much a religion as it is a self-help philosophy.  Buddhists rely on their own efforts – sort of a “non-theistic ethical system of self-training and discipline”. 

Ø      Consequently, Buddhism’s worldview and “faith system” is fundamentally very humanistic and atheistic.  It is a religion only in the sense that it provides spiritually-oriented disciplines, values, and directives for its adherents to live by.  More accurately, it is a moral philosophy – a way of understanding and dealing with life issues.

Ø      Interestingly, Gautama, the Buddha himself, never claimed to be god.  His claim was full enlightenment, not divinity.  In fact, he was not the only Buddha – Buddhists believe that there were many Buddha’s before him and there will be others in the future.  (Buddha = “enlightened one”)

III. Sacred Writings:

Ø      Buddhism has no so called “sacred writings”.  The writings (dharma) of Buddha are considered neither ultimate truth or sacred, but simply the documentation of the Buddha’s journey toward full enlightenment and the disciplines necessary for others toward accomplishing the same.

IV. Unique Beliefs: 

Ø      Enlightenment – “A final blessed state marked by the absence of desire or suffering”.  “The beatitude that transcends the cycle of reincarnation, characterized by the extinction of desire, sufferings, and individual consciousness”.  Enlightenment equals Non-existence!

Ø      Reincarnation – “The reappearance or embodiment into a new form”.  “The doctrine that a person may be reborn successfully into another living being according to the actions of the previous life.”

Buddhists prefer the term “reborn” over “reincarnation” to differentiate themselves from the Hindus or others who believe a person can reappear in another life form (animal, bug, plant, etc.).  Buddhist believe the rebirth is always into another human form (male or female) and will continue over and over again until full enlightenment is achieved (it supposedly took 500 lifetimes for Buddha to reach this point).  Enlightenment ends this cycle of “rebirth” and ultimately one’s existence.

Ø      Nirvana – Buddhist believe that one’s existence equates with suffering, so they believe the highest good is release from that existence – so annihilation of self (like before we were ever born) is the ultimate goal and reward of the faithful Buddhist. 

Nirvana, then, is a temporary state of “bliss” after attaining enlightenment, but just prior to the final annihilation of one’s self.  During Nirvana, one experiences a state without suffering and void of passion, desire, and feeling which are characteristic of human existence.

Ø      Karma – “The effects of a person’s actions (good and bad) that determine his destiny in his next incarnation”. 

In other words, everything that happens is based on what is deserved… if you do good, you receive good; if you do evil, you receive evil.  And, Buddhists hold to this concept as a natural law just like gravity, only it governs morality instead of matter (although they believe matter can be affected by karma as well).

Transition:  There is much more that can be learned about this belief system, but more importantly for us this morning is how we as Christ’s followers ought to respond to this type of philosophy?  What should be our approach to people who believe such things?  What should be our message to refute such a false religion or philosophy?

** Turn with me in your Bibles to Acts 17:14-34 **

Paul’s Response to Philosophers and the “Very Religious” in Athens.

·        Paul is waiting in Athens for Silas & Timothy to join him - vs. 14-16

·        He was deeply troubled by all the idols he saw around him there in Athens - vs. 16

·        So he took it as an opportunity to “reason” (discuss or converse) with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles in the synagogue, but also he interacted with anyone who happen to be present there in the market place - vs.17

·        This included discussions with certain Epicureans and Stoics – vs. 18:

o       Just as the Buddhists we’re discussing today, these Epicurean and Stoic philosophers held strange beliefs that were contrary to what we know as biblical, historical Christianity. 

o       Their perspective of Paul was that HE was the one with the strange beliefs – “the proclaimer of strange deities…”

·        NOTICE WHAT PAUL WAS PREACHING - - JESUS AND THE RESURRECTION!  (vs. 18b)

·        This is our starting point, right here:  We proclaim JESUS (Savior, Lord, Creator, Son of God – the Way, the Truth, and the Life!!!)

·        Not Buddha – a self-proclaimed “Enlightened One” or any other sinful man who claimed to have found the truth, but Jesus – the “author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2)

·        And, the proof of Jesus’ authority, his deity, and his worthiness of our complete faith and trust in him is found in his RESURRECTION.

o       Romans 6:4-11 (READ)

o       I Corinthians 15:3,4 & 12-22 (READ)

o       Romans 10:9, 10 – “If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.”

·        NOTICE WHAT PAUL WAS PROCLAIMING - - KNOWLEDGE OF AN ALL-SUFFICIENT, ALL- SOVEREIGN GOD OF CREATION  (vs. 23b – 28)

o       Paul draws attention to the first principle of all religions – the belief in a God (a supreme being) – even an “Unknown God”.

o       His interest, however, is not to introduce them to a new god, but introduce them to the One and only God – “The God who made the world and all things in it… Lord of heaven and earth…”

·        NOTICE WHAT PAUL WAS PRONOUNCING - - GOD’S JUDGEMENT TO ALL MEN WHO DO NOT REPENT  (vs. 29-31)

o       This is the practical part of Paul’s message – to convince folks of their need to repent of their devotion to false gods (idols), and to believe in the true and living God who has the authority to “judge the world”

o       Earlier, Paul drew attention to the All-Sufficient, All-Sovereign God of Creation.  Now he speaks of that same God as calling all men to repentance (grace and mercy) and warning of His impending judgment (righteousness and justice).

·        NOTICE WHAT PAUL WAS PROPOSING - - RIGHTEOUSNESS THROUGH A MAN (JESUS) WHO WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD  (vs. 31)

o       Here Paul comes full circle.  In verse 18b he is “preaching Jesus and the resurrection” and again eludes to Him as the One whom God raised from the dead as proof to all men of his authority to judge righteously.

Conclusion:

Do you see the answers found here is this passage from Paul’s example of how to address those holding to a false religion or philosophy?

It is very clear from this passage wherein genuine truth lies:

Ø     In Jesus, the Anointed One – not Buddha, the enlightened one

Ø     The Miraculous Resurrection – not a meaningless reincarnation

Ø     A Personally-known, Sovereign Creator God – not some unknown, nebulous force

Ø     Repentance which leads to a knowledge of the truth (II Tim. 2:25) – not a self-induced meditation toward an illusion of enlightenment

I Peter 1:2-9 / 3:15

Colossians 2:8  - (But) “see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.  For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all…”