Essay on Christianity And Buddhism Compared - 1486 Words

Buddhist and Christian Prayer: A Comparison in Practice and Purpose At first glance the traditions of Christianity and Buddhism appear very different from each other. One centers around a God that was at one time physically manifest on earth in the human form of his son Jesus Christ, the other primarily worships a historical figure that gained divine status through enlightenment. This assessment is broad at best, especially in the case of Buddhism where the Theravada and Mahayana traditions differ significantly. Christianity also has division within itself, the most prominent being between the Roman Catholic and Protestant systems. There are however, despite obvious differences, some very interesting similarities between Buddhism and†¦show more content†¦For instance, both traditions make use of beads during the performance of prayer. Pure Land Buddhism uses a string of beads that are fingered while invoking the name of the celestial Amitabha, or Amida Buddha. A ritual that is very close to the Roman Catholic practice of counting prayers and praying with a rosary. Pure Land Buddhism thus displays a strong resemblance to devotional Christianity, with a God-figure (Omitofo), a mediator (Guanyin), and a prayerful devotion resembling the rosary (Amore and Ching 273). The mediator for Chinese Pure Land prayer is Guanyin, a feminized version of the boddhisatva Avalokitesvara. Guanyin is very similar to the virgin Mary of Roman Catholicism, and as such is sometimes called the virgin Mary of east Asia (Amore and Ching 247) as the bodhisattva she acts as the assistant to the celestial Buddha; Amitabha (Omitofo in Chinese) who is seen as the giver of grace and salvation much the same as God is seen as the giver of grace and salvation and Mary as the mediator or assistant in Roman Catholicism (Amore and Ching 273). These observations display a definite similarity in prayer techniques between the traditions in question. Both traditions make use of beads as a means for counting the prayers recited, also the fact that the prayers ar e directed to the female assistants of the supreme deities could mean that the followers thought a female mediator to be more compassionate to the needs of the worshipper. ChristianShow MoreRelatedHow Is Buddhism Different From Christianity?1683 Words   |  7 PagesHow is Buddhism different from Christianity? There are several different types of religion throughout the world. Many of us take on the religion of the house hold in which we grew up. Lots of time we maintain that religion through our adult lives and even pass it on to our kids without researching or even attending any other religious service or event. For most people, once a denomination is chosen they believe it to be the only religion that is true and all others are fake or untrue. 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