On Jesus and Buddha, Part I

Huston Smith, in his book The World's Religions,writes that only two men in human history have ever been asked the question, "What are you?" instead of "Who are you?" These two men are Jesus and Buddha. This similarity is rather sensational, to say the least; however, I find the differences between the two even more astounding. Siddharta Gautama (a.k.a. "Buddha") was born to nobility, Jesus to peasantry. Buddha married and fathered children; Jesus did neither. Buddha achieved "enlightenment" via a 59-day meditation session beneath a lotus tree after a six-year quest for truth; Jesus knew and proclaimed His God-hood even as a 12-year-old child. Buddha died of an illness after leading a reasonably long and fulfilled life, it seems. Jesus was cut down in the prime of life, quite possible suffering the most excruciating method of criminal execution ever devised. Buddha was quite wealthy; Jesus was homeless. Throughout his entire life Buddha rejected a divine personaity; Jesus not only claimed divinity but also demanded exclusivity in it.

Jesus is a ragamuffin. His message demands that I admit that I am a vile, helpless creature. Jesus never taught that all life was suffering; He simply suffered. He calls me to follow Him ... to the cross. God, who can bear it? I cannot. If I had to choose, I think I would have chosen Buddha. His way is easier, but he leaves out the very point Jesus spent His entire life proving...

...God loves me.