Aren't the Teachings of Buddha & Jesus Very Similar? - Steve Gregg

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:01][music] [music] >> Michael in Santa Cruz, California. Hi Michael.

[00:00:12]>> [clears throat] >> Hi Steve, good to hear you.

[00:00:15]Can you hear me?

[00:00:17]Yes, go ahead.

[00:00:19]Uh all right.

[00:00:21]So, you and I have talked many times uh about uh well, you want to emphasize the differences I always try to emphasize the parallels between the classic view of the Buddha and the biblical or uh Christian perspective.

[00:00:42]Uh um I I personally don't see I mean, I I don't want to whitewash the theological differences or or or well, Buddhism isn't really a theology, but the differences in the world views associated with each perspective.

[00:01:00]Uh in in actual practice the the the Christian who's trying to walk with God and Jesus and and the Buddhist who's trying to follow the eightfold path in real world terms, it's very it's very close.

[00:01:20]Uh yeah, I don't I don't deny that, but let's just let's put it this way.

[00:01:23]If a man was being kind to a woman uh because he loved her and wanted to serve her.

[00:01:31]Uh he he would behave perhaps in the same way as a man who's being kind to her because he wanted to seduce her or uh wanted to do something get some money out of her, get something from her. Uh being kind would look very similar in both cases. What makes one good and one bad is the intention. So, you know, when we talk about well, if you live by the eightfold path uh you may look an awful lot like a Christian who's living by the Sermon on the Mount. You know, there may be a lot of things uh that you have in common. Um Uh well, yeah. Like I said, there's people can act the same way or similar ways with very different motives. Uh and that makes the motive makes all the difference in the world. And so, I mean, Jesus pointed out that the Pharisees, yeah, they were very meticulous in keeping the laws that God gave them, which is a good thing to do if you're a Jew. But, um but he said you've got the bad you got bad motives for it. Yeah, it's like you're all clean on the ins- outside, but you're like a tomb that's been white whitewashed on the outside, but it's full of dead men's bones. It's dirty inside.

[00:02:36]So, I mean, in other words, whenever we you and I have talked, you're a Buddhist, I'm a Christian, we've talked hundreds of times over the past what, 25 years or more.

[00:02:46]Um it you don't seem to see what I'm seeing here. Um and that is that you could do almost all the same things during your day that I do during my day.

[00:02:59]But, we're doing it for different reasons.

[00:03:02]Now, I have to ask you because I don't know the answer to this. What is the purpose or the object in Buddhism? What is the ultimate goal in Buddhism?

[00:03:13]Am I Am I on the air? Can you hear me?

[00:03:16]Yes, I asked you a question, yeah. Mhm.

[00:03:19]All right. I I heard it.

[00:03:20]Uh well, I thought maybe I was I was cut off.

[00:03:24]So, the Can you repeat that question cuz I I got distracted. Okay. What is the What is the What is the goal? What is the goal or the end in mind for Buddhism?

[00:03:37]Uh to be released from the the uh torment uh of emotional affections, what Christians would call sin. Okay. So, so it's a it apparently is then to achieve a subjectively positive goal from the standpoint of the person who's practicing the religion.

[00:04:02]Yeah, to to come to a a a state of being that is not a a that is not conditional. In other words When people experience ordinary When people experience ordinary happiness, if things are going well, I feel great. If things aren't going well, I feel down.

[00:04:24]You know, that endless uh instability. But Nirvana is defined as a peace beyond you know, everything. Okay.

[00:04:34]Michael, let me ask you this. Let me ask you this.

[00:04:36]Let's suppose that you you live the Buddhist life perfectly and acquire the best possible outcome that a Buddhist can hope for.

[00:04:45]Uh whose interests are served by that?

[00:04:50]Uh uh it's twofold. One, the the the person who who comes to that the nirvanic uh realization or or peace is no longer suffering you know, in in the ordinary sense. Okay, so his interests are served. His interests are served by So so that's number one. And number two, that person is no longer bringing to others the the pain you know, that sort of bringing the the toxicity in into the field of his or her relationships. So that person is is a non-intimidating non-oppressive presence in the world.

[00:05:35]>> and that's what I thought. That's what I thought you would say. Now, I'm I'm not saying that's a bad thing in itself. I'm just trying to point out to you that you're always trying to tell me that there's not really very significant difference between Buddhism and Christianity.

[00:05:47]Uh I believe that those two goals are achieved by living the Christian life, but those are not the primary goals of Christianity. The primary goal of Christianity is to glorify God.

[00:06:00]We were made for his glory. So, to submit to Christ, to live according to his uh teachings and his standards, to be like Jesus, we do that for the purpose of pleasing and glorifying God, which is the purpose that the whole universe exists for. The existence of the universe is to glorify God. And most of it does. It's the people who don't do it very well. You know, the heavens declare the glory of God. Uh the stars they they share you know, they show forth his glory, but but we who are disobedient and imperfect, you know, we don't always show forth the glory of God, but the the the goal of the Christian life is to by uh submitting to Christ, following Christ, experiencing the life that he gives us, which is a new species of life through his spirit, that we are changed from glory to glory into the image for the glory of God. Now, in other words, the whole focus of Christianity is about God.

[00:06:56]Uh yes, do we benefit from it? Yes, we do. Does society benefit by our being good Christians? It should, very much, yes.

[00:07:03]But those are those are like byproducts.

[00:07:06]Those are the whole focus of Buddhism.

[00:07:09]There is no God in Buddhism for you to be pleasing. You're simply trying to conform to Dharma or whatever, so that it's good for you. You got bliss, the world is more blissed out because you're in bliss, and so you don't hurt people, you're not toxic, like you said. Yeah, that should be true people who live the Christian life, and that's the part you're seeing. That's where you're seeing there's not much difference between being a Christian and a Buddhist, you're saying, because kind of both of them uh are intended to be bring peace, uh bring uh clearness of conscience, uh make make us better people. All religions are really intending to do that. There is uh however a very great difference between all of those and Christianity. Christianity is about God. And this is something that I've always told you and you know it it kind of goes over your head cuz you still think there's not not much of a dime's worth of difference between Buddhism and Christianity. It's 100% different. Like I said, it's it's like the difference between being nice to a woman because you're devoted to her and want her to everything go well in her life.

[00:08:10]You're doing it for her sake or being kind to a woman cuz you want to seduce her get something from her. It's the same behavior, very different motives. And uh you know, Jesus said, "If anyone would come after him, they need to deny themselves."

[00:08:25]Now see, every human being until they come to Christ is seeking their own advantage. Now it might be a selfish kind of uh hedonism or or narcissism uh kind of a thing where you're using other people for yourself or you might be seeking an advantage in it of a spiritual kind.

[00:08:44]You know, spiritual peace, a clearness of conscience, whatever. But it's the natural way for human beings from the time of birth till death to want to please themselves, to want to get for themselves something better. And that's what they will apply themselves to. And I think a good Buddhist is uh applying himself or herself toward getting, you know, nirvana, getting peace, uh becoming uh invulnerable to pain and things like that. And uh you know, I can understand that. But that's just still one thing.

[00:09:17]That's one selfish goal uh among many that people have sought.

[00:09:20]Uh to be a Christian, I realize Christians are selfish sometimes, too.

[00:09:24]I'm [clears throat] not sure how many people who call themselves Christians really are Christians or how much Jesus would call them Christians.

[00:09:30]But he said that if anyone would come to him, the first step is to deny self.

[00:09:34]Which means that uh instead of living as I always have with concerns about what I can get out of this. What can I get out of this person? What can I get out of this religion? What can I get out of this discipline? What can I get out of this expense?

[00:09:47]What can I get out of God? You know, if if it's what I what can I get out of this? I haven't denied myself. Self is still making the call. It's still self looking out for itself.

[00:09:59]And we weren't made to look out for ourselves. We were made to glorify God.

[00:10:03]And so when a person becomes a Christian really I'm not saying they they jump through the hoops of American evangelicalism or whatever because people can do that without becoming real Christians. Jesus made that clear enough.

[00:10:15]No, when a person really becomes clear becomes a Christian they have denied themselves said, "Okay, I've lived for my own interests, for my own advantage.

[00:10:26]I now will live for God's interests and for his advantage to bring him pleasure and to bring him glory. And if I perish, I perish. I I mean as a Christian I came to this many decades ago that even if I were to go to hell and suffer, still I'm going to live to glorify God. It's not what I get out of it. It's what God gets out of it cuz he deserves something. He created us. I don't deserve anything, but you know, the consequences of my misbehavior.

[00:10:53][music] Fortunately, God is gracious.

[00:10:56]And he forgives and he saves, but and that is good for me. It's good for everybody.

[00:11:00]But that's because I've stopped being looking out for what's good for me. I'm looking at what's good for God. And that's where Buddhism and Christianity are in different universes.

[00:11:11]And that's that's why you always surprised I don't see your point that they're the same thing.

[00:11:15]They're not. Hey, I need to take a break. You're listening to the narrow path. My name is Steve Gregg. Our website is the narrow path.com. We are listener supported. You can donate from the website if you want to.

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