Salvation in Christianity and Karma in Buddhism

This article compares the concepts of salvation in Christianity and karma in Buddhism. It explores the beliefs, practices, and scriptures of both religions, highlighting their differences and similarities. The article also discusses the role of Jesus and Buddha in each religion and the ultimate goals of salvation and enlightenment.

Running head: BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY
Buddhism and Christianity
Student Name
Institution Affiliation

BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY 2
Salvation in Christianity and Karma in Buddhism
Christianity is founded on the teachings of Jesus who lived around 2000 years ago (Cho,
2017). Buddhism on the other hand is founded on the teachings of Gautama Buddha. Christ Jesus
is the God and savior of Christians. For Buddhism, Buddha is mainly seen as a teacher and with
not saving power as that attributed to Jesus. When comparing Buddhism and Christianity, it
would be very important to point out that Christians believe in one God who is the creator of
heaven and earth and everything that is in it. Therefore, Christianity is a monotheistic religion.
Buddhists on the other hand to not believe in the presence of a supreme being who controls what
happens in the universe (Cormier, 2016). Therefore, Buddhism is a nontheistic religion.
The places of worship would also form a good part of the comparison between Buddhism
and Christianity. There are three main places of worship for the Buddhists. These include
Buddhist monasteries, shrines and temples (Olendzki, 2018). Christians on the other hand have
their main place of worship as the church. In addition to churches, Christians also worship in
cathedrals and basilicas. The other important aspect of the two religions is where they started.
Christianity started Roman province of Judea while Buddhism started on the subcontinent of
India. Christianity understand salvation as being delivered from a certain state which is not in
accordance to God’s law after accepting to be born again (Yong, 2019). Being born again simply
means leaving the old ways and accepting the way that are considered right by God. Christians
believe that anyone who want to have salvation must accept Jesus Christ as a personal savior.
Christians understand that salvation is being saved from danger and suffering and receiving
victory over the adversities of life. Christians base their understanding of salvation on what is
written in the bible. After understanding the scriptures, one is required to believe that Christ died
and resurrected for the redemption of human kind (Cormier, 2016). Once a person has believed

BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY 3
this, and confess the same, then they are born again/ saved. After believing, Christians have
confidence and trust in the word that they are taught and the promises of God contained in the
bible. When people believe and accept Jesus as their personal savior then they are born again and
they receive the salvation. The Christians believe that salvation is guaranteed to those who hear
and believe the word of God as it is written in the bible in the book of Romans. They understand
salvation as a way of God showing love for the human kind by his Grace to those that believe in
His word (Hong, 2017). When the Christians receive salvation there are freed from eternal
judgment and punishment for their sins since they have accepted salvation. Salvation is only
received after one confess and denounce the evil works and decides to follow God’s commands.
In addition, Christians believe that God wants every person in the world to undergo salvation.
In the religion of Buddhism, there is belief in Karma. There are various ideas that existent
concerning karma. Karma tries to explain how the things we do when we are alive have a
tendency of reappearing after death (Olendzki, 2018). Karma explain how or what will happen
after one die and move to the next world. Karma are actions or things that are done by humans
and have consequences. Buddhists do believe in existence of Karma and they believe that
everything that a person does, Karma will have to bring it back. They (Buddhists) believe that
everything that was done knowingly through the body or mind brings future consequences that
karma will have to bring back through the rebirth. Karma is believed to be a natural process that
occurs due to the actions and choices that people do make. Buddhists believe that karma is not a
fate and judgment from God or any other supernatural powers (Cho, 2017). They believe that
when someone dies while evil, Karma brings their spirit back again in a different body structure
where the soul may come back in an animal body for example a dog.

BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY 4
Buddhists further believe that karma is the bridge between some deeds and the
consequences of something that someone did (Brown, 2019). In addition to this, they believe that
karma is as a result of the actions we take and it will affect in the next life. If you do good thing
karma will reward you in a good way and when you do evil things to others that Karma will
reward you in a cruel way just the way you did to the other people (Lin and Yen, 2015).
Buddhists believe that karma helps to build someone character for the future. The main goal of a
Christian is to walk with Christ because He is the savior. If one follows the teachings of Jesus,
they are saved and will be rewarded with eternal life. If one does not live in accordance to these
teachings, then they will not be saved from eternal condemnation. Buddhism builds on the aspect
of nirvana. In Buddhism, there is no such thing as salvation. It is believed that one should be
enlightened and be released from the cycle of rebirth so that they can attain nirvana. When it
comes to the aspect of scriptures that are used to guide the religions, Christians use the holy
Bible as their primary text. Christians believe that the writings found in the Bible were inspired
by the holy spirit and therefore the will of God. Buddhists on the other hand have their scripture
as a huge canon composed of three sections. These are the discourses, commentaries and some
early scriptures such as the Gandharan.

BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY 5
Reference
Brown, H. J. (2019). Key Tenets of Classical Buddhist Dharma Leave Space for the Practice of
Abortion and are Upheld by Contemporary Japanese Buddhist Mizuko Kuyo
Remembrance Rituals. Journal of religion and health, 58(2), 476-489.
Cho, F. (2017). The Funny Thing about Secularism: Christian and Buddhist Versions Compared.
Philosophy, Theology and the Sciences, 4(1), 74-93.
Cormier, M. (2016). Black Song, White Song: Salvation Through the Radio in The Apostle and
Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? Journal of Religion & Film, 6(2), 3.
Hong, K. E. (2017). An Understanding of Holistic Salvation from the Kingdom Perspective (2nd
ed). New York: Routledge.
Lin, C. T., & Yen, W. H. (2015). On the naturalization of karma and rebirth. International
Journal of Dharma Studies, 3(1), 6.
Olendzki, A. (2018). Buddhist psychology: a work in process (2nd ed). New York: Routledge.
Yong, A. (2019). Discerning the spirit (s): a Pentecostal-charismatic contribution to Christian
theology of religions (3rd ed). New York: Routledge.