Backtracking.... To the Buddhist Temple

Hey all! I just wanted to share with you my experiences learning about and going to a Buddhist Temple this week.

We had a speaker come in to teach us about the basic beliefs and structures of Buddhism. His name was Claude and he is a really cool elderly man. He had worked among Chinese Buddhists for most of his life and he had a lot of good info to pass on to us.

Buddhism is another confusing religion. Buddhists are mainly atheistic, they don't believe in a God or a higher power. They believe only in themselves and in their spirits. Buddhism is a good works religion if there ever was one. Everything they do is regulated by Karma. They believe if they live a good life, doing good things, they will gain a better Karma and a better life when they die and are re-incarnated. 

Buddhists believe in four basic noble truths. The first is that suffering is the basic human condition. It is a result of past bad karma. The second is that the cause of all our suffering is our desires for transient things, material things. The third states that suffering can be eliminated if we stop desiring the temporary things. The fourth truth says that we can eliminate this desire by following the eight-fold path. This eight-fold path consists of Wisdom/insight, ethical conduct/morality, and mental discipline/development. These eightfold steps are all centered around "rightness", for example, right attitude/thought, right speech and action, right effort, etc. 

The ultimate goal of these steps is to reach Nibbãna/Nirvana. Nirvana is a difficult thing to grasp. Buddhists believe that life is cyclical. They believe that until they reach nirvana they will be re-incarnated lifetime after lifetime, trying to gain a better karma the whole time. Suffering still persists though, in every life. Nirvana, then, is the end of suffering. It isn't a "heaven" or anything like that. It is literally to end everything. Attaining nirvana means that the person, their spirit, is no more. It's just done. Seems like a pretty sour goal to me.

Buddhism is looked upon favorably by many, many people due to its peaceful, non-combatant nature. It is all about being good and doing well to yourself and others. They also institute other rules like no alcohol, no stealing, no lying, no adulteration. The Buddhist people are a very moral and well thought out people. But, they are so trapped in darkness. They meditate to clear their minds of everything. This just opens the doors for satan to come in and control them. 

The Buddhist monks we met and talked to were very neat people. They were devout and peaceful people who welcomed us in really warmly and affectionately. I have a feeling they were so nice just to gain merit. :s Either way they were great to talk to and gain information from. At the same time, it just made me see the strayings from Christ in their lives. They have many qualities that Christ lived out in His life, but their aim and focus is all wrong. My heart just breaks for these people who are just searching in the wrong direction. Pray for Buddhist peoples all over the world. There are a lot of Buddhist countries that are widely unreached and in need of the gospel. Pray for these people!

God bless!