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Share Your Faith with Buddhists
Whitney Hopler
Live It Editor
Editor's Note: The following is a report on the practical applications of M. Tsering's new book, Jesus in a New Age, Dalai Lama World (Defending and Sharing Christ with Buddhists), (Interserve USA, 2007).
The Buddhist worldview is so vastly different from the Christian faith that even a basic concept like a loving God who interacts with people is foreign to Buddhists. But it’s possible to reach out to Buddhists with Christ’s good news if you do so in ways they’ll understand and appreciate.
Here’s how you can share your faith with Buddhists:
* Build meaningful friendships. Invest the time and energy necessary to develop genuine friendships with Buddhists you know. Get to know them well. Let go of the time-pressured, task-oriented Western culture’s philosophy and seek to enjoy your time with Buddhists without hurrying or feeling as if you have to accomplish something while you’re together. Become a person who your Buddhist friends trust.
* Help with practical needs. Work either as an individual or with others in your church to help meet the needs of people in your local Buddhist community. Ask those in the community what they need and try to meet those needs, rather than simply offering something without first checking to see if it’s what they truly desire. Consider starting or supporting programs to help with childcare, job training, English language skills, or anything else that’s needed. Allow your Buddhist friends to help you, too, and express your appreciation to them.
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dawa
3/4/2007 5:26 PM
Your article is very interesting. I hope you will continue to learn more about Buddhism, as some of the ideas you presented as Buddhist are not accurate. For example, I've never heard of anything like "the four relations of speech, the eight acts of low-born persons, and the ten faults)."
Perhaps you meant The Four Noble Truths? The Noble Eight-fold Path? The Ten Perfections?
Here are the Ten Perfections (paramitas)
* Generosity
* Morality
* Renunciation
* Wisdom
* Energy
* Patience
* Truthfulness
* Determination
* Unconditional Love
* Equanimity
As you can see, there's nothing to do with faults, and as virtues are reasonably compatible with Christianity.
You might want to read Matthieu Ricard's "Happiness: A Guide To Developing Life's Most Important Skill."
Perhaps you meant The Four Noble Truths? The Noble Eight-fold Path? The Ten Perfections?
Here are the Ten Perfections (paramitas)
* Generosity
* Morality
* Renunciation
* Wisdom
* Energy
* Patience
* Truthfulness
* Determination
* Unconditional Love
* Equanimity
As you can see, there's nothing to do with faults, and as virtues are reasonably compatible with Christianity.
You might want to read Matthieu Ricard's "Happiness: A Guide To Developing Life's Most Important Skill."
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Sorry to say folks, but if you actually tried to follow this advice to convert a Buddhist, you will likely received a good laugh and a pat on the head. You're conceptions of Buddhism are so far off, so misinformed, that it is almost funny. It is truly a joke. No Buddhist will relate to the story of Genesis other than to see acts of cruelty and negativity. Buddhists have rituals, but do not "need" them. Buddhist DON'T PRAY as a general rule. Buddhists meditate, and don't mindless recite mindless words from the ancient past. And the core value of Buddhism is not selfishness as you suggest but compassion.
Seriously.....read up on the faiths of others before you post an article like this!