My second month on the Race is in the highly Buddhist country of Thailand. This blog will serve as your intro to the Buddhist religion so that you can have context of the atmosphere we are ministering in and the mindsets we are facing. Ready? Here goes:
- · Buddhism is about people traveling through different levels of life that range from suffering to Nirvana (a state of non-existence or extinction)
- · In this process, there are countless reincarnations (rebirths) and in each new life they hope to go up to the next level of existence
- · The lowest level of existence is an animal and the highest is that of a wise man
- · How one is reincarnated is determined by a person’s karma (points) from his past life
- · The more good karma a person has, the better their reincarnation in the next life will be. More bad karma means more suffering now and in the next life.
- · Buddhist people try to gain good karma by going to temples, donating money, offering sacrifices, keeping the Buddhist laws, and doing acts of charity. Another way to gain good karma is to become a monk.
- · After death a person goes to hell to pay for their bad karma and once that debt is paid, they go to heaven and enjoy their good karma. After all of the karma is used up, they are reincarnated into another life.
- · Buddhist people believe that if you are suffering in this life, it is part of your reincarnation. The effect of your past life and past actions caused your current suffering. They do not feel sorry for themselves if they are poor or disabled because they see it as part of their karma.
- · They have two courses of action to address their suffering: (1) work hard in this life so that things can be better in their next life and (2) work towards emptying yourself of all desires because if you don’t want anything, you can’t suffer from a lack of it
- · The ultimate goal of a Buddhist is to reach a continuous state of being empty. You empty yourself of anger, hate, lust, joy, even love. All emotion and desire is gone. You want nothing, think of nothing, and you are nothing; at this point, you cease to exist. This is their highest honor. This is what everyone strives for.
There are many other laws, concepts, and teachings of Buddhism but these are the basics you’ll need to understand our ministry and my next blog. What I would like to stress about this religion is its core purpose: being empty.
Unlike Christianity, which is about being made full with the Spirit of God and honoring God and His people with your life, Buddhists focus on how they can best serve and ultimately get rid of themselves. They work hard to be empty. That is their goal. What has hurt me most about working in Buddhist countries is that I desperately want them to know that the point of life is not to be empty but to be full. God wants you to be so full that His goodness and love overflow to others. I want them to know that their lives can be abundant and eternal (John 10:10). I want them to know Jesus!
In my next blog, I’m going to tell you about my conversations with two monks and how I see God in so much of Buddhism.
Click here to read part two!
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