Background
The concept of Buddhism evolved around 563 BCE. It is a philosophy of life based on the teachings of Lord Gautama Buddha. On the other hand, Christianity is based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christianity stems from Judaism, as it is a form of Abrahamic religion that is monotheistic and believes in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Buddhism is an offshoot of Hinduism and a form of Dharmic religion.
It is polytheistic and does not believe in the existence of a Supreme Creator. The expansion of the two forms of religions saw them gain membership in far of places from their origin. Buddhism expanded moving towards the Far East as Christianity headed towards the West (Tsai, Miao & Seppala, 2007).
Similarities
The Golden rule
Buddhism and Christian faithful believe in the golden rule. Lord Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism based his moral principles on the golden rule. His main apprehension was making sure that the welfare of people was taken care of as he encouraged his followers to practice the same virtues (Lomax, 1996).
Similarly, Jesus Christ’s life involved being approachable as He concentrated on attending to the needs of human beings that included healing the sick, feeding the hungry, and forgiving the sinners among many more actions. These ethics were based on the principle of the golden rule.
Simplicity
Lord Buddha emphasized on people acquiring knowledge to help them attain self-liberation. He rejected extreme asceticism throughout his teachings. These were the same ideologies taught by Jesus Christ. He is said to have advised his followers to share wealth with the poor.
On the other hand, Christianity and Buddhism religions have worshipping practices that are similar such as ringing of bells, use of incense, rosary, monasticism, meditation, erection of towers, and prayers.
The use of statues is common in Buddhism while the Catholics and Orthodox are the frequent users of statues in Christianity. However, they are not used by Protestants even though whenever they are used in Christianity, they guide prayers and meditation (Nelsen, Guth & Fraser, 2001).
Love and Empathy
Love is the most emphasized doctrine in Buddhism. Buddhism demands that all those who subscribe to it must love humanity irrespective of whether the followers are friends or enemies with others. Similarly, Christianity upholds love as Jesus Christ instructed his followers to love their neighbors in the same measure that they love themselves. In his definition of a neighbor, He included both friends and foes.
Differences
The Supreme Creator
Christianity teaches that there is only one God and Jesus is His Son. He is also the savior of humanity. They are both loving and approachable. On the contrary, initial Buddhist doctrines do not show any Godly records. It also pursues the concept that people have to work for their personal salvation (Lomax, 1996). This means that salvation is not dependent of any other person.
This is the opposite of Christianity as Jesus gives salvation freely to those who genuinely follow him. Though both religions believe in eternal life, Buddhism pegs it on karma of a person’s present life.
To Christians, a benefit comes with salvation. The concept of creation of the world is not in Buddhism whereas Christianity holds that God created the world by his word. Finally, Buddhists use canons from Buddha while Christians use the Bible.
Religion
Religion is an unexplained manifestation of supremacy and the existence of what is experienced as being ancient, transformative, and in the process inspires fear and engrossed awareness.
References
Lomax, E. (1996). The Railway Man. New York: Vintage publishers
Nelsen, B., Guth, J. & Fraser, C. (2001). Does Religion Matter? Christianity and Public Support for the European Union. European Union Politics, 2(2), 191-217.
Tsai, J., Miao, F. & Seppala, E. (2007). Good Feelings in Christianity and Buddhism: Religious Differences in Ideal Affect. Perspectives of Social Psychology bulletin, 33(1), 409-421.