Christianity and Buddhism ❖ คริสตธรรม พุทธธรรม
~ By Buddhadāsa Bhikkhu ~
MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN RELIGIONS Series No. 1, 2, 3
[INTRODUCTION by BUDDHADASA INDAPANNO, JANUARY 10, 2510 B.E. (1967)]
I am pleased to deliver the SINCLAIRE THOMPSON MEMORIAL LECTURES, FIFTH SERIES, for it will help create an atmosphere of mutual understanding among the followers of both Christianity and Buddhism, and also make people understand their respective religions at the same time, for the audience here is both Buddhist and Christian.
Every human being, no matter to what country he belongs, or what language he speaks, or what religion he professes, has but one universal problem, namely, overcoming evil or mental impurity or defilements. That which is called evil or mental impurity is to be found in each individual. It does not belong to or is not the problem of one particular religion only; each individual professing any religion has the problem of overcoming the evil. As such the way to solve this problem must be one which can be used by every human being. The way or instrument to destroy evil is named ‘religion,’ therefore true religion or religion in essence is universal in its application. The belief that there are literally many religions is something meaningful only in the eyes of those who see only the outer forms, or view religion only superficially. There are different outer forms or embodiments of religion, but every religion or what is embodied in different forms of religion is but one and the same thing. If one looks at religion with mundane eyes one will see many religions. If one sees with supermundane eyes one will see only one religion. With mundane eyes one cannot see the essence of religion and this is why one fails to overcome one’s evil or suffering.
One cannot judge whether a certain religion is right or wrong, true or false, on the strength of one’s study or reasoning, for the criterion or standard thereto must be “the fruit which one really gets within one's own mind” Therefore, before passing any kind of judgement with regard to a religion, followers of different religions should first try to obtain the fruit of the practice of whatever religion they delight in. In that case all questions or differences as regards religion would vanish and it will become clear that all religions in the world have one common ‘heart’ or pith in the same way as all men in the world have but evil or suffering as a universal characteristic. Religion is “a system of observation and practice which binds man to the highest thing being therefore the benefit of every human being.” It is through one’s own ignorance that one does not know really this highest thing, so it would not be wise to blame that which is called religion. Be wide awake, try to understand first the highest thing and you can easily and undoubtedly approach or realize it. It is hoped that this series of lectures will add, to some extent, to your understanding of the highest thing.
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