BUDDHISM

I have been reading about the Buddhist teaching on hell lately and it hit me... Hell. Buddhists believe in a hell as punishment for not living up to the standards of their teachings. After spending time in one or more of the hells you are then reborn lower on the reincarnation scale to try and make up for the mistakes of your previous life. It is more complicated than that depending on the form of Buddhism that is being practiced by any given individual. I don't know when the teachings on hell developed because it was not part of the Siddhartha's original teachings but in what I have read, hell is seen as a place of fire and torment. Sound familiar?? How or why are Christianity and Buddhism so similar?? Why do they have the idea of Hell in common?? Incidentally Judaism and Islam have very similar teachings on Hell as well.

All religions teach some kind of morality. They have some kind of definition for what is right and what is wrong, and teach about rewards for right actions and punishment for wrong actions. All religion is essentially a moral code and teaching on how to life within that moral code where your reward or punishment is experienced in whatever life is to come. It seems that all of humanity throughout all of history has known this on some level, and formed religious constructs around this idea.

Is it possible that the knowledge of something else out there beyond the here and now is hardwired into humanity? Is it possible that even a Buddhist who does not believe in God, believes that if you do not follow the teaching of the Buddhas you will spend time in one or more of eight hells. Is it possible that all of humanity understands this at some level to be true because it is true and even if you do not call God "God", you still understand that there is something else out there that is beyond our understanding.

The paintings pictured here are depictions of the Buddhist texts on hell and torture. In reading these texts it sounds pretty horrific. If you live a life in contradiction of the Dharma, you will spend a lot of time in these places. It seems that on some level humanity understands that there needs to be some kind of retribution for evil; there needs to be some way to be made pure.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." If I believe what this verse says, I believe that all of humanity understands that there is a life that continues after this life is over and the context for that life is directly connect to the context of this life. This is why a Buddhist, or anyone else for that matter understands that eternity is an extension of reality in this life; they have eternity on their heart. A Buddhist understands that living a moral life is what brings us into right relationship with our eternal destiny. They also understand that if they live a life that contradicts their precepts they deserves punishment in hell, yet a Christian is considered close minded or hateful for believing these things.

The Bible teaches that almighty God became a man, lived and died and came back to life all because of his love for mankind, many of whom would refuse to acknowledge him. The Buddhists have some great things to say and moral teachings that are equal with Christian moral teachings. However, the purist in Buddhism live by abandoning their desires and emptying themselves of any desires in this life, including love. Christians live by embracing the unending love of a God who knows us inside and out and is somehow still crazy about us. So embracing or desiring the God who created and loves humanity allows us to come into relationship with Him, giving us access to Heaven in Christianity. Doing the same thing in Buddhism sends you to Hell. So we all believe in Hell, we just believe in different ways to get there.

Just a thought...