Can a christian be a buddhist?
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Not without converting from Christianity to Buddhism.
No.
Are you considering becoming one or the other?
Welcome to the forum.
ScottA
Well-Known Member
Yes, just as a Buddhist can be a Christian...or a bodybuilder, or swimmer, a flat earther, or a poet. But [please understand] the same is true of keeping the heart beating or the brain alive by artificial means.
To the contrary, God is life and Lifegiver, and as history gives record, there is only One.
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Aunty Jane
Well-Known Member
Since both require our worship, and shape our view of God, how are they compatible?
We first have to know what each religion teaches and compare, without compromising the truth. It is impossible to do so, even if we do find some compatibilities.…..so it’s a choice rather than trying to fit both into one mode of worship, because we like aspects of both. We would essentially be creating our “own religion”. (Which many try to do by “shopping” in the great celestial supermarket of religious beliefs)
The God of true “Christianity” is a stickler for truth and it was never OK for his worshippers to create their own religion. The God of Jesus Christ, who was born into the Jewish nation, and who had one God, and one set of rules for all, meant that Jesus did not teach us about a different God, and when the nation of Israel deviated from that true worship, God punished them. So unless we serve the true God and believe all that his son taught us about how to worship him, (John 4:23-24) our personal preferences are worthless. We have to find the true God and get to really know him and the one he sent to save us, (John 17:3) only then can we worship him in the way that he approves, otherwise, what is the point?
Bob
Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forum, and thanks for your question.
Buddhism and Christianity have number of common beliefs, such as kindness, gentleness, avoiding anger & hatred, and humility.
But Love of God is central to Christianity, whereas Buddhism is agnostic. For Christians salvation is a gift from God that depends on an obedient relationship with God, whereas Buddhists consider salvation from suffering to be an individual affair.
It appears to me that Buddhists are more inwardly focused than Christians, who believe that God expects us to focus on helping others.
Certainly, Buddhists and Christians should be able to live peacefully with one another.
We hope you find the peace you seek.
Buddhism and Christianity have number of common beliefs, such as kindness, gentleness, avoiding anger & hatred, and humility.
But Love of God is central to Christianity, whereas Buddhism is agnostic. For Christians salvation is a gift from God that depends on an obedient relationship with God, whereas Buddhists consider salvation from suffering to be an individual affair.
It appears to me that Buddhists are more inwardly focused than Christians, who believe that God expects us to focus on helping others.
Certainly, Buddhists and Christians should be able to live peacefully with one another.
We hope you find the peace you seek.
Behold
Well-Known Member
If a born again Christian becomes a Buddhist, then they are a deceived Born again Chrisitan, who is practicing a religion.
Ive known Christians who "converted" to Judaism.....which is as backwards as it can get.
So, Chrisitianity can't be ended......, but the Christian can certainly become very deceived, and do all sorts of things.....and believe all sorts of things, once their mind is blinded.
Becoming a Calvinist is an example of a mind blinded Christian.
There are many examples of Chrisitans having fallen victim of Hebrews 13:9........as it explains they are caugh up, swept away, by a doctrine of devils.
Paul teaches that they are "BEWITCHED" by someone.
THis has no impact on their Eternal Life status........it only has impact in their HEAD, that informs their belief and behavior.
Ronald David Bruno
Well-Known Member
A true Christian has been given a gift of eternal life. He has a relationship with God, our creator and source of all that is good. We have true peace. We would not bother pursuing some other way when ours is fulfilling. We are content. There is only one way to God, through Christ. Once you get to know Him, you will feel no need to seek answers or love elsewhere.
All other religions and/or philosphies are futile and empty paths that lead to destruction. Though on the surface, Buddhism may seem to be admirable, honorable, a peaceful way to go. They exercise self control and discipline their bodies - nothing really wrong with that. There is nothing wrong with being in harmony with nature either. We are called to be good caretakers of creation. Buddhism lacks spiritual knowledge of God and the spiritual realm. Buddhist monks seem like peaceful, old wise men with clever proverbs that may get you through this life, but they offer nothing to get you to the next life. In that area, they are greatly deceived. Buddhism focuses on the horozontal relationships, lacking the verticle one that is most important, God.
When I saw the movie, "Seven Years in Tibet", I realized how foolish Buddhism was. They worshipped a boy, thinking he was some reincarnated spiritual holy man with many past lives. It was really silly how they treated this little boy, as if he was anything other than just a boy.
This 9 year old Dali Lama befriended a visiting Austrian mountaineer who helped build the boy a movie theatre. I suppose the movie theater was part of his spiritual quest towards enlightenment? They had to dig up the ground to lay the foundation. But this was going to be a great disturbance for the insects whose lives were affected so much so that the Buddhist monks got down on their knees and prayed to the bugs ( for their forgiveness for disrupting their homes and that they would be relocating them). When I saw that, I thought how absurd a religion. Spiritual? In harmony with nature? I think they took that a little too far.
Jesus is the only way, (the gateway).
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Matt. 7:13-14
Wick Stick
Well-Known Member
No. There's significant overlap in the teachings of Christ and the Buddha (e.g. the Golden Rule), but...
Jesus taught there's only One Way... and ultimately that's not compatible with ANY other religion.
Jesus taught there's only One Way... and ultimately that's not compatible with ANY other religion.
Stumpmaster
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I've studied this in some depth.
Buddhism’s approach to the divine is intriguingly non-theistic, which sets it apart from many other spiritual traditions. Here’s a deeper look at why Buddhism traditionally does not acknowledge the existence of a creator God:
Core Philosophical Tenets
- Anatta (Non-Self): Buddhism teaches that there is no permanent, unchanging self—let alone an eternal divine being. Everything is impermanent, including identities and concepts.
- Pratītyasamutpāda (Dependent Origination): Reality unfolds through a web of interdependent causes and conditions, not by the will of a sovereign deity. The universe operates through karmic momentum rather than divine intervention.
Gautama Buddha’s Silence on God
- The Buddha did not deny the existence of gods altogether—but he did reject the relevance of a creator god in the path to liberation.
- Questions about metaphysical absolutes (like whether the universe is eternal or whether a god exists) were often met with noble silence by the Buddha. He considered them distractions from the urgent matter of ending suffering (dukkha).
- In the Brahmajāla Sutta, speculative views on creation and cosmic order are considered part of the 62 wrong views.
Gods in Buddhist Cosmology
- Devas and other divine beings do appear in Buddhist texts, but they are not omnipotent creators. Instead, they are beings bound by karma, living in higher realms but still subject to samsara (the cycle of birth and death).
- Some stories even depict gods seeking wisdom from the Buddha, acknowledging him as spiritually superior.
Enlightenment Without a Deity
- Nirvana is not union with a god—it’s the cessation of craving, aversion, and delusion.
- The path is psychological and ethical rather than devotional. Wisdom, ethical conduct, and mental discipline (through meditation) form the Eightfold Path.
Influence and Adaptations
- Mahayana Buddhism introduces concepts like the cosmic Buddha (Vairocana) and bodhisattvas with godlike attributes, yet even these figures are not creators—they symbolize aspects of awakened consciousness.
- In cultural intersections (such as with Hinduism or local animistic beliefs), some Buddhist traditions have incorporated deity veneration—but this is seen as skillful means (upaya) rather than a doctrinal shift.
In essence, Buddhism isn't atheistic in a combative sense; it's more like non-theistic. It simply redirects the spiritual quest from cosmic speculation to existential transformation.
No, Buddhists are basically atheists. I don't know an atheist could worship the true living God.
Don't other religions contain some wisdom, that can help men reach salvation?
Didn't Buddha teach goodness and compassion like Jesus-Christ, even if Buddha didn't know God?
Buddha have retreated and isolated himself to meditate under a tree, it looks like Jesus that walked in the desert for 40 days, prayed His Father and resisted temptation of the Devil.
Could the Holy Spirit have inspired Buddha for his teaching, even if Buddha didn't know it explicitly? What do you think?
What is "One Way"?
Is it one religion? believing in specific knowledge only given by God through His revelation (the Lord sending prophets to the israel, the coming of Jesus-Christ, His resurrection...) and praying only God
And is it one moral path? being good, seeking truth, follow the natural laws, obey our conscience...
pandaflower
Well-Known Member
Ronald David Bruno
Well-Known Member
Listen, you will find some wisdom and truth and compassion everywhere you look mixed with deception and lies - except from God's Word. ONLY TRUTH comes from Jesus. He said, I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me. So he said, He is the only way to salvation. He said, "Believe on Me and you will have life." That is fundamental message of the Bible, that God would send a Savior, a Messiah, who would cleanse us of all sin and give us life.
We all descended from Adam and Eve, 1656 years later, the flood destroyed the planet and saved 8 people, Noah's family, who then repopulated the planet. They knew God and passed down truths, but over time truth got distorted, added to, confused, etc. And of course we have a conscience that God made us with, a moral code, so this helps us along to discern from good and evil.
I think God has guided everyone in some way. The Bible says God draws all men to Himself. Yet man rejects and rebels against Him. This is a natural tendency. Our sin nature ( that we are born with), is defective and prone to move our own way and against His authority over our lives, prone to lust after fleshly desires ... we are sinners. And we cannot remove those sins which have accumulated. We need God to remove them, so there is no earthly, human practice that can achieve this. We typically want to be on our own throne, directors of our own destiny. But this will not work, man has failed throughout history to achieve this false belief of finding his own way or by earning his way to heaven. Heaven is a perfect place and sin is not allowed there. So God has to cleanse our sin and has offered us a path- through belief in Christ, He regenerates our spirit, we are born again, a new creature. It is a spiritual miracle that man is not capable of accomplishing by himself.
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