LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY APOLOGETICS TO PURE LAND BUDDHISM A PAPER SUBMITTED TO PROFESSOR: DR. ADONIS VIDU IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE WORLDVIEW/RELIGION ANALYSIS OF APOL 500 INTRODUCTION TO APOLOGETICS BY YOUNG CHAN KIM LYNCHBURG VIRGINIA 29 SEPTEMBER 2009 1
Introduction Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world and the third largest in 10/40 Window. This religion has been holding people with its purely spiritual teaching without political and racial influence. Especially, Pure Land Buddhism is strongly spreading in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Tibet through its religious and evangelical teaching. Among Buddhist schools, Pure Land Buddhism is the most similar Buddhist school to Christianity. Therefore, Pure Land Buddhism serves as a challenge and an opportunity for Christianity. Pure Land Buddhism in the Mahayana Buddhism Buddhism is an open canon system like Hinduism. There are so many sacred books and many schools follow their writings. However, Buddhism can be classified to largely two streams, Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. If one considers the time it took to form the Mahayana scriptures, it can be supposed that the Mahayana Buddhism started between the first century B.C. and the first century A.D. Mahayana means 'the Big Raft' which is the instruction of Mahayana Buddhism is like a great vehicle that can transport so many beings to universal liberation. Mahayana Buddhists referred to those who stay in early traditional Buddhist schools as the Hinayana group. Mahayanists criticized them as narrow-mindedness Buddhism that gave the first consideration to Monastic practices. The Mahayana Buddhism is a new popular Buddhism around the possibility of universal liberation for all beings. And they have been developed more religious Buddhism like a savior to help them and to lead them into the Pure Land. Pure Land Buddhism started in China and then it was propagandized to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. The Amitabha Sutra (The Amitayurdhyana-sutra), the Larger Sutra of 2
Immeasurable Life (The Larger Sukhavativyuha-sutra), and the Contemplation Sutra (The Smaller Sukhavativyuha-sutra) are main scriptures for this school. 1 Amitabha(Eternal Light) or Amitayus(Eternal Life), the fourth of the Dhyani Buddhas, will be come down the earth and lead all human beings into his paradise(pure Land). 2 Most Korean Buddhists usually chant Namo-Amitha-Bul, Kuanseum-Bosal (Namo- Amitabha Buddha, Avaiokitesvara Bhodhisattva, 南無阿彌陀佛, 觀世音菩薩 ) again and again. This chant means that they pay homage to Amitabha Buddha and Avaiokitesvara Bhodhisattva. They chant this for happiness in this world by the compassion of Avaiokitesvara Bhodhisattva and the arriving on Pure Land of Amitabha Buddha by the leading of Avaiokitesvara Bhodhisattva. This chant includes faith of Pure Land in the Mahayana Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism teaches that everyone can be saved through chanting and faith in these Bhodhisattvas or Buddha. It can be called evangelical Buddhism because it appealed to the laity who seeks an easy way to salvation. Arguments against Pure Land Buddhism However, Pure Land Buddhism keeps the basic teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. Most self contradictions of Pure Land Buddhism are found in this. First of all, they still believe in samsara and karma. Karma is a kind of retaliation against what someone did in a previous life. Samsara is a kind of reincarnation according to karma. If Amitabha will cut the chain of samsara and lead human beings into Pure Land, the problem is that he does not forgive bad karma and cut the chain of samsara in present time. His salvation and grace is a suddenly given gift at the end. Until that time, the chain of samsara and 1 Mark A. Ehman. The Pure Land Sutras. Buddhism: A Modern Perspective. Charles S. Prebish,. Ed. (University Park and Lodon: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1975), 118 2 Christmas Humphreys. A Popular Dictionary of Buddhism (London:Curson Press, Totowa:Rowman and Littlefield, 1975), 30 3
karma will rule over human beings. 3 Second, the freedom from the chain of samsara and karma is the liberation, known as nirvana. For achieve better karma or the liberation, one should follow the Four Noble Truths and the noble Eightfold Path that Shakyamuni Buddha taught. The cause of human beings suffering is craving. To cease the craving and get liberation, they must follow the Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. This teaching is a kind of moral ethic. The salvation of human beings depends on human efforts and merits. Simultaneously, Pure Land Buddhism teaches the salvation of Amitabha Buddha. This is like that one can be saved through keeping laws and believing in Jesus and his cross. However, in the aspect of salvation, complete grace cannot stand with human efforts. Third, Pure Land Buddhism holds the thought of emptiness. Shakyamuni Buddha achieved nirvana through realization of the Four Noble Truths and the Middle Path. The Middle Path refers to the Buddhist philosophical position of avoiding the two extremes of nihilism on the one hand and belief in an everlasting soul or metaphysical principle on the other. 4 According to the Middle Path taught by Buddha, annihilation of one s desire is to take place with moderation. The concept of self-sacrifice and self-extinction are considered primarily in the psychic sense of eliminating the individual ego. 5 The Heart Sutra or Prajna Paramita Hryday Sutra is a very popular Buddhist scripture among Mahayana Buddhists for its brevity and deep meaning. Many Korean Pure Land 3 Norman L. Geisler and Lanny Wilson. Reincarnation. The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics, Ed Hindson and Ergun Caner,. ed. (OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2008) 416-418 4 Noble Ross Reat, Buddhism: A History (California: Jain Publishing company, 1994), 33 5 Jerrold Schecter. The New Face of Buddha (New York:Coward-Mccann, 1967), 168 4
Buddhists memorize and sing this everyday because they have a conviction that it can prevent them from all kinds of diseases. The Heart Sutra says, Sariputra, the characteristics of the void (or emptiness) of all Dharmas are non-arising, non-ceasing, non-defiled, non-pure, non-increasing, and non-decreasing. Therefore, in the void there are no forms, no feelings, perceptions, volitions or consciousness. 6 In Buddhism, ignorance and desire are fundamental bad virtue for suffering. On the contrary, wisdom is a crucial good virtue for Nirvana. However, the Heart Sutra denies the ignorance, desire, wisdom, and suffering. The Heart Sutra says, There is no wisdom, and there is no attainment whatsoever. However, the Heart Sutra exhorts like this, The Buddhas of the past, present and future (or in the three worlds) by relying on Prajna Paramita have attained supreme Enlightenment. The Heart Sutra argues that desire and ignorance are nothing and then urge one to overcome them because they cause suffering. It says that suffering is nothing and then urges to free from it. It says that the attainment is nothing and then exhorts to gain supreme Enlightenment. The Heart Sutra says that wisdom is nothing and then suggests practicing in the Prajna Paramita(the awe-inspiring wisdom) for Nirvana. Biblical Arguments against Pure Land Buddhism Pure Land Buddhism is a religious and evangelical Buddhist school. It has similarities to the evangelism of Christianity. They teach an afterlife of salvation by grace, and a deity as a helper. These similarities could give them some familiarity with the Gospel of 6 http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/heartstr.htm 5
Jesus. As an example, Bubrhun, a representative monk of Korean Pure Land Buddhism, preached a Buddhist sermon in Munjungdong Roman Catholic Church. 7 However, Pure Land Buddhism has crucial differences from Christianity. The most important thing is about Jesus Christ. Amitabha Buddah, the savior of Pure Land Buddhism, ignores the sin problem or karma of human beings. He is not concerned with the present life of human beings. He did not do anything for human beings, and his salvation and kingdom only refer to the future. However, Jesus Christ came into the earth from heaven and he became in the likeness of man as being in the form of God (Phil. 2:6-7, KJV). He paid for the sin of human beings and washed it away through his blood on the cross (Heb. 9:12-28). He broke away the chains and authority of sin (Rom. 8:2; Rev. 1:5). He came so that human beings might have life, and that they might it more abundantly (Jn. 10:10). It is he who is preparing heavenly mansions for the believers, and he will come back and lead them into where he is (Jn. 14:1-4). Conclusion The similarity of Pure Land Buddhism becomes a simultaneous challenge and opportunity for Christianity. Amitabha Buddah, the savior of Pure Land Buddhism, did not do anything for human beings, and be ignore their sin problem (or karma) and present life. However, Jesus died for them on the cross and his salvation is of past, present, and future. He is the way, the truth, and the life for human beings (Jn. 14:6). 7 http://jungto.com/community/community2.html?sm=v&p_no=19&b_no=39002&page=3 6
BIBLIOGRAPHY Ehman, Mark A. The Pure Land Sutras. Buddhism: A Modern Perspective. Charles S. Prebish,. Ed. University Park and Lodon: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1975. Geisler, Norman L. and Wilson, Lanny. Reincarnation. The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics, Ed Hindson and Ergun Caner,. ed. OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2008, Humphreys, Christmas. A Popular Dictionary of Buddhism. London:Curson Press, Totowa:Rowman and Littlefield, 1975. Reat, Noble Ross, Buddhism: A History. California: Jain Publishing Company, 1994. Schecter, Jerrold. The New Face of Buddha. New York: Coward-Mccann, 1967. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/heartstr.htm http://jungto.com/community/community2.html?sm=v&p_no=19&b_no=39002&page=3 7