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Deception:

Truth to Say to Buddhists:

Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, was born about 560 BC during the time of Ezekiel in the Bible.  He called himself “Buddha” meaning, “the enlightened one.”  Buddhism came out of Hinduism.  It did away with the caste system. Gautama claims he discovered  Four Noble Truths:

1.  Existence brings suffering  (Dukkha)

Buddha was right that existence bring suffering.  Many times suffering comes because of sinful choices that are made. Some Christians have suffered a lot emotionally and physically, but they have found that their loving relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ and the healing power of the Holy Spirit has brought great comfort to their suffering.  In John 15:15 Jesus said to His disciples before He ascended to heaven that God will give you all another Comforter, (Who is the Holy Spirit), that He may abide with you forever.”   The Holy Spirit abides within Christians and brings healing comfort to those who seek God’s face.  

2.  The cause of suffering is the craving desire for pleasure, like happiness and prosperity. (Samudaya)

 In Ezekiel 36:26,  Ezekiel prophesied about Jesus Christ:  “I will give you a new heart and I will give you new and right desires.”  Psalm 37:4: “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”  Ps. 16:11 says in God's Presence is fullness of joy.

3.  The way to escape from suffering is to get rid of the desire for pleasure...and eventually achieve Nirvana  (Nirodha)

The worst suffering of all is going to hell for all eternity and being separated from God.  So God sent His Son Jesus Christ who paid the price for our sins, through shedding His blood, and died on the cross. Through that one courageous selfless act Jesus reconciled mankind to God so that we could have eternal life in heaven and be saved from suffering in hell.

4.  The way to be rid of desire is to discipline one’s mind and to live correctly, following the Eightfold path (Marga)

God want us to have godly desires. Christians practice disciplining their minds through actively memorizing scriptures in the Bible (2 Cor. 10:4), not like Buddists who passively blank out their minds through yoga, which can cause demons to enter in.   You must think on God’s Word.

To receive “salvation”, you must go through a series of reincarnations, a chain of rebirths, in which each soul, through mastering the Eight-fold Path, can rise to a higher state. 

The deny the authority of the Vedas (that the Hindus believe in)

We are human, so we all sin.  Our sin separates us from God.  Hebrews 9:22 says without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.  Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins through shedding His holy blood on the cross for all mankind, so that we could be forgiven and reconciled again to God.  Salvation from hell or eternal life in heaven is a free gift.  It is a decision you make. You just believe and pray to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.  After you are saved, then God does want you to do good works (kind of like the eight-fold path!) to help your fellow man and do good, but it is not how you receive salvation.

They strive to do the Eightfold path in order to stop the reincarnation cycle and enter into the state of Nirvana – where they have finally reached the higher state forever.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says we are not saved by works (like the 8-fold path), but by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Way of Christianity or Eternal Life is this:  In John 14:6 Jesus said,  "I Am the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father, except through Me."    Heaven is an eternal higher state, kind of like Nirvana, but heaven or eternal life is a free gift that you receive when you ask Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior. Then you are saved from going to hell.  Now after you are saved, God certainly wants you to help your fellow man and do good works.  But that is not how you receive eternal life.

When you discover the unbeliever is a Buddhist, then observe them and when you see they are practicing one of the Eightfold path qualities, compliment them on it.  For example, "I see that you are following "right action."  Then you will get a favorable response or a smile.   They may then ask you if you are a Buddhist. Then tell them that you're a Christian and the Bible says that "faith without works is dead"  and yet, salvation is not based on good works, but on grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ who died on the cross at Calvary and rose again.  Tell them the Bible says that man only has one life and dies one time and they either go to heaven or hell.   Then let God lead you as you share the Gospel more fully.  Here are some scriptures that correspond to the Eightfold Path.

Their idea of hell is being reincarnated into a lower state of being, like a bug.  Therefore they do not kill any living animals because they may be killing somebody – an old friend or a relative.

Hell is full of pain, suffering, fire and brimstone. Many have gone there and come back with the same testimony, proving that hell exists. Americans kill our animals & spray pesticides, but if you receive Jesus as your Lord, you won’t have to worry.  So what  were you before this life?  How do you know?  What bothers me    is that there is no proof for reincarnation. But proof is in the Bible    for all that Jesus said & did.