The Crucial Difference

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9, NKJV.

In the country where I live Vesak is a national holiday. Vesak is the Buddhist celebration of the birth, enlightenment and entrance into Nirvana of the original Buddha – it’s similar to Christmas and Easter wrapped into one festival. It is the holiest day of the year for a Buddhist. This year I spent my holiday going from temple to temple, and tent to tent (many special displays are set up during this holiday) to observe and learn about the claimed faith of over half the population on my island.

People in my country tend to be shy, and don’t typically warm up to strangers. Many people didn’t want to talk to me. Those who did talk often mentioned detachment from material possessions and practicing charity as their favorite part of Vesak. Another young man mentioned that he liked coming together as a Buddhist community and feeling a part of something bigger than himself. One Buddhist nun shared that she felt that all religion was about Dharma (dealing with the bad deeds and accumulating good deeds) which was why she was interested in learning about all the religions.

Many of the ceremonies and rituals I saw seemed both foreign and familiar at the same time. I watched people spin cylinders, burn joss sticks, light candles, count beads, and copy Buddhist scripture. I observed people throwing flower petals, pouring water and placing gold leaf on various statues. I saw people getting strings tied to their wrists and being sprinkled with water shaken from flowers by monks. They rang bells, banged gongs and chanted. They listened to monks chant and various instrumental presentations. And they ate a communal meal and bought and sold a wide variety of religious artifacts.

One high-school-aged youth was selling gold leaf at $2 a sheet to the celebrants. I asked what it was about. He said, “Gold is precious. By offering the gold back to the Buddha, merit is made and greater detachment from material possessions is achieved.” It seemed to me that one man’s opportunity for detachment was another man’s temptation. Flowers sold for $2 to $10. Candles went for $5 to $15. Special coins were available for $5 for a small plastic cup full. Buddha statues and wall hangings were available from $15 up to $888 (the word for eight is similar to wealth in one of the dialects, so eight is a popular number). Monks received money offerings in red envelops for every chant, prayer and blessing they gave. Some of this money will go to Buddhist charities. Most of it will likely go into the maintenance and beautification of the temples.

As I reflected on what I saw, I noticed many similarities to our Christian expressions of holy days. They have special meetings featuring seasonal music. Sounds like a cantata to me. They encourage benevolence and caring for the less fortunate. I can hear the bells ringing for the Salvation Army on every corner. They burn candles. We burn candles during Advent. People practice a higher level of piety on this day than they normally would, just like the swell in church attendance every Christmas and Easter. Religious teachers remind the people that the same spirit needs to be practiced every day of the year. That sounds hauntingly familiar. They take special offerings. Half the support that allows my family to be in Southeast Asia comes from the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, and let’s not forget the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. And before we cast stones at how much Buddhists use for maintenance and beautification of their temples, let us look to our own church budgets; Christians are equally guilty on that point.

With all these similarities, what’s the big deal? Why not let them be Buddhist, and we be Christian and appreciate that both paths seek to help people live better lives?

I asked the youth selling gold leaf if he had ever met someone who had actually achieved enlightenment, perfect detachment from material desires. He said, “No.” Yet I have personally met thousands of people who have achieved the goal of being Christian; that is having peace with God, power for daily living and hope for eternity. Why the difference in success rate? Buddhists are by and large sincere, intelligent, hard working people who want to live well. They desire to relate right, think right and act right, but they lack the power – as do we all for all fall short of the glory of God. It is the grace of God as opposed to the works and merit of man that is the crucial difference.

There is no grace in Buddhism, because there is no God in Buddhism. To me that is a big deal, and we must do everything in our power to help Buddhists understand this crucial difference.

Pray that:

Christians will remember the crucial difference between grace and works, and will be diligent and committed to share the Gospel with all mankind.

Buddhists in the Pacific Rim will experience an awakening to the truth of God.

Christians working with Buddhists will not lose heart, but will continue to plant and sow until the harvest comes.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.