The Buddah and Jesus Christ: Both Answers for a Wounded Humanity?

 Earlier this month (June 2022) Pope Francis welcomed a delegation of Buddhist monks from Thailand to the Vatican. The occasion commemorated the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI welcoming to the Vatican “the Most Venerable SomdejPhraWannarat,” the 17th Supreme Buddhist Patriarch of Thailand, on 5 June 1972. Francis recalled words spoken by Paul VI from the 1972 visit: “We recognize the values of which you are the custodians, and we share the desire that they should be preserved and fostered. We hope there will be increasing friendly dialogue and close collaboration between the traditions that you represent and the Catholic Church.” The jubilee anniversary was an occasion to renew bonds of friendship between the Buddhist delegation and the Catholic Church, and to remain committed to cultivating compassion and hospitality.

According to Francis friendship and dialogue are more important than ever. This is because “Sadly, on all sides we hear the cry of a wounded humanity and a broken earth.” For encouragement and examples in healing these wounds, Francis called attention to both The Buddah and Jesus Christ. “The Buddha and Jesus understood the need to overcome the egoism that gives rise to conflict and violence,” he said. “The Dhammapada sums up the Buddha’s teachings thus: ‘To avoid evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one’s mind – this is the teaching of the Buddha’ (Dph 183).Jesus told his disciples: ‘I give you a new Commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another’” (Jn 13:34).  

This is reflectiveof modern-day Roman Catholicism that is not interested in honestly addressing major differences with other religions, but instead celebrates similarities and seeks to find Jesus in those religions. Finding commonalities between The Buddah and Christ is a perfect example. This is reflective of Francis’s papacy and his vision for the Catholic Church, a vision that was most recently articulated with his 2020 encyclical All Brothers. In his letter Francis observes that “The Church esteems the ways in which God works in other religions, and “rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. She has a high regard for their manner of life and conduct, their precepts and doctrines which… often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men and women” (n. 277). His words echo those of Paul VI from 1972 and cite those of the 1965 Vatican II document Nostra aetate (also proclaimed by Paul VI). Francis’s vision for the Church, then, is well grounded in Vatican II Roman Catholicism. He affirmed this and the message of All Brothers to the delegation of Buddhists when he said that their common task is “to guide our respective followers to a more vivid sense of the truth that we are all brothers and sisters.”

This inclusive message, however, requires that the Good News of Jesus Christ be watered-down. Yes, followers of Christ are to love one another, but this is never at the expense of calling the lost to repentance and turning from sin to faith and life in Christ alone. In today’s ecumenical and inclusive culture, it is difficult to say that no, we are not all brothers and sisters. However, in order to maintain the integrity of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and in order to see people saved by the gospel, it is necessary. Romans 6:23 says “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” What happens, however, when sin is no longer part of the conversation? What happens when we are no longer called to repentance? What happens when we are all brothers and sisters, regardless of our standing before God?

What happens is the Good News of Jesus Christ is no longer complete and the devastating effects of sin are greatly lessened. Salvation, however, requires conviction of sin and it requires exclusive faith in Christ Jesus. Spiritually speaking we are all brothers and sisters only if we confess Jesus Christ alone as Lord and Savior of our life. The Bible cannot be clearer on this point: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Humanity is not wounded, as Pope Francis suggested to the Buddhist delegation, but is instead dead in its trespasses (Ephesians 2:1). The only remedy is the gospel of Jesus Christ. God’s people must be bold in proclaiming the gospel in its entirety so that true brothers and sisters may be added to God’s glorious kingdom. The church dialogues, yes, but it is a dialogue that remains faithful to the gospel boundaries that God’s Word clearly draws and articulates.