The Legacy of Jacob - Moriel Ministries

Moriel Thailand– Continued
tial period of the Mahayana movement. Two
of them are of Indian origin and date from
about the first century B.C. The third scripture,
which dates from about the fourth century,
exists only in a Chinese version.
Apart from being late in and of themselves,
Shinran, and other patriarchs made
changes to the doctrines. Also, Amida Buddha
is not even mentioned in the earlier Pali
canon. The Pali canon itself is not exactly a
history textbook, but it is closer to the time
of the Sakyamuni Buddha.
Pure Land’s change in status: One example
of a changed doctrine is that originally
the Pure Land was thought to be an intermediary
place, ideally suited for obtaining
nirvana. Later it was believed that the Pure
Land is the end goal itself.
In summary, trusting in Shin Buddhism is
like playing soul roulette with every barrel
loaded. The founder (Dharmakara) is probably
entirely mythical. Even if we suppose
he existed, he is so human that he could not
have even saved himself. And, the record of
Shin Buddhism’s teachings speaks of relying
on snakes and late, revised ideas.
The Uniqueness of Jesus Christ as compared
to Sakyamuni Buddha
There are over 300 prophesies about Jesus
in the Old Testament (the most recent ones
are 400 years B.C.; most are older than that).
In Thomas’ book which gave a very detailed
account, including perspectives from various
schools, I found one prophecy at the time of
his birth, when it was said he would become
a great king if he stayed in the palace, but
would become a Buddha if he left. Also, the
Buddhavamsa text contains prophecies by
the previous 24 Buddhas. Although the Buddhavamsa
is part of the Pali canon, Thomas
refers to it as another example of “hagiographical
industry” (xxi), and being in the
Pali, it would have been composed after the
death of Sakyamuni.
Jesus had a forerunner to announce His arrival
(John the Baptist - who was also prophesied
in (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Isaiah%2040.3,
Isaiah 40:3)
Jesus’ “mother” outlived Him (on earth,
that is) [Buddha’s mother died seven days
after he was born (Thomas, 33)]
Jesus, being God in the flesh, created His
“mother” and all people
Jesus was born into a poor family (as
opposed to Buddha’s royal upbringing- although
it is in dispute as to whether Buddha
was really of royalty)
Jesus didn’t need teachers (whereas in
the stories of the Buddha, he had several
teachers, and words such as “searching” and
“striving” are used)
Jesus could “borrow” a tomb (He used it
for less than three days)
Jesus’ public ministry lasted for 3 years.
Buddha’s lasted for 45 years
Jesus died at age 33 (by crucifixion). Buddha
died at age 80 (by unintentional food
poisoning). This difference also has a bearing
on recording the events of their lives. If
two people died today at these ages (33 and
80), in order to find eyewitnesses of these accounts
for the person who was 33, we’d have
to find people who were living around 1969
to the present. For the person who was 80,
we’d have to find people who were alive (and
at least 10 years old, such that they would
have a clear memory of the events) around
1922. It becomes clear that there would have
been far more eyewitnesses (both sympathetic
and hostile- which meant the writers
had to be accurate in their retelling of the
events) for Jesus.
Jesus is not one in a series of greats- rather
He is completely unique- God in the flesh.
Buddha, depending on which text is used
was preceded by 6, 24, 54, or more than a
hundred previous Buddhas (Thomas, 27).
Jesus, though tempted, such that He could
be understanding and compassionate, was
completely sinless. Sakyamuni Buddha had
many sins, as is evidenced by the many lives
that are claimed for him (547 previous lives
as recorded in the Jataka tales), in which he
had to work off his bad karma.
The Pali Canon
The Pali Canon is held to be the closest
to the original teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha.
Of course there are many other Buddhist
scriptures besides the Pali Canon (such
as Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese scriptures).
Earlier I mentioned that the Pali Canon is approximately
15 times the size of the Bible.
The Chinese Canon is approximately 120
times the size of the Bible! (www.akshin.net/
literature/budlitsourceschina.htm)
Thomas in his biography of the Buddha,
writes, “The earliest period at which we have
evidence for the existence of a body of Scriptures
approximating to the present Canon is
at the third Council held B.C. 247…” (XlX).
The reason he says “approximating” is because
within the Pali canon some parts are
considered to be much later than 247 B.C.
Thomas goes on to say, “We have nothing,
even in the Pali, at all like ‘the real facts of
the Gospel history’ to put in the place of the
Sanskrit legend. We have merely other forms
of the same legend, some earlier and some
later” (XXlV).
Amazing Grace
Stephen H. Short was a Zen Buddhist
for 13 years before turning to Christ. In an
online article he retraces how he became involved
in Zen and how he decided to leave.
Here are some excerpts:
I considered whether there might be truth
beyond Zen that I would never find because
through Zen I had lost all desire to look for
it. Watching my desires and attachments appear
and trying not to hold on to them, I also
watched my attention becoming more and
more focused on myself. Though we students
bowed, chanted, meditated, ate, and slept together,
we might just as well have been alone
on a mountain top….The irony of becoming
wrapped up in the self in order to lose the
self was not lost on me. We were told that
bringing our attachments to awareness was
a prerequisite to letting them go. Might not
increased awareness subtly lead to increased
attachment Were we trading bondage to desire
for bondage to self-absorption
Jim Stephens was a Nichiren Shoshu
Buddhist for 14 years. In his online account
(www.equip.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.
aspxc=muI1LaMNJrE&b=4127511&con
tent_id=%7BAF924113-1C05-4D38-A299-
D99331EA7FD2%7D&notoc=1) he gives
the reasons for his departure from Buddhism
and how he turned to Jesus Christ. Here are
three excerpts:
The accident report read, “Cause: Act of
God.” I was in a train station in Japan, making
a pilgrimage to the head Buddhist temple
Daisekiji at the foot of Mount Fuji, when a
young man – in perfect English – warned:
“Beware the winds of Himeiji!” Three and
one-half hours later, I was leaning over to
put some postcards into my travel bag and
heard someone yell a warning in Japanese.
The next thing I knew, a sign weighing
nearly 200 pounds came crashing down on
my back…I was painfully lost in a spiritual
wasteland and was weighed down with sin. I
realized that while Buddhism had benefited
me in many ways, it ultimately led to a spiritual
dead end. As a great wise man, King
Solomon, once said: “There is a way that
seems right to a man, but in the end it leads
to death” (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/
Prov.%2016.25, Prov. 16:25)…That night,
my wife- a Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist for 16
years- also believed. What grace!
Lit-Sen Chang (1904- 1996) was a university
professor at age 21, and his thoughts
were influential among Chinese government
leaders. In his Christian testimony he writes,
“Though after my conversion I also wrote
five million words as before my conversion,
the fruits were different” (294). He goes on
to say how feedback from his readers shows
lives changed for the better. Some of his later
books are “A Christian Critique of Humanism”,
“The Spiritual Decline of the West”,
“Transcendental Meditation”, “Comprehensive
Christian Apologetics” (four volumes),
and “Zen- Existentialism.” In his book
“Asia’s Religions: Christianity’s momentous
encounter with paganism,” he tells of how
he became a Christian at age 50, after deep
involvement with various Asian religions.
Here’s an excerpt:
I was intoxicated with Confucianism,
Buddhism and Taoism as were many other
Chinese scholars, and became the founding
President of Kiang Nan University. The
Yung De-sheng family donated five thousand
acres of land, beside the most beautiful
lake T’ai Hu. This was to be the center of a
26 Moriel Quarterly • March 2012