Reformed Blogging

Today is considered as Asala Dharma day in Buddhism according to the Buddhist lunar calendar. Dharma is considered as righteousness for both Hindus and Buddhists. I would like to recall a bit of my experience when I nearly converted to Buddhism. My ethnic Chinese folks were mostly Roman Catholic while they also practiced Buddhist and Taoist superstitions. It was a common practice to ask a Taoist astrologer for the right date for certain events - even for marriages that were to be held in a Roman Catholic parish! I knew a family of Taoist diviners who were also Roman Catholics! It was also a common tradition for some Chinese Catholics that a Roman Catholic novena was said for the dead. After the ninth day or sometimes on the 40th day - a Buddhist prayer ceremony for the dead is performed. The sad truth is that after the novena and after the Buddhist prayer ceremony - every last person who rejects Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will still be in Hell even after all those rituals...

I don't deny that Christianity and Buddhism do have some things in common like doing charity projects, not pursuing revenge, and helping one's enemies in need. The difference lies in the motives of doing good works. Buddhism is nothing more than centered on self-salvation while Christianity focuses on good works as a result of salvation. There is no real concept of grace in Buddhism while Christianity is all about man's helpless situation against sin and Jesus Christ is the deliverer. The problem today is the age of ecumenism and political correctness. The late John Paul II was a strong pioneer in ecumenism. He had various meetings with the Dalai Llama as the center of the Buddhist world. You might even call Dalai Llama as the Buddhist Pope. Former Pope Benedict XVI and the incumbent Pope Francis have been making stops at Buddhist temples seeking religious reconciliation and unity.  Some may even call Guan Yin as the Mother Mary of Buddhism. The statement isn't v...