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Do Christians have guide lines like the 4 truths the 8fp e.t.c other then the 10 commanments?

BeachHouseGuyBeachHouseGuy
edited August 2011 in Buddhism Basics
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Comments

  • CinorjerCinorjer Veteran
    edited August 2011
    Well, the more intolerant Christians have the extensive list of laws in Leviticus and other chapters. That's where all those "Such-and-such is an abomination before God!" claims come from. Man sleeping with man. Eating shellfish. Wearing the wrong type of clothes. All abominations according to the early Hebrew Priests.

    But the more popular guidelines are from the teachings of Jesus. The "golden rule" and other pithy sayings like judge not, and how rare it is for the rich to make it into Heaven, and such.
  • GuiGui Veteran
    The Beatitudes

    Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
    Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
    Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
    Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
    Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
    Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
    Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
    Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven.
  • andyrobynandyrobyn Veteran
    Prior to Buddhist practice, I was a practicing Christian and it was as a Catholic practitioner; whilst the focus was not to rely on our own understandings of the Bible and it is not an area of my expertise :nyah: the life and teachings of Jesus, as expressed in his Letters to the Romans and the Phillipians have some good general principles, I have found.
  • CinorjerCinorjer Veteran
    Thinking about it, the above is comparable more to the Precepts. Now if you're talking about the bedrock teaching of Christianity that defines the religion, like the Noble Truths are to Buddhists? That's encapsulated in one famous Bible verse you see constantly:

    "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

    I repeated that so many times raised in a Christian household, it is engraved into my mind. If the Noble Truths tell us in one short statement what Buddhism is all about, then this verse does the same thing for Christians.
  • MountainsMountains Veteran

    Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
    "What did he say?"
    "I think he said 'blessed are the cheese makers'.
    "Oh, iddn' that nice!"

    The beatitudes have never been the same since "Life of Brian" came out...

    :)
  • GuiGui Veteran

    Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
    "What did he say?"
    "I think he said 'blessed are the cheese makers'.
    "Oh, iddn' that nice!"

    The beatitudes have never been the same since "Life of Brian" came out...

    :)
    Well, obviously it's not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.
    :D:D
  • aMattaMatt Veteran
    There are also the seven deadly sins/seven saintly attributes. They generally align to the same morals as Buddhist teachings.
  • thickpaperthickpaper Veteran
    Love thy enemy <<< that's about as Dharmic as you can get when it comes to instruction.
  • DhammaDhatuDhammaDhatu Veteran
    edited August 2011
    what "enemy"? :confused:
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    Love thy enemy <<< that's about as Dharmic as you can get when it comes to instruction.</p>
    "43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." (Matthew 5:43-44)

    3. "He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me." Those who harbor such thoughts do not still their hatred.

    4. "He abused me, he struck me, he overpowered me, he robbed me." Those who do not harbor such thoughts still their hatred.

    5. Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal.

    6. There are those who do not realize that one day we all must die. But those who do realize this settle their quarrels.

    (Dhammapada, Pairs).

    I think that sums it up..... Clearly, Biblically speaking, there is much said beforehand that Biblical scholars saw worth repeating....


  • compassionate_warriorcompassionate_warrior Veteran
    These are some interesting quotes from the Buddha. Clearly, he didn't understand how trauma works. Before you can get to the point of forgiving someone who has inflicted severe harm (abuse, etc.), one often needs trauma therapy. The mind isn't capable of processing extreme situations. Buddhists are human, too; having absorbed the teachings doesn't mean they're immune to being traumatized by extreme violence. In some cases, healing is necessary first. But they didn't know much about psychology in those days. The Buddha was pretty sharp, but even he had his limitations.
  • federicafederica Seeker of the clear blue sky... Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
    What makes you think he didn't understand how trauma works?

    This is precisely why he said these things. A person practices what they preach.
    Then there are modern-day equivalents, like Gandhi, and the tibetan monk imprisoned by the chinese for decades, whose main fear (inspite of inhuman treatment, continual torture, deprivation, near-starvation and hard labour) was that he would lose his compassion for his captors.
    Therapy was never an option, and to this day, he is the epitome of Compassion.

    Really, I find your remark to be quite astonishing.
    My personal opinion is that you are being presumptuous, when you say that....
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