Sermon 2

A Sermon on the Similarities Between Christ and Buddha Copyright 5-19-2026 David Santin Kilday (DSK) The lives of Jesus Christ and Siddhartha Buddha are described in The New Testament of The Holy Bible and in the thin novelization of the life of Buddha: Siddhartha by Herman Hesse, respectively. My knowledge of Buddhism is also informed by The Everything Buddhism Book by Arnie Kozak. The word Siddhartha, the original name of the boy who would become Buddha, literally means “every wish fulfilled.” Siddhartha was born a prince to a king and lived behind walls in the king's palace. When he saw the suffering of the people outside his palace’s walls, Siddhartha renounced his worldly possessions and principality and became a wandering ascetic. An ascetic is someone who achieves higher intellectual and spiritual enlightenment by starving his body of its necessities like food. Starvation, or fasting, is an ascetic practice which is said to enhance the higher functions like the intellect and spirit. Many monastics eat one meal a day and never eat after high noon. An ascetic is someone who starves him or herself to improve their concentration. In ancient BCE India a Shramana was an ascetic who renounced ties with society to improve his focus on matters philosophical and spiritual. Siddhartha was a meditation prodigy who became a religious icon. Buddha, the enlightened Siddhartha, articulated Buddhism's Eightfold Path, formed a monastery, married, died peacefully, and was deified. Jesus Christ was born in a manger, worked as a carpenter, became a religious icon, died violently, became a martyr, and was saved by his father God. Christ associated mainly with his apostles, like Buddha associated with a small group of wandering ascetics, during their religions’ emergent phases. Together, these holy men inspired new religions and changed the world. Buddha became an awakened one when he resisted the temptations and became enlightened; Christ inspired his followers with his humility and grace, had his passions on the Cross, died painfully, was reborn, and sits next to the throne of God to judge the quick and the dead during his Second Coming. Nirvana is the ultimate spiritual attainment in Buddhism. Literally, the word Nirvana means a cooling by blowing, a blowing out, or an extinguishment. Both Jesus and Buddha promoted peace, never responded with violence towards their violent persecutors, valued humility, qualified ego, and rejected vanity, desire, lust, and greed. America is a greedy sex pot characterized by lust, greed, and idolatry. The Christianity of The New Testament and the ethics of Buddhism counterpoise their wholesome values to the sinister Babylon we have become. Bob Marley and his band toured the USA and made a live album from their concert recordings. Check out the album Babylon by Bus. It's one for the age. David Santin Kilday (DSK) Here is something I wrote a while back on the subject of Christ and Buddha: 5-3-2026 Jesus and Buddha were wandering nomads. Jesus and Buddha were neophyte attractors. The followers and fellow-travellers of Jesus and the Buddha were the five original Buddhists and the Christian Apostles respectively. Jesus and Buddha were charismatic leaders. Jesus and Buddha were seeking to end suffering through the practices of meditation and prayer respectively. Both emphasized ethical conduct. Jesus and Buddha were compassion advocates. The word “compassion” occurs often in the Bible, particularly in the New Testament. Compassion, you may know, is one of the principal planks of Buddhism which include peaceful comportment, loving-kindness towards others, and the pursuit of a life without lust, greed, or attachment. Jesus and Buddha were practitioners of celibacy. Jesus and Buddha were disgusted by lust. Jesus and Buddha were disgusted by greed. Jesus and Buddha were Holy men. Jesus and Buddha were living men who died as all human life does. Christ died on the cross and was reborn from a sealed cave to sit beside his father to judge the quick and the dead during the Second Coming. Christ had suffered “until the even” as it says in Leviticus and then ascended to his throne on the right hand of God. Buddhism, while originally a non-theistic philosophy and practice (that is of earth and people and the practice of meditation, not the worship of a spirit in the sky), became, for some, the elevation of a living man to Godhead. A practice and philosophy became worship in both the Buddhist and Christian religion, which always creates the possibility of idolatry. Buddha, a Prince, walked away from a pampered Principality to live the life of a wandering, ascetic. Siddhartha knew poverty and extreme hunger. Siddhartha lived on the charity of others, like the Buddhist monks of today still circulate through their communities with their bowls at the start of the day, asking for food, often simple rice. Buddha nearly starved himself to death. The Buddhists believe in testing the charity of others. Some say the Buddha ate rice one piece of rice at a time. Buddha resisted all of the temptations of desire, lust, and greed. Buddha founded a world religion that primarily promoted Peace. Christ founded a world religion that has been used to dehumanize the other. I don't think Christ would approve of all the people, over 100 million people for sure, Christian zealots have killed in his name. I know Christ as the “Prince of Peace” like it says in The Holy Bible. Buddha was a Prince of Peace too Buddha attained Enlightenment, established a Monastery, and founded a world religion whose emphasis on peace led to a pacific impulse through much of Asia. There are 2.64 billion Christians on this planet and between 320 million and 500 million Buddhists (source: Gemini). There is never any good reason for war. Diplomats say, war is what happens when communication breaks down. Let's follow Buddhism, and make Christianity a religion of peace, not a religion of the the self-righteous dehumanization of scapegoats, unreasoning bigotry, murder, torture, and war.