What I find useful in Buddhism

Reader mdejess commented on this post:

I have some ideas I would like to test with you.

What do you find useful in Buddhism which you do not find or not as useful in Christianity?

No, I am not taking up the defense of Christianity, but just curious why Buddhism has found favor with supposedly intellectuals of the West, some minority of them but visible.

While I am sure there must be also a visible number although a minority of Buddhists also going over to Christianity.

And I would like to ask them similarly what they find in Christianity that is better for them than their own born into Buddhism.

I told him I’d respond in a post, since I thought my response would be a bit too long for the comments.

I think what I find useful in Buddhism, which I don’t find in Christianity, is that with Buddhism, I’m not forced into believing anything.

In Christianity, it is set forth that there is one God, and that you must believe in that god. It is also set forth that God sent his only son, Jesus, to this earth, to die for all of our sins. Basically, if you don’t believe in these two things, then you can’t be a Christian: the entire religion is built on those two things. You can’t build up your Christian tower without those two foundation blocks.

In Buddhism, there isn’t any of this. There are no gods that one must believe in; there is no story of divine beings coming to the earth. In a previous post here on my blog, I even commented that I think that, most likely, the historical Buddha didn’t exist. And that’s okay! Whether the fellow existed or not ultimately doesn’t matter. The fact is, the Four Noble Truths still exist, the Eightfold Path still exists, and these things make sense to me. They sync well with my personality, with my mind, and my life.

On the flip side, if I read about the story of Jesus, his life, his work, and his death, and then decided that I doubted all of it as actually happening, where does that leave me? How could I move forward with my faith in it? I don’t see how I could. Without solid belief in the Christian God and Jesus, one can’t be Christian. It just isn’t possible, at least not in any way that I see.

Traditionally, it is said that the Buddha taught that all followers should test what he said. He advised all of his disciples to really try what he said, to sit down and try and find the self, to really look at how their minds worked and what caused their suffering. He said he wasn’t divine, he wasn’t sent by a god, that he was just a normal human, just like everyone else. It is this message of “try it, don’t believe just on faith” that appeals to me. Many religions, when you question them, simply respond with “you must believe this, solely on faith.” I, personally, am not fond of that. I don’t know how to make myself believe anything, regardless of how bad I’d like to.

Looking at what I’ve written, the major trend I’m seeing is this: my preference towards Buddhism over Christianity is based on the issue of faith. Buddhism doesn’t call on me to believe in anything “out there”, Christianity does. If I decide that I believe there is a God or gods “out there”, I can still be Buddhist. If, on the other hand, I decide that I don’t believe in anything out there, that there is nothing supernatural “out there”, I can still be Buddhist. Christianity doesn’t give me that freedom.

Hope that helps, mdejess.
Oh, by the way. I feel it necessary to say this, so as to keep things civil here: I’m not attacking Christianity. I don’t have any problem with Christians. I don’t believe the same things they do, and that’s okay. We can agree to disagree and still be nice about it. If you have criticisms for me or Buddhism, that’s fine (and in fact, I welcome it - such things make me think!) However, I do ask that if you respond to this post, be civil! Attacks or general meanness will be sent off into the void.