Buddhism and Christianity: comparative religious perspectives

Buddhism and Christianity

It is a fact that in the past twenty years or so, women historians have been entering the field of research and have found out the truth that women in Christianity have been placed in a role that is not really completely true. In other words, more and more women have been delving into the past to come up with new theories on the important role that women in ancient times have played in Christianity, and certain ancient chronicles and texts have been dug up to substantiate the fact uncovered by them. In essence, women historians have rediscovered certain facts like, for example, the truth that only a few women were recognized, women like Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and Mary Magdalene, the woman who had the misfortune of witnessing first hand the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and a few others like them. Today, it is now certain that women did play a more important role than they have been given credit for, and there have been women who have contributed a great deal to Christianity and even before. (Women in Ancient Christianity, the new Discoveries)

The general opinion of Christians is that if Christ had never been born, what would have happened to human civilization is that there would not have been any type of elevation of the common man, there would have been no type of 'mass education, there would have been no enlightenment or the uplifting of the lower classes, modern science would not have been able to develop as it has, hospitals would not have been built, there would have been no capitalism, there would have been no modern Universities of Education, the world would have been at a virtual standstill, with all sorts of bizarre and strange cultures dominating the world, and people at each other's throats all the time in the fight for supremacy. In fact, it is even said that because of the fact of the Birth of Jesus, the way in which the world generally measures time was also changed forever, and even today, the whole world counts time as 'Before Christ', and 'Anno Domini'. (Reviews: What if Jesus Had Never Been Born)

In those early days, that is, before the Birth of Christ, life was what is termed 'cheap'. Infanticide was rampant, and only half of all the children born were able to survive beyond the age of eight or more, and infanticide has been traced back to the days of the Canaanites before the Jewish conquest of the Promised Land had happened. With the advent of the 'Early Church', the phenomenon of 'abortion' disappeared, and so did infanticide, as well as abandonment, and the main reason for this may be the fact that there was a place for the children, and this was the church, and the cry was that the abandoned children be brought to the Church. This was what led to the founding of orphanages and Foundling Homes, and Jesus had effectively changed the very 'value of Human Life', according to the Book by Dr. D James Kennedy, and Jerry Newcombe, entitled 'What if Jesus had never been born?'

Furthermore, since it was widely believed that every single person in the world has been made 'in the image of God', it goes without saying that everybody in the world must be treated with respect, and this trend was exemplified by Jesus Christ, who did treat women with the greatest respect possible. It is a fact that people do tend to assume that women are being treated with respect and deference anywhere and everywhere they go, but it is a sad fact that women are nothing but the mere 'possessions' of men, in most parts of the world. For example, the Christian Missionaries who happened to visit India in ancient times, were quite shocked to find that in India, when a husband died, his wife would have to be burnt at his funeral pyre, whether she wanted it or not. Cannibalism was also another aspect of human civilization that saw betterment or an improvement, in that it was abolished with the advent of Christianity. (Reviews: What if Jesus Had Never Been Born)

Before Christianity, education was something that was only meant for the elite, and many of the numerous languages of the world were set to writing by Christian missionaries in a language that everyone in the world could understand to a certain extent, at least, and the Bible was written in a simple enough language, known as Cyrillic. St. Cyril developed this language in order to translate the Bible and the liturgy into the Slavic language. After this was achieved, Luther started the Reformation by writing the Bible in German, and others too followed suit. John Calvin, also known as the 'Father of Modern Education', believed that all children must be taught about God, and to revere Him, and to know Him, so that they would be able to glorify Him. This was why Theology was such an important subject and was in fact taught at all the various Universities of the time, 1200.

Another individual, the Pastor of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, states that there would not have been an 'America', if in fact Christ had not been born at all, and Robert Oppenheimer, the famous nuclear physicist who was responsible for the creation of the world's first atom bomb, stated that Christianity is the literal 'Mother of Science', and this is because of the fact that Christianity did indeed provide a sense of rationality and level-headedness to the Birth of Christ and the belief in a religion, in this case, Christianity. This sort of rationale is not seen elsewhere; for example, in Islam, the primary belief is that everything that happens in the course of life is predetermined, and fatalistically so, in Hinduism, the primary belief is that the only reality to believe and lay your trust in lies in the very soul of the individual, and according to the beliefs of Jews, the world is one reason more to Praise God. (Reviews: What if Jesus Had Never Been Born)

This is the role that the women of the ancient times, that is, during the days of the Old Testament, played. The Church would be able to critically appraise the role of women in connection with the later role of feminism that they played in later and in the Modern Era. As far as the role of women before the 'Fall' is concerned, two creation accounts, that is, the Genesis 1:1-2:3, and 2:4-2:5, represent God's real design for both men and for women, and for husbands and for wives. This very charter of humanity is in fact treated as the covenant of the human race, although some concessions are allowed because of the fact that the human heart is a hard one, according to Matthew 19:8. This particular idea of creation is at the background of the order of Redemption, which in turn is represented in the rest of the Scriptures. One example that demonstrates this fact is the story of the evolution of the Sabbath. It is said that, according to the Fourth Commandment, Exodus 20:8-11, the reason for individuals to refrain from working on that day is based on the assumption that this was the day that God ceased His own work, and this meant that humans could also cease to work on the Sabbath. In the same manner, the Seventh Commandment, Exodus 20:14, that condemns adultery, was actually founded on the institution of the marriage that took place in the Garden of Eden, according to Genesis 2:18-25. (the Role of Women in Worship in the Old Testament)

The Sixth Commandment, that of protecting life, Exodus 20:15, is because of the fact that all life has been created in the image of God, as seen in the Genesis 1:26-28; 5:1-3; 9:6. Therefore, it can be said that the Bible is in fact a story of Paradise that was lots in the First Adam, and then regained in the Second Adam. This also conveys the meaning that the Garden of Eden is symbolically representative of the ideal culture that had been forever and irretrievably lost, and also the fact that Moses restored in the old Israel by using the law that was revealed to him at Sinai, and that Christ restores in a much better and perfect manner in the new Israel because of the law that was written in His very heart. In addition, what must be remembered is that all the other historically conditioned texts in the rest of the Old Testament cannot be condemned as not being the usual and normal practices of the Church during that period; in fact, there are three reasons given for this. These are: God was responsible for ordaining the culture of Israel, and this is the culture, in which He became incarnate, and therefore, the godly roles that women played in those times were actually because of the designs of God, and not due to mere chance. This also means that it is the Sovereign God and not just Lady Luck that is the Lord of Israel.

Since God is sovereign by nature, it means that His sovereignty even extends to the allocation of Gods to tribals and to pagans, and this also means that God did not simply hand over His very representation of Himself as the Father and as the Son and as the Spirit to Lady Luck, and then relax, nor did He give over to chance or to Providence the form of government for the nation that He had chosen to bless by spreading His teachings and wisdom among the people of that region. Krister Stendal, the former Dean of Harvard Divinity School, made a comment wherein he said that God had chosen manly and masculine metaphors with which to describe Him, and that this was by mere accident and chance. However, in truth, the Bible actually dose not mention anything at all about the physical appearance of Christ, and nowhere is the various physical attributes of Christ described in any way, like, for example, the color of His eyes, and so on. Patriarchy was considered the rule of law, and this system of government was never considered to be oppressive or cruel, especially to women. In fact, it was often stated that were women to rule, this would be an example of God's punishment on men, and that it would be taken as God's judgment against the sinful nation. (the Role of Women in Worship in the Old Testament)

However, Isaiah 3:12 states that children are their oppressors, and women rule over them, and the vote was for the opposition of the oppression that women were often subjected to, and Micah 2:9 even states that the women were being cast out of their pheasant homes by this type of oppression, and that a voice was required for those who were too weak to have a voice or opinion of their own, like for example, the widows, and the fatherless. Our Lord was in fact a revolutionary when it came to women, and it is indeed a fact that He had very definite views on women in worship, and at times, He managed to amaze His various disciples by conversing with them when He was not supposed to, thus violating the laws of both Romans as well as the Jews against women, according to John 4:27. Furthermore, Jesus Christ also entrusted women into becoming the original witnesses to the resurrection, which is in fact the very cornerstone of the Christian faith, although it is also a fact that the statements of these women would have been discounted in a roman Court, according to Luke 24:1-24.

This is where Mary of Magdala, who had shown her devotion to Christ through her worship of the Lord, became the first person to meet Christ after His resurrection, according to Mark 16:9-10; John 20:14-18. Mark 16:11; Luke 24:11 states that the story of Mary Magdalen that Christ had in fact arisen was discounted by His many disciples, and there are even stories of how they laughed it off. However, when the story was seen to be true, Jesus Christ rebuked these disciples for not believing the story and ridiculing the woman, as seen in Mark16: 14. However, despite all these facts, it is still true that Jesus Christ attempted to stand by the norms dictated by the Old testament, wherein a woman could never be appointed as an Apostle, in spite of having had a number of women pandering to all His various needs, and ministering to Him, and looking after all His wants. In fact, there were a number of women, who were close friends of Jesus Christ at that time, and despite all this, He was not able to give a woman the position that she deserved. (the Role of Women in Worship in the Old Testament)

One story that did its rounds at that time states that one unnamed Gentile woman was responsible for teaching Jesus Christ that the Ministry of god is not actually limited to any particular groups or even to particular persons, but belonged to everyone who had Faith. Therefore, it can be said that women did indeed play a prominent historical roles in the Ministry of Jesus as His disciples and as His followers. This sort of prominence and importance of women happened to continue even after the death of Christ, and these women played a very important role in the early stages of the development of the early movement of the religion of Christianity. In fact, it has even been proved that the majority of Christians in the first century were women. (Women in Ancient Christianity, the new Discoveries)

In the New Testament, devoted disciples and people like Peter, John, and Paul take center stage, but the main part of the stage is taken up by Jesus Christ, the humble carpenter and the Son of God, and His devoted band of good women disciples who not only paved the way for the Lord but also preached His various messages to one and all at that time of History. His mortal Mother, for example, though she was in fact a mere mortal, was effectively lifted above that basic level, and taken to a step above it, while at the same time, there were a lot of women whose works as well as their devotions were completely ignored. However, as is the won't of strong willed women, they took it in their stride and strove to face the challenges and the trails that came their way with a strong sense of courage and with tremendous spirit. One of the most famous and the most adored women in the Bible is in fact, the Virgin Mary, the temporal Mother of Christ. (Women of the New Testament)

There are not many facts known about her life, except that she was a humble girl from the country of Nazareth, and engaged to marry the humble local carpenter Joseph. This was the time when she met the Angel, who informed her that she would be the mother of the messiah, and after this point, until the time when Jesus was presented at the Temple, Mary's life was at the very forefront of the Gospels. After this, Mary literally faded into obscurity, after which she emerged when Jesus was crucified. Mary was known as the bountiful mother, as well as the Mother of Jesus Christ, and has also been known for her continuous search for the Messiah, although the very sad fact is that she faded in everyone's memory though she showed great faith in His Coming, as well as devotedly affirmed His Arrival. The Bible actually refers to Mary, Mother of Christ, as Anna, and she was, in fact, one of the very first persons to have ever declared that Jesus was the Christ and the Savior. Anna was an elderly woman, and has been known to be a believer in the Torah and in the Isaiah and the Micah. She was, therefore, a learned woman, and most probably held the position of a Sister of Charity or a Deaconess of the Christian Faith.

However, though she was awaiting the arrival of Jesus Christ eagerly, there is no known record of any type of celebration at His arrival, and while Anna awaited His Arrival, Mary of Nazareth was responsible for bringing Him into the world as well as raising Him, there is no evidence that either of the two women played an important role in His life. There were two other women, who played a vital role in Jesus Christ's life, and they were Martha and Mary, who shared a home with their brother Lazarus, and both of these women would be responsible to a large extent in the ministry of Christ. While Mary was saintly and sensitive, and more dedicated to Christ than her sister, it was to Martha that Christ declared that He was in fact the Messiah, and Martha was also the one person whose great confession of faith was one of the biggest in the History of the written word, and this happened just before her brother Lazarus was raised from the dead, according to the John 11:27. There were some women whose lives were not touched in any way by Christ at all, and these people, when they heard of Christ and showed their faith in Him, became believers almost overnight, and Mary Magdalene was one such woman. Mary Magdalene according to the Gospels, had been afflicted by the seven demons, and when Christ happened to cast out these demons, she became a zealous and fervent believer in Christ, and threw herself into the cause of Christianity with full verve. (Women of the New Testament)

According to old legends, the various and numerous Disciples of Christ who went around preaching Christianity all over the world were actually sent by Mary, and she was responsible for having sent the Apostle Andrea to Georgia, and he spread the teachings of Christianity there. However, since the faith had not yet gained in popularity, the christening of the people of those parts was done secretly, and elsewhere too, it was kept hidden. There existed at that time a famous and well-known Kabadokian Commander Zabilone, whose twelve-year-old daughter was named Nino. When she was given to her relative, who was a patriarch of Jerusalem, he taught her the doctrines of the Christian faith. She traveled with her benefactor and started to spread the Christian faith all over the world, and also demonstrated her great belief by performing miracles so that even the most strict non-believers became believers, and even the King Miriam of the state of Georgia was not immune to the powers of Christ; he adopted Christianity in the year 337, and soon after this, the faith began to spread in earnest all over the world too, and everywhere one could see the effect that Christ and His teachings were having on the people of the world. (Christianity IV Century) Therefore, the role of women before and after the spread of Christianity is seen as being extremely important, and it was women, who were responsible for the spread of the religion, and with the advent of Christianity, the position of women underwent a sea change, and they became more important in the general scheme of things.

In Buddhism too, women have played an important role, and it was after the advent of this faith that women found that they were in better positions than they had ever been before. What exactly is Buddhism? It is nothing but a path of practice and of spiritual development that would lead to deep insights into the very real and true nature of our life. Buddhism believes in certain practices like for example, meditation, which aims at changing oneself for the better. It is believed that one can develop and also maintain the various qualities of awareness, enlightenment, wisdom, kindness, and tolerance. Also known as the 'Path', this would supposedly culminate in Buddha hood, or in Enlightenment. The important factor about Buddhism is the fact that it does not profess belief in one great creator of all mankind, like Christianity does; its teachings are rather based on practicality and on the basic temporariness of things in general, and that change is indeed possible at any time in our lives. Therefore, it is obvious that the principles of Buddhism can be applied to anyone and everyone, from all walks of life, irrespective of sex, color, race and creed. (What is Buddhism?)

The fact is, there are quite a few people who quote Buddhism completely out of context, and if the innate purpose was to present Buddhism as a sexist religion, wherein female clergies were to be denied the same status as the males of the religion, they were indeed successful. However, what must be remembered is the fact that Buddhism is a religion that includes all human beings, of both genders, in its various beliefs and in the enlightenment that it provides. Women have also played a very important role in the religion, and one of the first known and recorded Buddhist nuns is said to be the aunt of Buddha, called Prajapati, who had actually raised him after the death of his mother. It is said that when she asked to be allowed to join the faith, Buddha retorted by saying that since women were inferior to men, mentally as well as in their very ability to understand things, and also in the capacity of practicing the art of non-attachment to the self. (Women in Buddhism)

The legend goes on to say that Buddha, right from the time when he was a small boy, had been brought up with the idea that women were basically like animals, in that they were trained to behave in a certain manner, almost like animals. Their role in life was to nurture, feed, entertain, and breed men. This was the reason, the legend goes, that Buddha was treating his own aunt, the very person who had brought him up, in such a despicable manner; he saw her as somebody who was meant to satisfy all the needs of the men around her and to please them to the best of her abilities. In the Tibetan American Book on Buddhism, this blatantly sexist attitude of the Buddha is recognized as sexist but he is not at all blamed in any way for it, and he was able to get away from the consequences of his behavior because of the fact that it was explained away as being the result of the cultural conditioning that he had been subjected to when he had been a small boy. In continuing the legend, the aunt of Buddha, Prajapati, is finally allowed to enter into the folds of the religion just because of the fact that Ananda, Buddha's cousin, happened to say that she must be allowed in, because it could not be said for sure that women would fail in all their endeavors unless they were actually given a chance to prove it, and maybe when they followed the teachings of Buddha, and the Dharmas, then maybe they would be able to fare better than they were at present doing.

The basis for this type of attitude in Ananda is that of an understanding in the impermanence of things, and of the fact of continual change, wherein each and every small thing that takes place or happens in the world is new, and not something that existed before, or that had happened before. One incident that happened to shake the Buddha out of his sexist attitude is when Prajapati lost her husband, that is, when Buddha's father died. This is when he realized the impermanence of things, and also came to realize that his assumption that women were mere possessions of men and to be treated as such was, in fact, wrong. Thereafter when Prajapati became the first nun, many other women too hastened to join the Sangha, and Prajapati succeeded in bringing a large number of women into the Mutt. Buddha himself was able to cut across the barriers of his cultural conditioning and started to see women as being in no way less than men in being able to grasp his teachings and in preaching them to others. (Women in Buddhism)

As far as the condition of women before the advent of Buddhism and its culture is concerned, it can be said that the condition of women was indeed pitiable before the arrival of Buddha on the scene. In general, the condition of women was little more than that of a slave, and that of widows was nothing better than a permanent torture. Their lot was indeed very hard, and they were subjected to unheard of tortures in the name of religion. Torture, deprivation, tonsure, disfigurement, and so on were her lot in life after her husband happened to pass away, and in addition to all this, there was a strict enforcement of a ban on remarriage, and no widow was allowed to remarry. 'Niyoga' was a system that insisted on procreation as being the essence of life and these hapless women were forced to have sex with strange men under the name of Niyoga so that the human race would continue even if the woman's husband was no more. (Decline and fall of Buddhism: A tragedy in Ancient India)

In addition to this, there was the strange practice of the so-called 'Sati', wherein the wife would be thrown on the funeral pyre of her dead husband, and she would be literally burnt alive on the pyre. Generally it was the higher castes called Brahmins who resorted to these methods, but since it was the higher classes that were doing it, the other classes did not in the least mind emulating them, and this meant that women of all castes were subject to these inhumane practices during their lifetimes. What was the reason for these cruel methods to have developed in India? The main reason is that the higher castes always wanted to maintain the purity of the caste, as the purer it was, the more benefits it was supposed to bring those who followed it, and quite naturally, as the caste system grew more and more rigid and strict, the Sati system also grew in leaps and bounds, and in some areas it was even more strictly enforced than in others, like for example in Bengal, where it was called the Kulin system, where any one of the hundreds of unhappy and disgruntled wives of one old man could very easily poison the old man, their husband. (Decline and fall of Buddhism: A tragedy in Ancient India)

The book 'Women in Sacred Laws', by Shakunthala Rao Shastri, clearly explains the condition of women before the British happened to land in India. First and foremost, there existed the forcible and cruel practice of child marriage, where a mere child was married off to a boy or a man more than three to four times her own age, and she was technically married to the man even if she was just a baby. In addition, there was the practice of female infanticide, where a female baby would be thrown at the junction of the Ganges River and the Sea, and the baby would inevitably drown. A widow was accorded shameful treatment at the hands of the men in her life, and the horrendous Kulinism that made marriage more of a profession than a sacred duty had to be followed by the woman, whether she wanted to or not. After the arrival of Buddha on the scene, some of these cruel practices could actually be abolished or at least minimized to some small extent, and under Buddhist Law, the situation for women took a better turn. Not only was the religion infinitely more practical than Hinduism, the main religion of India at that time, but it was also more elastic and flexible.

It was a highly ethical religion and the 'Eight Principles of Life' were enjoined on each and every person who would follow the religion. These were: Right Understanding, Right Mindedness, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Action, Right Endeavor, Right Concentration, and finally, Right Collectedness. According to Buddhism, every man or woman is basically a free agent who must be able to work out his or her own salvation irrespective of any external supernatural agency or any other type of influences. This leads to the development of the truth that there is no difference between man and woman, and both are equal under the eyes of the Buddhist laws. One example is that a Buddhist marriage is a very simple ceremony, which involves a pure and simple civil contract. The age at which the girl is generally allowed to marry is twenty, and after she reaches this age, she is an adult, and her opinions may be sought out, even if it is for her own marriage. However, if in the case that she marries before she has reached the age of twenty, and that without the consent and the prior permission of her parents or her guardians, then the marriage is declared null and void by the Buddhist court of law. (Decline and fall of Buddhism: A tragedy in Ancient India)

However, there is an exception to this rule, when the woman is a widow, or when she is a divorcee, because of the simple reason that she is no longer bound under the paternal cord. A Buddhist man is generally allowed to marry more than one woman, the system of polygamy is allowed, and he can marry twice even when his first wife is still alive. However, the same rule does not apply to the woman, and she is allowed to marry only one man at a time. The incredible fact is that the concubines or the illegal wives of the men are allowed their own share in the property of the ma, and this system, even though it may not be anything to laugh about for the first wife, did indeed have the advantage of preventing illegitimate children. Concubines had a legal right to property, and could inherit it. Women had the same rights of inheritance as men, and when there is a marriage, then the couple would share a joint interest in their estate, and each would be able to keep his and her share separate form the other person's share. Any property either acquired or inherited would belong to both the husband and the wife, and both of them would get an equal share in the interest generated by the properties.

Divorce is permitted under Buddhist law through the means of mutual consent, and the wife can divorce her husband in the same way. When for example, one of the couple happens to contract a contagious and non-curable disease, then divorce would be granted immediately, with no questions asked. In the case of one partner happening to desert the other within a marriage, then divorce becomes automatic, and there is no question asked. In addition, the deserter stands to lose his or her share in the property of the other, and also has to pay up their debts if any as a joint attempt. Amazingly, if the husband decides that he will become a priest, and decides to stay one even after seven days, then the wife will immediately inherit the entire property, and she can use the property that she ahs acquired to pay off all her joint debts and keep the rest for herself. As far as adoption is concerned, there is no difference in the two genders; a girl can be adopted as much as a boy can. A woman can adopt out of pity, or out of a need for an inheritor of her properties, and the child can be a girl or a boy. Almost all of these laws still survive in almost all the Buddhist countries of the world, like for example, Burma, Indo China, Japan, and Sri Lanka. Buddhism was also a living religion in India at one time, and it influenced the Hindu religion to a great extent at that time. (Decline and fall of Buddhism: A tragedy in Ancient India)

Buddhism developed and spread al over India, especially, at a time when Indian society was basically a patriarchal one. Women were treated as objects, and were expected to be subservient to men and depend on them for each and every thing that they required. Before the advent of Buddhism in India, only men were considered to be good enough to become Hindu priests and women were banished from that particular area of life. A woman, if she wanted to be free of the various difficulties and responsibilities of 'samsara' or in other words, family life, then she could only hope to be reborn as a man in her next birth into this world. When Buddha finally overcame his aversion or revulsion to the idea of women entering the discipline of Buddhism, and he was able to make the decision to allow Prajapati into the fold, this period is seen as being the beginning of the change in the status of women in India. In many ways, this type of change that occurred in the status of women is compared and found similar to the status of women in Christianity at that time when Christ as born and then died. The traditional Jewish culture insisted that women must be denied the right to claim equal education rights with men. (Buddhism and gender Equality)