Christianity and Buddhism on Suffering: The Case of ALS

Introduction: Suffering in Christianity and Buddhism

Suffering is part of life. People feel joy and they feel pain. Christianity and Buddhism share many similarities when it comes to suffering. Christianity provides the story of Job and his suffering at the hands of Satan. Buddhism offers Siddhartha and his journey into enlightenment. While Christianity and Buddhism differ in how they respond to suffering, both traditions acknowledge that suffering is inevitable. The case study of George and his diagnosis of ALS is similar to the stories of Job and Siddhartha — all three came from a position of success and then suffered later in life. It is how that suffering is interpreted that the worldview of each faith can be examined and applied to the case of George and his difficulties with ALS.

Christianity has always included the idea of suffering, with the story of Job being the most prominent example. Job was a good man who loved and worshipped God. Satan spoke to God and argued that the only reason Job worshipped God was because he lived a good life. God then permitted Job to suffer in order to prove to Satan that Job's faith would hold.

"Then his wife said to him, 'Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!' But he said to her, 'You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?' In all of this Job did not sin with his lips" (Job 2:9–10).

Although Job suffered greatly, and his wife spoke out in frustration, he maintained his faith and did not blame God or others for his plight. He accepted suffering as a part of life, in keeping with the message found in Luke 9:22.

The Cause of Suffering and George's Diagnosis

Siddhartha is a story about desire, suffering, and enlightenment. Central to Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths, and the First Noble Truth — the Truth of Suffering — is exemplified in the journey Siddhartha undertook. He experienced both mental and physical suffering that created much of the struggle seen in the narrative. The first real instance of physical suffering Siddhartha encountered was when he joined the Samanas, enduring extreme temperatures and managing pain through meditation. As he reflects: "But that I, Siddhartha, only find a short respite in my exercises and meditation, and am as remote from wisdom, from salvation, as a child in the womb — that, Govinda, I do know" (Hesse, 2008, p. 19).

Christianity and Buddhism both understand that suffering is a part of life. This addresses the "why" question of suffering in a general sense. However, understanding a reason beyond the simple fact that suffering exists — particularly in the case of a specific malady like George's — is much more difficult. Things happen without much in the way of clear explanation for how or why they occur.

George's illness could be attributed to genetics, environmental exposure, or a host of other potential factors. From the Christian perspective, George may have become afflicted with ALS because, through his illness, he will discover a part of himself he would not otherwise have found. From a Buddhist perspective, a similar logic applies, with the added dimension of karma, or kamma. "A typical means of classifying kamma is according to the threefold mode of acting: acts of the body, acts of speech, and acts of mind. Thus what we do, say, and think determines kammic results" (Olson, 2005, p. 49). In Buddhism, karma can be accumulated across multiple lifetimes and may therefore help explain George's illness even though he appears to be a good person.

Self-Worth, Identity, and the Fear of Dependence

From a Buddhist viewpoint, George would contemplate why this happened to him and consider that there may be a reason for it — interpreting his illness as a cause that will produce an effect for himself or those around him in the future. As expressed in one Buddhist primary source on the chain of causation: "When clear the true nature of things appeareth. To the brahmin ardently meditating, then all his doubts vanish, for he perceiveth of natural things all the effects and causes" (Thomas, 1913).

George became successful as a lawyer and then as a legal scholar, gaining a teaching position at a local university. On paper, he appears to be a respectable, good person with a family who contributes to society. He is independent, educated, and able to help others through teaching and legal work. When he was diagnosed with ALS, he became fearful of several things: loss of mobility, loss of speech, and loss of independence.

His diagnosis also brought the knowledge that he could die in as few as three years or as many as ten, depending on the measures taken to slow the disease's progression. Moving from being a fully independent adult who helps others and contributes to society, to potentially becoming a fully dependent person facing death within a few years or a decade, is extraordinarily difficult to accept. From the Christian perspective, it is important to consider how self-worth is framed in the Bible. In Romans 12:3, self-worth is grounded in humility and introspection: "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed" (Kruse, 2012, p. 467). Christians understand God's love, acts of selflessness, and kindness — rather than success or material gain — as the true measure of self-worth.

From a Buddhist perspective, there is a cause and effect to everything, whether karma-based or the result of simple random occurrence. George would contemplate why this happened to him and may find that his illness carries meaning as a cause that will produce effects for himself or those around him.