Can a Thai be a Christian and a Buddhist

[Bkungbank]

Watch this video, it give you a good answer:

[mimi9000]

Buddhism and Christianity are like apples and oranges. They are totally separate things whose origins are not meant for a person to declare themselves as one but not the other. Unfortunately, over time and ignorance, society has arranged for people to consider one but not the other. Ignorance and general lack of information of one, and often both, is the problem surrounding this question.

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[ChrisKC]

Buddhism does not believe in a deity - no gods. Buddhists are Atheists. Couldn't be more un-Christian!

Thai women have enough problems with farangs without having the nonsense of Christianity to cope with as well.

[ggt]

While I admire your flexibility...when it comes to commitment in Christianity...there is no wiggle room for other gods...especially the worship of idols...good luck...

[Jingthing]

I think it depends on the level of orthodoxy of the Christian sect. Probably easy for Unitarians. There really are a lot of Jubus (I've toyed with it and there have been famous ones like Allen Ginsberg) as many Jews only identify with the ethnic part of Jewishness and there is also the more flexible Reform sect that are kind of like Jewish Unitarians. I think with fundamentalist Christians or orthodox Jews, no, it doesn't really work.

Edited April 3, 2014 by Jingthing

[benalibina]

Buddhism does not believe in a deity - no gods. Buddhists are Atheists. Couldn't be more un-Christian!

Thai women have enough problems with farangs without having the nonsense of Christianity to cope with as well.

Could be meaning for some; do not to another what u not like another do to u !

[dotpoom]

I have a friend who is a Nun. The convent educates children while their parents are at work. The Nuns teach them Christianity and a Monk comes to the convent to teach them in the Buddhist Religion. They learn both.

[issanaus]

IMHO it is not possible to be both a Buddhist and a Christian

As a Buddhist she should have no problem accepting that you have a belief system different to hers.

The real question is if your beliefs will allow you to respect her right to have a different belief system to you!!

My last GF was a Christian which is why i made sure that my wife is a Buddhist, lol

As a Christian in a relationship with a Thai lady you might find this link very informative

http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/harris/bl134.html

[marios]

The fact that your girlfriend wants to become also Christian is a wonderful thing. This will bring you together, you being a devout Christian. And also you attending religious services in a Wat. You can have the Buddist altar next to the religious icons and cross.

I thing it is a wonderful thing and I congratulate you both and wish you all the best.

[Ebenezer]

An interesting question, which is confirmed by the large number of replies. Quite noticeable that there are nearly as many different answers as there are posters!

I believe the answer to your question is "yes", but with qualifications.

I have looked into this before and give my views below. (Clearly many will disagree with me but the logic is correct).

1. Those who say that "Buddhism in its pure form is not a religion but a life philosophy, Buddha never intended to be seen as a god" are correct. In consequence from the Buddhist perspective one can be a Buddhist and a Christian.

2. There are many teachings in Buddhism and Christianity which are similar. This however does not include the way to "salvation" which is arguably the most important teaching.

3. From the Christianity perspective whether Christianity excludes belief in other religions depends on your assumptions: (a) if, as the majority believe, the Bible is just a book rather than the Word of God, you can logically make up your own mind - relativism rules rather than the existence of absolute truth so your "truth" (opinion?) is as valid as that of anyone else. It should be noted that modern philosophy discarded absolute truth a long time ago. or ( If however, as a minority (even within "Christianity" these days) believe, the Bible is the Word of God then "no man cometh to the Father except by the Son", and the unfashionable concepts of sin, repentance, atonement and faith in Jesus Christ as savior are the way to salvation. (Truth or the strength of an argument is however not dependent on the number of people who believe it).

N.B. As in the case of financial investments, risk and reward should not be ignored in making your decision: if (a) is correct and you believe ( in error, then the consequences are minor; but if ( is correct and you live your life based on (a), then the consequences are dire. (Paraphrased from the philopher Blaise Pascal).

[I Like Thai]

A Catholic priest ( who had studied many religions) once told me that " there are many roads that lead to Rome, choose whatever path suits you, and you will still arrive at the same destination"

Sounds like good sense to me.

Even the path of Lucifer ?

[I Like Thai]

This American hit the nail on the head when it comes to religions.

[dighambara]

There is no conflict. Jesus travelled in India and taught many scriptures from that area. Christianity,Buddhsm, Jainism & Hinduism are related religions. People forget history - such as Islam grew directly out of Christianity. History shows us that most of the world's religions are directly related.

[ravip]

Just a few simple thoughts reading through...

Can a Thai be a Christian and a Buddhist

How about a person of any other nationality? Anything special in Thais?

(although I think the use of the word 'devout' in relation to Buddhism is a misnomer)

Why? Buddhism is not a religion. But a person can "devotedly" practice Buddhism, isn't it?

How many religious wars were there in the world?

And which religion or philosophy does not have even one in record? WHY?

[HerbalEd]

Being a good person needs no religion.

A very simplistic view of religion.

Some of us have secured our passage to the next life and it didn't come about by denying the higher authority.

If indeed there is a "next life" your religion won't get you there ... only you can do that.

[cocopops]

Being a good person needs no religion.

A very simplistic view of religion.

Some of us have secured our passage to the next life and it didn't come about by denying the higher authority.

The methods by which you have come to this conclusion are extremely unreliable.

Pretending to be 100% sure of facts about the universe that you could not possibly know is nothing to be proud of. It simply makes you a liar.

It is preposterously unfair I know, but there is no reason to believe that Jesus will return to Earth and throw all the naughty unbelievers into a lake of fire while providing you with eternal paradise.

Furthermore, it's not even a nice lie - it's a fundamentally horrible idea. If you're not sure, ask yourself this: How many million years will you spend in paradise before your boundless Christian compassion causes you petition God for an end to the suffering of the unbelievers? After say 10,000,000? Would you consider perhaps sauntering up to the big man and saying "Well, he was certainly an annoying <deleted>, but I think Cocopops was more foolish than evil. How about we just snuff him out now, rather than putting him through another aeon of hell?"

Seriously, how many million? It's not a hypothetical question - all this stuff is real, right?

Now I suppose the consistent Christian answer is never. I, as a non-believer, deserve what I get - an eternity of torture.

Edited April 3, 2014 by cocopops

[cocopops]

Just a few simple thoughts reading through...

Can a Thai be a Christian and a Buddhist

How about a person of any other nationality? Anything special in Thais?

(although I think the use of the word 'devout' in relation to Buddhism is a misnomer)

Why? Buddhism is not a religion. But a person can "devotedly" practice Buddhism, isn't it?

How many religious wars were there in the world?

And which religion or philosophy does not have even one in record? WHY?

I give up. Jainism?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jainism

[Acharn]

Anyone with an open mind can practice any number of religions at the same time, but if your idea is exclusivity to your religion, then your chances diminish. Many tenets of Buddhism are similar, if not the same as Christianity. By the way what version are you?

And because of the subject, you may want to change your name to Pandora.

Are you a Christian? Really? Do you know what The Nicene Creed is? Do you accept it fully? Do you really believe it what it requires of a practicing Christian? Do you belong to any particular Christian denomination? Do you know what their basic, existential beliefs are? Do you understand what you are expected to believe, rejecting all other views and opinions as being false, misleading, heretical, and leading to eternal damnation??

Buddhism can accept practicing Christians. The Buddha taught the end of suffering. He did not talk about whether the world was formed by an invisible man in the sky who always needs money. He refused to talk about such things because such talk and speculation is a waste of time in achieving the cessation of suffering. If you are a fervent Buddhist you can believe in a Creator God if you want to, but you don't have to.

By the way, I'm an American, and my parents made me go to Sunday School every Sunday, and later I really tried to come to terms wit6h the faith and find some way I could say I believe in it, but since I was seven years old it has been impossible. The stories are too self=contradictory. The God is too evil. Too many of the members are blatant hypocrites (I've met some Christians I do admire. I just can't understand how they believe such things). I don't know nearly as much about Buddhism as I want to, but I think it's pretty clear that practicing the eight-fole path is a pretty good way to lead your life to minimize suffering in this life. My salvation is in my hands, not the whim of an unpredictable God. I can live with that.

I do not believe it is possible to be a sincere, committed, believing Christian and accept some of the basic Buddhist cosmological beliefs, such as that the physical world of Samsara has no beginning, was not created, and will not (probably) ever end. In general, although it's not central or a required belief, Buddhist cosmology accepts the idea that the world of Samsara we inhabit will eventually come to some sort of end and then start over again. This idea is actually not opposed to science, which does not pretend to know what came before or caused the Big Bang, if such a concept is even logically possible (how can something be "before" when there is no time?).

Anyway, if all you want is for a person to perform certain rituals and say certain phrases which are not important, and you then say that person is a Christian, I guess you'd be right in line witn many Americans who call themselves Christians but only go to church for their wedding and their funeral. I just don't understand why you waould care.

[Acharn]

There is no conflict. Jesus travelled in India and taught many scriptures from that area. Christianity,Buddhsm, Jainism & Hinduism are related religions. People forget history - such as Islam grew directly out of Christianity. History shows us that most of the world's religions are directly related.

Oh, dear. I think you should read a few more books. For one thing, there's no evidence Jesus ever went to India. That story comes from the the Theosophist movement of the late nineteenth century. Maybe he did, but there's no evidence of it in the commonly accepted books (the "New Testament"). Islam did not grow out of Christianity. Mohammed took the basic story that both Jews and christians accepted about Abraham and how the nation of Judah came to be and developed and what God told them. He also accepted the view that Jesus was another Jewish Prophet, and thus was holy, but certainly was not the Son of God and even more certainly was not God (Allah is the Arabic word for god). They insist that there is only One God and that only one of the Prophet God spoke through, Mohammed, told modern people the most recent orders from God. The Christians insist that God has three parts, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost all and each of which is God, separately and together, and how this can be is a mystery but is the revealed truth which you must believe to be a Christian. The Muslims thus say that the Christians are polytheists who blaspheme God every time they pray. Buddhism, on the other hand has nothing to say about God or The Creation. The Buddha explained many times that he only taught the cessation of suffering, and the questions which unite and divide the Jews, Christians, and Muslims are of no use in learning how to abandon attachment and end the endless cycly of birth, sickness, old age, and death, and thus end suffering.

Sorry, I'm getting old, and I have been taking this stuff seriously for many years. I hate to see people falling for what was basically a scam, a flim-flam, a way of cheating people out of their hard-earned money. I know in my heartg it's all bullshit, but I still get angry about it.

[Acharn]

<snip>

3. From the Christianity perspective whether Christianity excludes belief in other religions depends on your assumptions: (a) if, as the majority believe, the Bible is just a book rather than the Word of God, you can logically make up your own mind - relativism rules rather than the existence of absolute truth so your "truth" (opinion?) is as valid as that of anyone else. It should be noted that modern philosophy discarded absolute truth a long time ago. or ( If however, as a minority (even within "Christianity" these days) believe, the Bible is the Word of God then "no man cometh to the Father except by the Son", and the unfashionable concepts of sin, repentance, atonement and faith in Jesus Christ as savior are the way to salvation. (Truth or the strength of an argument is however not dependent on the number of people who believe it).

N.B. As in the case of financial investments, risk and reward should not be ignored in making your decision: if (a) is correct and you believe ( in error, then the consequences are minor; but if ( is correct and you live your life based on (a), then the consequences are dire. (Paraphrased from the philopher Blaise Pascal).

Now this is an excellent answer.Looking back on my childhood experiences I agree that a large majority of "Christians" don't even know what it is they claim to be believers in. Most of the most fervent Fundamentalists in America now are followers of the theology of John Calvin (which I consider a hideous perversion of that his followers wrote that Christ taught). The most fanatical are followers of R.J. Rushdoony, and that goes 'way off-topic.

[wym]

'I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.'

Mahatma Gandhi

[Jingthing]

'I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.'

Mahatma Gandhi

Yeah, that Gandhi was a pistol.

Here's another good one from him:

"What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea."

[wym]

Yeah, my kind of saint, slept between two young teenage girls every night - everyone naked of course - apparently just to prove to himself he could resist temptation.

"Tho' I've belted you and flayed you, By the livin' Gawd that made you, You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din!

[bina]

om 85 unfortunately or otherwise, genetically you are jewish if u have a jewish parent or grandparent but only really jewish if u have a jewish grandmother and jewish mother (fathers dont count). but u can practice whatever u want to practice..

yes you can be christian and still stand by budhist ways of life. they dont much contradict but budhism doesnt forbid u to do things but suggests u not to do things. the responsibility in christianity is that someone else tells you what to do and if u dont do it you will be punished. in buddhism, u are suggested to not do certain things but the intent is more important then the action, and you arent punished for not doing certain things or doing the wrong things, it just makes life harder for u in the interim. judaism stresses action even if u dont believe and also responsibility for yourself and community but also there is a higher being telling u what is right or not right.

i have described it in a very simplistic way .

im born jewish, ethnically jewish (cant escape e. european actions for that one), israeli, and very much more budhist then my thai husband, ex monk, and hater of all religiouns in any way shape or form (10 years in israel has made him loathe anything to do with religioun. althouigh he's still not sure about ghosts.)who has decided that money and internet are a better forumula then incense and prayer.

so the answer is yes.

and btw to the person who asked if someone learned to read thai to 'pray ' in a wat- no need. just learn by route, its really easy.

[unclueng]

The Five Precepts and The Ten Commandments

Buddha’s teachings give us Five Precepts, a code of conduct that we should follow to make our lives good. The Five Precepts are:

1. You should not harm any living creature by action, word or thought.

2. You should not take that that is not given.

3. You should avoid sexual misconduct.

4. You should not speak wrong words.

5. You should not consume intoxicants that will cause weakness of mind and control.

The great western religions Judaism and Christianity also have a code of conduct, The Ten Commandments. The commandments are:

1. I am the Lord thy God.

2. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

5. Honor thy father and thy mother.

6. Thou shalt not kill.

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8. Thou shalt not steal.

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

10. Thou shalt not covet.

Looking at these codes of conduct we can see that they are very similar.

The “First Precept” and the “Sixth Commandment” both are about respect for life.

The “Second Precept” and the “Eighth Commandment” are the same.

The “Third Precept” and the “Seventh Commandment” are also the same.

The “Fourth Precept” and the “Third and Ninth Commandments” are about not lying or swearing.

The “Fifth Precept” teaches us that to follow the teachings requires mindfulness and self control. Intoxicants can weaken us and lead to wrong behavior.

As for other similarities, in Buddhism we are taught to respect, to honor, and to trust “The Triple Gem”, The Buddha, Dharma, and the Disciples. The “First, Second and Fourth Commandments” teach about respect for God and tradition.

In addition, a basic teaching in Buddhist doctrine is that “Desire is the cause of despair”. To desire is to covet. This is the Tenth Commandment.

Dharma teaches us to have respect for our family, as does the “Fifth Commandment”.

It is easy to see from this that although Buddhism is an eastern religion it has many similarities to western religions.

The major difference is that Buddhism teaches us that all things come from “Nature” while in the Judeo-Christian doctrine God is the creator. Perhaps it can be said that “Nature is God and God is Nature”.

[Genericnic]

Anytime I see discussions relating to religion, I am reminded of a quote from Robert Heinlein, one of the great science fiction writers of the 20th century:

“The most preposterous notion that Homo sapiens has ever dreamed up is that the Lord God of Creation, Shaper and Ruler of all the Universes, wants the saccharine adoration of His creatures, can be swayed by their prayers, and becomes petulant if He does not receive this flattery. Yet this absurd fantasy, without a shred of evidence to bolster it, pays all the expenses of the oldest, largest, and least productive industry in all history.

The second most preposterous notion is that copulation is inherently sinful.”

David

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[Donnievino]

Thank you for all the great input. I especially appreciate the comments from Thais, Buddaists and Christians with Thai or Buddhist partners. For all you that felt the need to denigrate Chrisitanity or Buddhism I just want you to know that I love you. We Christians have our share of flaws just like everybody else and we use our faith as a path to self improvement.

[Donnievino]

I asked about a Thai Buddhist because I was curious about the cultural effects in Thai society and family relations for a Buddhist to embrace Christianity. The answer for a Thai Buddhist might be very different the the answer for a Japanese Buddhist.

[buddhaland]

I grew up from a young age with two very religiously diverse sets of parents. My mother was Lutheran (the church I was raised and confirmed in); my father was an atheist (until he knew he was dying, then became a born again Christian! And his daughter, one of my half-sisters became one as well); my stepfather and one sister were devout Roman Catholic, and that step-sister was raised that way. Finally, my step-mother was an agnostic, still the only intellectually honest belief system. So naturally I became a Buddhist o;).......true - but kinda funny;;;;

Actually, I came to believe that all the valid, time-tested religions (including Buddhism, which isn't a religion at all, but a phiosophy and science of mind) do not conflict with any other established belief system. After many years of being an active Baha'i, a religion that believes that there has always only been one god (called by Bahai's an Unknowable Essence- I love that kind of honest "We're really not nearly smart enough at this stage to know" attitude, who sent the various prophets in what they call progressive revelation, to reveal new evolutionary spiritual and social truths as we evolved socially and spiritually as a planet full of different cultures evolving at different rates. Sadly, over time, all religions become changed and perverted from their original intent - or just simply become obsolete in terms of human evolution. Thus, some higher power provides us with the next set of lessons suitable for that time and place thru a new prophet or manifestation who sort of spoon feeds us what we are ready to digest and utilize.

But I am rambling. First, even though I am a Tibetan-style Buddhist which is superficially very different than the forms practiced in Thailand, where I now live, it is never a problem. And second, the incredible usefulness of mindfulness that Buddha taught and is now being seriously studied and scientifically proven at institutions like U. of Wisconsin, U. of Mass. medical school, UCLA, and many others (mindfulness saved my life from depression and severe anxiety disorder) - can only be seen as a useful adjunct to any other spiritual belief system. And it has the powerful effect of making one a more connected, compassionate and moral person - which can only help advance anyone's religious cause or goal (desire to get into heaven, live a good Christian, or Muslim, life etc. without in any way creating a conflict with any religious belief. I know a Catholic Zen priest, numerous devout Jews who practice Buddhist principles and practices, without seeing any inherent contradiction, and many others I could mention.

So much richness in all this cross-pollination! I still treasure my Christian and Baha'i beliefs (Baha'i came out of Islam in Iran), and love to see the dance between them and my Buddhist beliefs. Bahai's like to say that there is only one religion - the religion of the "unknowable essence" they call God - only one country - the Earth - and only one race, the Human race. I love that. So in ending this endless missive, I just want to say that I absolutely don't approve of people trying to convert people to "their chosen" one TRUE, RIGHT belief system". But otherwise, why not smell all the flowers in the garden? They were all put there for a reason. We were "created" to think and learn and intuit these deep ideas and decide for ourselves what or which individual beliefs or combination of beliefs contributes best to our most PERSONAL spiritual growth; As I truly believe, all roads lead to "God," if you like - or, as I prefer, a "higher power" who continually contributes to our ever-continuing spiritual understanding and growth. So I commend you, those of you with the intellectual curiosity and - yes - courage - to follow the path of spiritual openness and exploration!

Whew! This was going to be a short note -- my sincere apologies! But I especially helps the OP and his partner to make a bit more sense out of their decision to combine their spiritual paths!

[kimbathewhitelion]

Sorry reading through all the posts, but can a White/Thai mix be a Jewish, Buddhist, Catholic?

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