When St. Peter tries to convince Jesus to avoid the Cross, Jesus rebukes him harshly with the most famous fraternal correction ever: Get behind me, Satan!
Well, Buddhism is just one big version of St. Peter’s aversion to suffering, as Fleming Rutledge notes:
“It seems likely that the versions of Buddhism so popular in America today are actually types of gnostic spirituality. The Dalai Lama continues to attract adoring crowds wherever he goes, but there are many points of difference between what he has to say and the theology of the cross. In an interview with Gustav Niebuhr of the New York Times, he sought to explain his appeal with this observation: ‘We all desire happiness and wish to avoid suffering.’”
The big difference between Buddhism and Christianity is over the role of suffering: Buddhism says suffering is only to be avoided, while Christianity says it is something to be embraced as an act of love and redemption. These can’t be reconciled, and they are essential differences. Jesus says that Buddhism’s central message is “thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” That’s why it’s both popular, and deeply wrong.
Get Behind Me, Buddha!
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