Upvote:0
Buddhism revolves around the 3 Fold Training. A person of any religion, cast, background, etc. can practice them to start with. Any religion worth the name cannot have anything against Virtue, control over the mind and wisdom.
Once you see things for your self you can then strain your views in line with your experience.
Also the Buddhist teaching center around stress (psychological misery or unsatisfactoriness) people experience in life and the way out of stress. Where as in Christianity the central teaching revolves around God. See Buddhism and psychology, Buddhism and Modern Psychology and Buddhist Meditation and the Modern World.
Trying to reconcile the differences at a philosophical level may not be the most productive way. Best is to realise your self and do the reconciliation keeping in mind there is nothing in Buddhism which a person from any other religion cannot practice.
Upvote:1
If you want to reconcile the Buddha's teachings with the Bible, it will be impossible as the key pillar in Christianity is the creator almight God and He is just not present in Buddhism.
For me, the most important point is this: Buddhism can make you a better human being, the practice of the Buddha's teachings (Dhamma) can give you valuable tools to improve your life and the life of people around you, meditation is a great example. So, even if you are a Christian you can use Buddhism in your favour, put aside the philosophical differences and focus on the daily practice! Don't bend to the Buddha if you are not comfortable in doing so, but read the books, walk the path, meditate and do good deeds! :)
Upvote:3
Within my own experience of this, I think it is entirely down to personal opinion. Throughout my upbringing, I was very lucky to be brought up in a country with so many temples and religions that there was hardly any discrimination and a huge encouragement to take part in celebrations. I have always been taught that each religion is equal, and that they mostly aim to reach the same goal: Love and Compassion to alleviate suffering. I think due to modernisation and differing ideologies β e.g. a Westerner's take on Buddhism is rather different to an Asian's take on Buddhism simply due to social and cultural differences β texts have been interpreted in a whole multitude of ways, which therefore causes a whole host of problems. Some will say all religions are very different, others will say they all wish for peace, etc.
My mother was brought up Taoist and Buddhist, she does prayer, and goes to the temple every time we are back in our native country. However, she calls herself a Christian. She believes in God, and at no point do I feel I have the right to question any of her beliefs. I also feel it is easy for her to believe in differing religions because our home town embodies the churches, mosques and temples. She happily practices what she believes in, regardless of its religion. Buddhism in itself is a philosophy, like the Tao, and it is wholly accepting of all religions. If my mother is happy, let her be happy, as long as she feels she is living a good life.