Cultural Explanations of Life and Death on Buddhism and Christianity

【Abstract】As major religions in the world， Buddhism and Christianity have a profound impact on people's life. Based on the comparative analysis of differences between Buddhism and Christianity from the intercultural perspective， this paper makes a cultural interpretation of different views of life and death that Buddhism and Christianity have， helps people have a better understanding of the two religions and the great influence which they have on people and then become more sensitive to the cultural differences in the process of intercultural communication.

【Key words】cultural explanations； life and death； Buddhism and Christianity

People are different in many aspects， especially when they are of different religious traditions. Peoples attitude toward life and death shows their background， value and belief. Therefore， it is very crucial to learn the difference of different religious traditions in the process of cross-cultural communication. Buddhism and Christianity have great influence on the people， so it is meaningful to know the cultural explanations of life and death on Buddhism and Christianity.

1. Theories involved

1.1 The nature of culture

According to Chen Jianping， “Culture appears invisible， yet it is pervasive and can be experienced everywhere since it has a profound effect on us human beings.” “Culture can be demonstrated as accumulated pattern of values， beliefs， and behaviors.”

1.2 The characteristics of culture

According to Samovar， “Culture is learned； culture is shared； culture is transmitted； culture is based on symbols； culture is dynamic； culture is integrated.”

1.3 Worldview， religious traditions and the culture of life and death

Samovar believes that “The relationship between worldview and the study of intercultural communication can not be overstated. Most experts agree that culture supplies most of a persons worldview.” “Religious or nonreligious worldviews intersect on a number of different questions， yet they often have dissimilar answers for inquires concerning life， death， human nature， ways of knowing， and the like.” “Religion as a worldview has been found in every culture for thousands of years.” “Six prominent religious traditions are Christianity， Judaism， Islam， Hinduism， Buddhism and Confucianism. These traditions present their members with advice on how to live life and with explanations about death.”

Only by learning the nature of culture， can we know the characteristics of culture well. Only by learning the characteristics of culture well， can we learn the worldview of religious traditions and then learn their cultures of life and death well.

2. Basic information about Buddhism and Christianity

Both Buddhism and Christianity are famous religions of great influence on the people. Buddhism mainly prevails in the east， while Christianity prevails in the west， especially in those English-speaking countries. Despite of the similarities， they are much different from each other in many aspects. Therefore， we should firstly know the basic information about Buddhism and Christianity.

Based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings， Christianity is a monotheistic religion. According to Christianity， Jesus is the Son of God and God is the savior of humanity. That is why Christians commonly refer to Jesus as Christ or Messiah. The three largest groups in the world of Christianity are the Roman Catholic Church， the Eastern Orthodox churches， and the various churches of Protestantism.

As a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions and practices， Buddhism is largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama， commonly known as the Buddha （“the awakened one”）. According to Buddhism， the Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent between the 6th and 4th centuries BC. He is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher. He shared his insights， help human beings end suffering， achieve nirvana， and escape what is seen as a cycle of suffering and rebirth.

There are two major branches of Buddhism： Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the most popular religion in Asia. Nowadays both of the two branches are found throughout the world. According to Ou Dongming， estimates of Buddhists worldwide vary significantly depending on the way Buddhist adherence is defined. Yet， there are at least Buddhists between 350-500 million in the world.

Due to the different background and several other factors， people holding the convictions of Buddhism and Christianity have different attitudes toward life and death. Learning the difference will undoubtedly help us avoid cultural conflicts， and then get along well with people with convictions of Buddhism and Christianity.

3. Key differences of the two religions

3.1 Who creates the world？

Buddhists believe that all the things in the world depend on each other， without mentioning the creator of the world. On the contrary， Christians hold the belief that it is God who creates the world and decides everything in the world.

3.2 How to make redemption for themselves？

Buddhists believe that people should not think any vice trivial and any virtue trivial. They should do good to other people as much as possible so that they can make redemption for themselves. Only by doing this， can they go beyond life and death. On the contrary， Christians stick to the belief that if you believe in God， you will get redemption from him and live in the paradise with him. No matter where you are， God is always there with you. No matter what you do， God is always ready to forgive you and help you. God is everywhere.

3.3 What is the end of peoples lives？

According to Buddhism， life and death make a circle and all people have endless lives of different forms， while Christians believe that all the people will experience the Last Judgment after death. If they are kind enough， they will live in heaven with God. If not， they will go to the hell and suffer a lot.

3.4 Where is the paradise？

According to Buddhism， everywhere in the world can be the paradise if people comprehend the law， the rule and the essence of the world. Therefore， the paradise is accessible to everybody and everybody has the chance to go to the paradise. And Christianity avoids answering the question.

3.5 Eternal or not？

According to Buddhism， it is impossible to get an eternal life. Everything has a limit and everyone can not get out of the limit. However， people can get an eternal spirit. Christianity fails to answer the question and it focuses on the redemption of people and getting an eternal spirit.

4. Cultural explanations of life and death on Buddhism and Christianity

4.1 Cultural explanations of life and death on Buddhism

According to Li Lingling， Buddha is recognized by Buddhists as an awakened or enlightened teacher. He brought a doctrine， the way of enlightenment that each person can achieve for himself. He demanded no “faith”. Actually， he refused to be revered as a religious authority. He does not think it is possible for people to gain the eternal body， because the world keeps changing all the time and everything in the world has been changing all the time.

Based on the view of Tan Jie， Buddhism is believed to help people lead a moral life， become mindful and aware of thoughts and actions， and develop wisdom and understanding. Therefore， Buddhism is more than a religion. To many people， it is a philosophy or a way of life. It is a philosophy because philosophy means love of wisdom.

The Buddha taught many things， but the basic concepts of Buddhism can be summed up to the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path which teach people how to avoid the suffering and become truly happy. These doctrines teach people that they should try to modify their desire to become happy， because endless desires deprive people of contentment and happiness. True happiness and contentment are possible to everyone in the world. However， people should give up useless craving and then become happy and free. In order to promote the spirit， people should spend as much time and energy as possible to help others. This is Nirvana.

Karma is a very important concept in Buddhism. It is the law that every cause is interrelated and has an effect on each other. For example， our actions do lead to certain results. If a person does something bad， he or she will get into trouble sooner or later. Buddhists believe in reincarnation. If a person does something bad， his or her soul will be tortured and should make redemption for the bad things that he or she have done.

Hence Buddhists believed that to live is to become true， kind and beautiful. According to Mahayana， one school of Buddhism， one can be really happy only when all the people in the world become happy and get out of suffering. That is why Buddhism promotes people to do good to others. People have to be companionate and help others who are in trouble. In Buddhism， people can also truly understand others and themselves when they help others， and then get wisdom.

Buddhists believed that everything in the world is a loop circle. To them， death is not suffering， but the beginning of life in another form， so they really do not fear the death and get the solutions to the problems both within themselves and outside.

4.2 Cultural explanations of life and death on Christianity

Christianity has a very huge impact to western civilization， and that is why it is very popular in western countries.

Christianity is rooted in Judaism and founded by Jesus in the Palestinian territory in the middle of the first century. Christianity includes the Hebrew Bible （known to Christians as the Old Testament） as well as the New Testament as its canonized scriptures. According to Bi Suhua， Like Judaism and Islam， Christianity is classified as an Abrahamic religion. The name “Christian”， with the meaning of “belonging to Christ” or “partisan of Christ”， was first applied to the disciples in Antioch. Bible is the classic doctrine of Christianity and is believed to be God's revelation. It is also the Christian General principles of faith and life standards， the eternal truth of the world according to Christianity.

According to Christianity， everyone is born with guilt. To all the Christians， the meaning of life is to repent for sins and the most important thing is to adore God. People must believe in God absolutely and admire all the things that God did， do and will do. People have to obey God unconditionally and entrust themselves totally to God. That can be a tie between people and God and God will bring people happiness.

No one can gain happiness on his own. Only God can bring people happiness. Therefore， God is the only one to be adored. If people disobey God or adore other things， they will be punished by God. However， God is always kind and ready to help people even if people disobey him. God always forgive people with sins just like a father to children. Christians believe that all the things belong to God and everything that they do is always for God. God is the rule and God is everything.

They believe that time and life are limited， but if they believe in God， they will be given unlimited soul. All the people are the children of God. When people come to the end of their lives， they will go back to the place where God is. In other words， death means reborn. They believe that they will gain eternity after death by the help of God.

Therefore， Christians are not afraid of death at all. They are fearless and dauntless in the face of death. They think it is just like going on the way home after completing themselves for sins. By the help of God， they， by the moment of death， will go back to the Home where they believe their soul and spirit are. In other words， they will go to the real home and live with God forever after death.

The cultural explanations of life and death on Buddhism and Christianity are very important to cross cultural communication. Only by knowing well Buddhists and Christians attitude toward life and death， can we really understand their belief， their behavior and the difference between Buddhism and Christianity.

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作者簡(jiǎn)介：鄭鑫（1986-），男，碩士研究生，講師，研究方向?yàn)橛⒄Z(yǔ)教學(xué)法、翻譯理論與實(shí)踐。