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Jesus and the Buddha: How Did They Interact with Society?

It’s impossible to overstate the influence of Siddhartha Gautama over the Eastern world and Jesus Christ over the Western world. But how did they minister in society? In this article, let’s look at the styles of ministry between Gautama and Jesus. How involved were each in the lives of people? Both had ministries of teaching, but how deeply were each of these two figures intertwined with the actual lives of these people? We can then ask which style was more conducive to helping those people confront suffering in their lives.

Two Stories About Storms

Let us begin with a boast. Alara Klama was one of Gautama’s former teachers prior to his enlightenment. In the Maha-Paranibbana Sutta,[1] a disciple of Alara Kalama approached Gautama and bragged on his teacher. Alara Kalama, said the disciple, was in a state of deep calmness when a procession of 500 carts passed by him, covering his robe in dust. Yet when a man who had been following the procession noticed Alara Kalama’s calmness, he became curious if Alara Kalama was actually conscious. When it turned out he was indeed conscious, only in meditation, the man was so impressed that he placed his faith in Alara Kalama.

Not to be outdone, Gautama then asked the disciple which would be more difficult: remain conscious yet unaware of a procession of carts, or remain conscious yet unaware of torrential rain, complete with lightning and thunderbolts all around. The disciple felt certain that even hundreds of thousands of carts were no distractions compared to such a storm.

Well, continued Gautama, once he was staying in a barn when just such a storm raged outside. In fact, two farmers who were brothers were killed in the storm just outside the barn, along with four oxen. When Gautama left the barn, there was quite a crowd gathered around the corpses. Gautama then asked, with genuine curiosity, what could have happened that such a crowd would gather like this. The man he questioned asked where Gautama had been not to have noticed the storm going on, yet Gautama answered, “I was here, brother.” The man was amazed, sure that Gautama must have been asleep or unconscious. Yet Gautama answered that he was very much conscious.


“The man was amazed, sure that Gautama must have been asleep or unconscious. Yet Gautama answered that he was very much conscious.”


At this point in the story, the disciple of Alara Kalama exclaimed to Gautama, “The faith, Lord, that I had in Alara Kalama I now scatter to the mighty wind,” and took refuge in the Buddha.

Let us consider another story. Serious storms commonly arise without warning on the Sea of Galilee.[2] One such storm took Jesus’ disciples by surprise as they sailed across the sea with Jesus. Yet, similarly to Gautama, Jesus was unaware of the storm. Unlike Gautama, however, Jesus had fallen asleep in the boat’s stern. With the windstorm tossing wave after wave into the boat, the disciples began to panic and woke Jesus, shouting, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38, ESV). Mark 4:39 (ESV) says, “He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”

These two stories illustrate a noteworthy contrast between Gautama and Jesus as their ministries relate to suffering. On the one hand, Gautama boasts of his ability to calm himself during a storm. On the other hand, Jesus calms the storm. Presumably, Gautama remained dry, emerging only after the storm, while Jesus, sleeping in the serenity of the stern, presumably got drenched as he left the stern and spoke the storm into submission. Their ministries followed this pattern.


“On the one hand, Gautama boasts of his ability to calm himself during a storm. On the other hand, Jesus calms the storm.”


How the Buddha Engaged the Problems of Society

Gautama’s was a ministry of withdrawal. He famously left his wife and son the night his son was born, but not before naming the son Rahula, meaning “fetter.”[3] From that moment on, Gautama had renounced the householder life. As Williams, Tribe, and Wynne put it, “In Indian social terms he was a drop-out.”[4] In the Maha-Saccaka Sutta Gautama reflects,

Before my Awakening, when I was still an unawakened Bodhisatta, the thought occurred to me: “The household life is crowded, a dusty road. Life gone forth is the open air. It isn’t easy, living in a home, to lead the holy life that is totally perfect, totally pure, a polished shell. What if I, having shaved off my hair and beard and putting on the ochre robe, were to go forth from the home life into homelessness?” So at a later time, when I was still young, black-haired, endowed with the blessings of youth in the first stage of life, having shaved off my hair and beard—though my parents wished otherwise and were grieving with tears on their faces—I put on the ochre robe and went forth from the home life into homelessness.[5]

In this way, Gautama embarked on his ministry of withdrawal.

However, “withdrawal” needs clarification. Upon attaining enlightenment, Gautama contemplated just how deep and difficult his enlightenment had been to achieve. Then he considered just how intoxicated with attachments was the culture he lived in. Contrasting the difficulty of his path with the weakness of his generation led him to resolve not to teach the Dharma, for, as he put it, “If I were to teach the Dhamma and if others would not understand me, that would be tiresome for me, troublesome for me.”


“He famously left his wife and son the night his son was born, but not before naming the son Rahula, meaning ‘fetter.'”


Fortunately for his generation, however, Gautama received a visitation from a deity, Brahma Sahampati, who begged Gautama to go ahead and teach the Dharma, for there would be at least some who would understand it. Thus, Gautama, “out of compassion for beings, surveyed the world” and, as Brahma had predicted, saw beings with the right attributes to understand the Dharma. And so, instead of withdrawing, Gautama resolved to live out the rest of his days teaching people what he had learned.

The Buddha’s Daily Habits

Yet following his enlightenment, Gautama’s daily routine continued to exemplify withdrawal, even as it brought him into contact with people. Not only were there the predictable status differentiations, but there was simply a lack of actual involvement in people’s everyday lives, especially the lives of regular people. What we discover instead of interaction are merely the insights and techniques of a detached instructor.

Buddhaghosa, commentating on the Pali Canon’s Digha Nikaya, tells us of five categories of the Buddha’s daily habits.[6] First were his “before-breakfast habits.” Having woken early, Gautama would wash himself and sit until it was time to go into the village to beg for food. Into the village he would take his bowl, which would be filled with food by reverent laypersons. Perfumed and dressed in their finest robes, these laypersons would also bring Gautama flowers and other offerings. After a special seat was prepared for him, he would eat. These laypersons would then gather around Gautama to hear him teach the Dharma until he returned to the monastery. At the monastery, he would sit on his Buddha-mat in the pavilion, waiting for the monks to finish their meals.


“Gautama’s daily routine continued to exemplify withdrawal, even as it brought him into contact with people.”


Second were his “after-breakfast habits.” He would first go sit in his perfumed chamber on a seat prepared for him by his servant. After washing his feet, he would rise and deliver a message to his disciples in the monastery. Then he would assign them various meditative exercises, after which, they would bow to him and disperse to go meditate. After they left, the Buddha would again enter his perfumed chamber and lie on his side for a time. Then, he would get up and survey the world. Eventually, the townspeople would again bring Gautama offerings, and Gautama would again sit on his Buddha-mat and teach them the dharma, after which they would do obeisance and leave.

The last three types of habits connect to the first, middle, and last watch of the night. During the first watch, Gautama would bathe, meditate, and then field questions from his disciples. During the middle watch, he would answer questions asked him by various deities. In the last watch of the night, he would pace to relieve his discomfort from the meditative posture. Then, he would lie down in his perfumed chamber. Lastly, he would sit and mentally scan the world to discern possible renunciates.

What we see developing in these habits is the predictably marked contrast between the spirituality of the layperson and that of the monk. Such a distinction is no surprise given that the religion itself was founded by a renunciate. The atmosphere of veneration—offerings and obeisance—is no surprise either, given the great honor these villagers knew in being visited by a Buddha. Neither is the Gautama’s aloofness—his air as a detached teacher of insights—a surprise. It would only be considered odd in contrast to the paradigm of Christianity.


“What we see developing in these habits is the predictably marked contrast between the spirituality of the layperson and that of the monk.”


How Jesus Engaged the Problems of Society

Jesus’ ministry, on the other hand, was one of involvement. One place where this involvement displayed itself quite prominently was at mealtimes when Jesus sat, elbow to elbow, with the common person. Lest this be taken as merely the way Jewish rabbis typically conducted themselves, S. Scott Bartchy helps us understand just how radical Jesus’ table manners were:

“One distinctive feature of Jesus’ ministry was his practice of a radically inclusive and non-hierarchical table fellowship as a central strategy in his announcement and redefinition of the inbreaking rule of God. In so doing, Jesus challenged the inherent exclusivism and status consciousness of accepted social and religious custom and presented a living parable of a renewed Israel.”[7]

Thus, whereas Gautama could boast of his ability to withdraw, Jesus was ridiculed for his radical involvement: “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them’” (Luke 15:1-2, ESV). “And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’” (Matt. 9:10-11, ESV). The taunt went like this: “Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” (Matt. 11:19, ESV). When a woman came to anoint Jesus, the Pharisee thought to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner” (Luke 7:39, ESV).


“When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?'”


Now, lest we turn this into a contrast between Jesus who welcomes sinners and Gautama who keeps them away, we ought to recall the story of Angulimala, the murderous, “finger garland” thief whom the Buddha converted to become a peaceful member of his sangha.[8] The contrast is not about the kind of person the paradigm deems worthy of attention (after all, the Buddha himself critiqued the caste system[9]), but about the level of interaction with people: Gautama remained the detached sage, while Jesus was appropriately titled the “friend of sinners” (Matt. 11:19), with friend taking on the typical connotations of familiarity and closeness. Jesus’ interactions were attached and engaged.

Jesus continued to minister among the people, getting close enough to scandalize his respectability among those who believed in keeping a distance of distinction. To heal a leper, Jesus got closer than even a doctor would: “Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, ‘I will; be clean’” (Mark 1:41, ESV). He rebuked his disciples for rebuking the mothers of the young children invading their comfort zones: “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them” (Matt. 19:14a, ESV).

The lengthiest conversation recorded in the Gospels is when Jesus talked theology with a woman who was supposed to be a racial enemy and who had been married five times and was currently living with a man not her husband. When his disciples returned and saw this, “They marveled that he was talking with a woman” (John 4:27, ESV). The evening before he was arrested, Jesus could be found on the floor, dressed as a servant, washing his disciples’ feet (John 13:1-5).


“Gautama remained the detached sage, while Jesus was appropriately titled the ‘friend of sinners.'”


A Major Contrast Between Jesus and the Buddha

Thus, we arrive at a contrast between these two founders as they relate to combatting this-worldly suffering. Gautama withdrew as a detached teacher, while Jesus drew near as an engaged friend. Both ministered out of compassion. Both changed lives. Gautama did it by withdrawing from society and calling others to do the same. When he did interact with regular people, it was as a teacher of insights and techniques.

Jesus too was an itinerant teacher, but his interactions with people were personally engaged enough that critics accused him of not being aloof enough. His proximity was not sufficiently discriminating for the respectable religious leaders. With regard to suffering, therefore, we can conclude that Jesus combatted suffering by engaging people’s lives—getting close, even getting attached to their suffering (e.g., John 11:35). The results were specified remediations of particular sufferings (i.e., by performing miracles). Gautama combatted suffering by withdrawal—not only withdrawing into monkhood, but withdrawing from suffering itself into the solace of his own inner serenity.[10]


[1] “Maha-Parinibbana Sutta: Last Days of the Buddha (DN 16),” translated from the Pali by Sister Vajira and Francis Story, Access to Insight, 1998, https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.16.1-6.vaji.html.

[2] Craig Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grover: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 146.

[3] Robert E. Buswell and Donald S. Lopez, The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014), 693.

[4] Paul Williams, Anthony Tribe, and Alexander Wynne, Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition, 12.

[5] “Maha-Saccaka Sutta (MN 36),” translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Access to Insight, 2008, https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.036.than.html.

[6] Information about the Buddha’s daily habits comes from Buddhaghosa’s Commentary on the Digha-Nikaya, in “Sources on the Buddha’s Life and Death,” Fordham University, 1998, https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/india/buddha-life.asp.

[7] S. Scott Bartchy, “Table Fellowship,” in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight, and I. Howard Marshall (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1992), 796.

[8] David R. Loy, “How to Reform a Serial Killer: The Buddhist Approach to Restorative Justice,” Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 7 (2000): 149-150.

[9] Damien Keown, “Are There ‘Human Rights’ in Buddhism?” Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 2 (1995): 10.

[10] Gautama too was said to be able to perform miracles. According to Gautama, there are ten supranormal powers a Tathagata has, but this list does not include anything like the specified acts of compassion Jesus demonstrated. Instead, they have to do with the superlatives of the Buddha’s powers of setting the “Wheel of Brahma” rolling and powers of perception (to recollect past lives and see beings coming into and out of existence. See the “Maha-sihanada Sutta: The Great Discourse on the Lion’s Roar (MN 12),” translated from the Pali by Nanamoli Thera and Bhikkhu Bodhi, Access to Insight, 1994, https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.012.ntbb.html.


Excerpted from Daniel McCoy, Buddhism or Christianity: Which Is Better for the World (Moral Apologetics Press, 2021).

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