Relate Spirituality with Buddhism and Christianity

A believer respects and honors all spirituality:
For a true Believer and Spiritualist, all religions preach the need for mankind to seek God and His forgiveness for our sins on earth, known and unknown.  A true believer is one who has immense and abiding faith in all religions, even outside his own. A true Christian also believes in Buddhism and Christianity, among other faiths, and also in the Gospels preached by Gautama Buddha and Lord Jesus Christ and his devout disciples and followers after him. A true Buddhist would not condemn, or deride Christianity just as a good Christian would not demean Buddhism, or any other religion; if he does so, he is not a true believer but a kafir, or non believer.

Introduction:
In this article, its author proposes to first examine the salient doctrines and teachings of Lord Gautama Buddha (Buddhism)  and also our Lord Jesus Christ ( Christianity) before considering the deeper aspects of spiritual quintessential of both Buddhism and Christianity and how it underpins and buttresses these major ad wonderful faiths, ardently practiced not only in their respective countries of origin, but in different parts of the world, and whose believers are only amassing with each passing day.

Supreme Being versus Supreme State:
As a matter of fact, Buddhism could be traced back to 361 BC when it first began known to exist in teachings of the Buddha to his disciplines. Another aspect about Buddhism, one of the oldest religions known on earth, is that it is indeed different and distinct from other religions. While other religions speak of the Supreme Being, Creator, seen as the Ultimate God, this religion considers the realization of a Supreme State, or Nirvana as of paramount importance. Thus, the essence in Buddhist docrination is not about individuals, or beings, but states of consciousness and spiritual awakening.  Another differentiation about Buddhism is that it attached more emphasis on the doing aspect, rather than on theorism, ritualism and spiritual practices. Other religious are more society bound, while Buddhism is individualistically bound. However, this is not to delude the other religions, since both Buddhism and other religions have the goal of realizing Ultimate Reality, only the paths followed to gain the Ultimate Reality may be different, depending on religious moorings and cultural impacts underlying them.

Christ’s resurrection is a essential part of Christian spirituality:
Coming to the theological aspects of Christianity, it is seen as one in which God, through Jesus Christ, seeks the redemption of sufferings, pains and torment in this world by taking the sufferings of mankind as his own, which leads on to his cruxification. The Resurrection of the Lord, “He is arisen” offers the glimmer of the salvation, redemption and hope for distressed mankind, and well answers the question of whether there is still salvation for tormented and distressed human souls. Indeed the essence of Christian spirituality has much to do with how humans could inculcate and practice the virtues of forgiveness, humility, chastity, altruism and humanistic sentiments to all living beings on Earth, to absorb the evils of others and purge their sins with one’s virtues and goodness.

Eight-Fold Path- essence of Buddhist spirituality:
It is now necessary to consider spiritual aspects of Buddhism which is essentially based on following the Eight –Fold path in terms of complete understanding, or vision, emotional control, control over speech, right and harmless actions, honest and ethical livelihood, due diligence, full awareness and mental consciousness and finally, being totally focused and full of concentrated energies.

Ultimate Spiritual Truths common to both Buddhism and Christianity: 
Buddhism, being essentially an empirical religion which dispenses with ritualism and idol worship, considers the self as most important and which constantly needs to seek and fulfill self purification through words, deeds and actions. It is based on the Ultimate Spiritual Truth that this world is full of sufferings and pain, humans would need to first find the roots and causes of their pains, identify what could end human sufferings, and seek freedom and redemption, or salvation from them through earnest and dedicated practice of the Eight fold Path. Christianity advocates abandoning the path of sin for peace, progression and spiritual prosperity.

Indeed, the spiritual teachings of Buddhism and Christianity have much in common.

Both advocate that -
1. Human sins are the cause of pains and sufferings in this material world
2. We need to seek deliverance through prayers, propitiation and surrender to the Lord
3. God, in his ultimate goodness and purity, would forgive our sins if we are truly repentant
4. The true way for redemption is to seek out the Lord and beseech Him
5. Materialistic desires are the main causes for human unhappiness and wants.
6. If we are to gain blessings of God we need to follow the Eight-Fold Path and honor the Ten Commandments.
7. Our happiness is self deterministic and no externalities can be the cause of our own sorrows, pains tribulations and sufferings.
8. We have to seek the truth within ourselves and not from the external world