ld therefore be strongly encouraged; whereas Christians tend to be very confused as to the exact purpose or function of compassionate activity in the world -- and correspondingly rather variable in their encouragement of it. Christianity promotes such good deeds with and ere of selfishness, in that the reason for doing good deeds is to be in the good grace before God, and therefore arrange a place for oneself in heaven. Christianity thus seems to be ethically very hypocritical, and socially divisive, whereas most Buddhists are very clear about such matters and cannot become involved in killing, anger, crime, social divisiveness or indulgences like wealth. They realize the unhappiness for self and others, which is created by involvement in such activities.Despite the above distinctions, there are conspicuous and rather striking parallels underlying the root of both of these beliefs. In order to capture this one particular diversity, we must look at the essence of these two beliefs.In some sense religion is a means to some end. Spirituality is the way of understanding simple, yet profound childish questions striving for meaning. Questions such as Why are we here? For Buddhism that end is Enlightenment. The idea of Enlightenment, as I understand it, can be described as a complete separation from all worldly and secular ties or attachments. Yet, it is still so much more then that. It is the elimination of suffering itself, and is also referred to as Nirvana. It is a state of perfection, where the mind transcends the body and the self. It is the point in which one is no longer susceptible to suffering. Buddha had created a set of guidelines in order to help lead us toward Enlightenment, toward Nirvana. He called these the Four Noble Truths. The First Noble Truth is perhaps the simplest to understand. It is the truth of misery, also known as dukkha. It is merely the realization and acknowledgement that suffering exists and that...
