No, this is not an attempt at bar humor. Today at temple our Sensei spoke about the commonalities between Jesus Christ and Buddha. Our dharma talk was about the period of Lent and how it signifies to many the period that Jesus went into the desert to get answers.
Without getting too deep into each story, here's a synopsis: both Jesus and Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) were born into an established religion. Both figured out that something didn't fit with what they were told or taught. At a later age, both took a journey where they could be alone and think about some things. Buddha sat under a bodhi tree for 40 days and nights, while Jesus went out into the dessert for the same period of time. There is also a lot of other religious stories that deal with the number 40, so I'm not sure if there is a historical significance here. The important thing to take from this is that both men went somewhere secluded and prayed or meditated for quite a long time.
In Jesus' stories he was tempted by the Devil, while Buddha was tempted by Mara and his daughters. (Mara's daughters represented: Craving, Boredom and Attachment/Passion). Both rejected the temptation and received their revelation or attained enlightenment. Wow! That seems easy, doesn't it? All I have to do is say "no" to some dude when he offers me cool stuff. Kind of like, "Say No to Drugs!"
As I have not read any Christian religious books, I can't say that Jesus doesn't guide people through this revelation. I have read several books about Buddha's life and it seems that there are several out there that explain how to say no to these temptations, how to become enlightened.
In the Buddhist belief you are already fasting, you are in a way "suffering." The fundamental belief of Buddhism is briefly put as: there is suffering, it has a cause, there is an end to the suffering, and there is a cause to end suffering. Suffering isn't pain, it is more wanting things you can't have or can't get enough of and not seeing what is actually in the world, in your daily life.
When you honestly look inside yourself to find what is causing your suffering, you can begin to remove those problems. Now that you know what is causing this suffering, you remove it or you let go of it. After many years, or lifetimes, depending on your commitment level, you can remove all of your suffering and truly see the world, its people and all it's beauty.
In my opinion, Heaven to Christians is like being enlightened to a Buddhist, the big difference is I don't have to die to experience enlightenment. I can end my suffering, my cravings and my ignorance. I can become at peace, have endless compassion for others and have infinite wisdom. I can, in a way, have Heaven on Earth while I'm still alive. All I have to do is look inside myself and let go of a lot of baggage that everyone carries around.
If you think about the fact that every religion, no matter which (or how many) God you support, they ALL try to make the world a better place by making people better beings. They all have different rules or guidelines, but when you take all the marketing, every rule and the destination or goal away, every religion just wants you to be a good person.
I will leave you thinking on one of my favorite quotes by Ajahn Chah:
"If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace."
