What do Buddhists believe?
Here's the answer:
Buddhists follow the teachings of a man called Buddha, who called himself “the Enlightened One.”
Around 500 BC, a man from India named Siddharta Gautama struggled with the reason for suffering in the world. He spent a long time in thought by himself, and afterward he arose as the Buddha, the Enlightened One. He then began teaching his thoughts on ending suffering, and established a group of monks. Though Buddhism is no longer active in India, today it has over 360 million followers worldwide.
The three basic beliefs of Buddhists are a respect for Buddha, the goal of ending suffering, and the cycle of rebirth (reincarnation). Buddhism has some followers who pursue many gods, and some other forms of Buddhism don't believe in any gods. Even though Buddha didn’t believe he was a god, many of his followers decided that he was one after his death.
Buddhists also don’t believe that we are all sinners. They believe that we make mistakes that can be fixed, and that we don’t need someone to save us from our sins. They believe that we earn good or bad “karma” by the things we do.
Buddhism does not teach what God’s Word, the Bible, teaches. We can see in the Bible that there is only one true God (Deuteronomy 6:4). The Bible also tells us that each one of us is a sinner, and because our sin separates us from God, we all need a Savior. That Savior is Jesus, who came to earth many years ago and died on the cross for all our sins (John 3:16). Only those who believe in Jesus as their Savior will go to heaven when they die (for more information on how to get to heaven, click here).
Bible Truth
"Everyone has sinned. No one measures up to God’s glory" (Romans 3:23).
"Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6).
"But God is faithful and fair. If we admit that we have sinned, he will forgive us our sins. He will forgive every wrong thing we have done. He will make us pure" (1 John 1:9).
