As Buddhists around the world continue their efforts to achieve enlightenment, Southern Baptists will be praying May 2-17 that they find the Light of the world.
An estimated 358 million people follow various schools of Buddhism, making it the fourth-largest organized religion. Buddhism shapes the worldview of perhaps 1 billion people, not only in Asia, but throughout the world.
Escaping reincarnation
Born out of Hinduism, Buddhism teaches followers they can escape the endless cycle of reincarnation by right thinking and right living. The goal is to reach “nirvana,” a condition of nonexistence, emptiness and nothingness.
Buddhists follow the teachings of Buddha, a minor Indian prince named Guatama who lived six centuries before Christ. After deep meditation and strenuous self-denial, Guatama claimed he had achieved enough enlightenment to free himself from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. He challenged others to follow his teachings in an effort to set themselves free as well.
Popularized in the United States by the Dalai lama of Tibet and several Hollywood celebrities, Buddhism’s goal is the opposite of Christian faith, said Randy Sprinkle, director of the International Mission Board’s prayer strategy office.
“The Buddhist goal is emptiness and extinction of desire, if not of conscious life itself,” Sprinkle said. “Their goal of nirvana is blowing out the candle of life.
The “Days of Enlightenment” prayer guide offers 15 vignettes that provide insight into varying schools of Buddhists thought and the ways Buddhism is practiced in different countries. It also offers suggestions about how to pray for Buddhist people as they seek enlightenment.
To order the “Days of Enlightenment” guide, call toll-free 1-800-866-3621 or e-mail resource.center@imb.org.
(IMB)
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