The Miracles of Buddhism

The Dhammapda contains the sayings of Siddhartha Guatama, the Buddha. Buddhists are essentially atheists who don’t believe in a god at all, but rather in an impersonal, endless cycle of reincarnation. The goal of the Buddhist is to end the cycle and merge “into the One,” like a drop of water merging with the ocean. Essentially their goal is personal, spiritual annihilation.

In Dhammapada Ch. 4, Sec. 12, a man tries to make the Buddha look foolish. He sets a trap by making empty pots look as if they had food and then invites him to a feast. But the Buddha causes the man’s pots to fill with food. The man then tries to lead the Buddha into a pit filled with burning coals. But the Buddha causes lotus flowers to grow up from the pit.

The source of this miracle is an individual. And all the glory went to an individual—the Buddha. And the point was to gain another disciple for the individual. The second miracle was, however, benevolent.

In Dhammapada Ch. 28, Sec.12, a young Buddhist monk was able, through Dhamma meditation, to gain supernormal powers. Then when his master was ill, he flew to a distant lake and brought back some water. Afterward, the monk appeared before the Buddha who asked him, for the benefit of other monks, to go again to the faraway lake using his flying ability. When the young monk returned, the Buddha pointed him out to the others as an example to follow.

Who was glorified here? The young monk. The purpose? To show that practicing Dhamma meditation can give the individual supernormal powers. But the meditation is a self-serving, selfish pursuit. It only benefits one person. There is no benevolence in the act. It glorifies only that individual, not God.

While all the miracles of Buddhism glorify and derive their source from the individual, all the biblical miracles come from God, glorify God, and confirm his message and messengers.

Next, we’ll look at another miracle of Jesus on the Sea of Galilee.