The Last Birth

KATMANDU, Nepal – A Nepalese teenager revered by many as a reincarnation of Buddha has returned to the jungle to meditate after emerging for less than two weeks, officials said Saturday. Ram Bahadur Bamjan, 18, reappeared on Nov. 10 after several months of meditation to bless thousands of his followers, speaking to them on at least two occasions... His followers lined up near the jungle of Ratanpur, about 100 miles south of Katmandu, to be blessed by Bamjan. He tapped the believers on their forehead but did not speak to them individually. The followers believe he has been meditating without food and water since he was first spotted in the jungles of southern Nepal in 2005. Believers say he spent months without moving, sitting with his eyes closed beneath a tree. Buddhism, which has about 325 million followers, teaches that every soul is reincarnated after death in another bodily form. But several Buddhist scholars have been skeptical of the claims that Bamjan is a reincarnation of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in southwestern Nepal roughly 2,500 years ago and became revered as the Buddha, or Enlightened One. Rakesh, a Buddhist scholar, told the Associated Press last week that being Buddha means the last birth and the highest level that can be achieved and there can be no reincarnation of Buddha, even though Buddhists believe in life after death. (AP)

This story intrigued me when I came upon it today. I have a friend who, as far as I can tell, has been greatly influenced by Eastern religions like Buddhism. I even remember coming across a book about the "similar" teachings of Jesus and Buddha. As I skimmed through the book, and realized how it could deceive many people into thinking Buddha and Jesus are the same type of individual, my thoughts were about the many dissimilar sayings of both Jesus and Buddha.

Reincarnation

Depending on who you ask, reincarnation means that when a person dies, their mind, body, soul or portions of them all, carry one from life to the next. The actual definitions are so convoluted and vague that it amazes me that anyone can figure out exactly what is meant by the concept. Regardless, the fear of coming back to this life as something other than human, an animal for instance, is said to be an underlying force which makes a person act more responsibly. How they act will determine whether they reach "enlightenment" and no longer need to be reincarnated or not. But, in my opinion, the entire motivation is a selfish one. How can this tenant of Buddhism line up with Christianity? It doesn't. The Bible says that perfect love drives out fear (1 John 4:18). Therefore, if your motivation is to avoid punishment, you will not be acting in love. Christians, on the other, have experienced the love of God who died for them, in Christ, in order to give His live to them. Thus, we freely give to others the love we have received from God. We act in love for other not in fear for ourselves. And we do this because we know that this life is all we get before we enter eternity. Because, unlike reincarnation, we know that...

"Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Hebrews 9:27-28

Tapped believers on their forehead

The moment I read this I thought about the popular, but heretical, teaching of being slayed in the Spirit. How many Christians have experienced a pastor tapping them on the forehead, sometimes violently, as some sort of spiritual act designed to impart the Holy Spirit? Unfortunately, this teaching is rampant and, apparently, some aspects have spilled over into Buddhism, or vice versa. This young Buddhist, who is supposed to be the reincarnation of Buddha, is reported as having little or no contact with his followers as he spends days and weeks meditating. But, Christians know a God who not only has a personal relationship with each one of us, He indwells us for all eternity. We don't sit around, waiting with bated breath, for our God to come out of the forest and tap us on the forehead and then disappear again. Our God loves us so much that He has died to give us His life, as a free gift, made possible through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If this "Buddha Boy," as he is called in the article, is some sort of god, and Buddhism is supposed to be similar to Christianity, then why doesn't this god have a relationship with His followers? Fact is, this teenager, nor the Buddha he is supposedly a reincarnation of, is not God. The truth is clear.

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"—which means, "God with us."" Matthew 1:21-23

Another bodily form

It is true that at the resurrection of the dead, Christians, both dead and alive, will receive a resurrected body. It will be something totally different from these corrupted bodies of flesh and blood we have now. We don't get raised from the dead in order to indwell bodies ravaged and stained by sin. A Christian gets a spiritual body that will endure all eternity. For someone to believe they will not only come back to these sinful bodies, but may have to comeback as something worse, an animal, an insect, you name it, is not something that I would call encouraging. And it is also not representative of a loving God. For a Christian, this life and body is as bad as it gets. For an unbeliever this life and body will be as good as it gets for them if they die apart from a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. For a believer we have the promise of knowing...

"...that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." 1 Corinthians 15:50

For an unbeliever they have a promise from God as well:

"But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him." Luke 12:25

The Last Birth

Probably the most disheartening part of the article was learning what the definition of Buddha means. The last birth. I guess Buddha is so highly regarded amongst his followers because he achieved this supposed last birth. But, one has to wonder two things. First, how do they know he achieved this last birth? Followers of "Buddha boy" don't believe he did. And two, assuming he did (and he didn't because Christ is the only way to the Father in heaven), how many lifetimes did it take him? This belief system is so open-ended that its followers can make up whatever it is they claim to be seeking. As I mentioned earlier, the Bible tells us that man dies once and then faces judgement. There is no second chance once you die. All mankind has been born once, but only believers in Jesus Christ have been "born again." If you want to call this the "last birth" then so be it. However, what Buddhists don't understand is that salvation is not about physical birth at all, no matter how many they believe we get.

"In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'" John 3:3-7

All mankind is born into this world spiritually dead to God in their sins. The life of God no longer indwells mankind because of the sin of Adam. Jesus Christ, the Last Adam, is the only man who ever had a life to give that would satisfy God as payment for our sins. And, Jesus, raised from the dead, now offers that life to all who place faith in Him. When they do, they are born again of the Spirit of God. We are all born once physically. Christians are born "again" spiritually. And because of that life indwelling us we live for eternity. We don't taste the sting of death. Yes, our physical bodies will perish, but our spirits live on forever, in Christ. Unlike Buddhists, who believe in a god that leaves it up to them to figure out how to get to heaven through countless lifetimes, the one true God of the Bible did for us what we could not do for ourselves, in Christ. This life is the only one we get in order to accept Jesus Christ's offer of salvation. Do not wait for the next life, which will never come, to realize this truth.