The Lotus and the Cross

Ravi Zacharias has written a book entitled The Lotus and the Cross. This book involved a hypothetical situation where Jesus carries on a converstaing with Buddha. The story centers on a girl named Priya who has prostituted herself and whose life is in shambles. Priya is searching for meaning in life and a remedy for her pain when she encounters Jesus and Buddha on a private boat ride. The purpose of the book is to highlight the differences between Buddhism and Christianity without bringing offense. One of the main ideas that Ravi tries to get across is that Gautama teaches that there is no such thing as the "self". The "person" is just an illusion that we need to see beyond and realize that there is no real self. But Jesus points out that love is particular. God gave His son that WHOSOEVER believes in Him will have eternal life. Gautama also states that "Everything is impermanent" to which Jesus asks, "Even that statement?" Ravi exposes that Buddhism has no final word to rely on since it holds everything as impermanent. At the end of this dialogue, Jesus asks Gautama what he can offer to Priya. Gautama answers by saying that he offers the Tripple Gem:

• The Buddha - Enlightenment
• The Dhamma - the Teaching
• The Sangha - the Community

Then Jesus asks Gautama to look at them one at a time.

• The Buddha - Buddha no longer exists, neither does Priya. Therefore, the first gem is nonexistance.
• The Dhamma - There is no eternal word to preserve, no absolute to be guided by.
• The Sangha - A community consisting of those who believe that no self exists and who strive toward not desiring anything, including friendships and family, which make up their community.

Then Jesus tells Pryia what He offers her, The Pearl of Great Price. Christ offers Himself. The illustration at the end of the book(read it to find out!!)sums up the book and truly displays the differences between Buddhism and Christianity. This was a well written book. What I enjoyed most was how Ravi filled Jesus' dialogue with stories from Scripture. When Christ spoke, He would tell stories from His earthly ministry. Christ uses narrative from Scripture in His "apologetic" to illustrate and personalize the message to Pryia. Yes!!!