Is Jesus a Bodhisattva?

 

 

The renowned religious scholar Dr. Kim Hee-sung, who passed away recently and taught at Seoul National University and Sogang University, left a book titled "Jesus Bodhisattva" (2004). 

 

In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person on the path towards 'awakening' or Buddhahood. Bodhisattva refers to someone who has resolved to become a Buddha and has also received a confirmation or prediction from a living Buddha that this will be so. 

 

 

Dr. Kim Hee-sung, compiled a series of lectures on "Buddhism and Christianity" that he delivered at a church over ten sessions into a book. This book discusses the possibility of deep dialogue between Buddhism's "bodhisattva" concept and the theology of Christianity, overcoming the barriers between Buddhism's "bodhisattva" and the Christian doctrine. 

 

Kim Hee-sung laid the foundation for interfaith dialogue from a pluralistic religious perspective. He compares the roles of the bodhisattva and Jesus from a soteriological perspective, seeking commonalities and differences between Buddhism and Christianity while highlighting points for mutual learning.

 

Professor Son Won-young at Seoul Christian University stirred controversy by stating, "Jesus is a bodhisattva" in June of last year (2022). He is a pastor affiliated with the Korean Methodist Church. In 2018, during a Buddhist ceremony lecture, he stated that "Jesus practiced the six paramitas (six virtues of practice)," which led to his controversial statement.

 

The Korean Methodist Church's Committee for Dealing with Heresy examined Son Won-young and concluded that no heresy was involved. They explained that he used the term "bodhisattva" to find an appropriate word in the language of Buddhists to describe Jesus. The committee requested him to be cautious due to differences between theological terminology and the language used in pastoral settings.

 

Son Won-young gained notoriety in 2016 when he publicly apologized on social media for a Christian who had vandalized a Buddha statue in Kimcheon, Gyeongbuk. He also initiated fundraising efforts for the restoration of the temple. This activity led to questions about his Christian faith at the institution where he worked, ultimately resulting in disciplinary actions, including dismissal.

 

Son Won-young later vindicated through legal proceedings challenging his unfair dismissal. However, his school opposed his reappointment, leading to a long struggle for reinstatement, including a one-person protest in front of his school.

 

He said, "I am liberated from the charge of heresy," expressing his hope that Protestantism will be more open to engaging with other faiths.

 

Religious scholar Han Seung-hoon (Korea Institute of Korea Studies) has evaluated Son Won-young's sermons, noting that they were more than expressions of religious pluralism but rather hymns to the greatness of Jesus that cannot encapsulate in the doctrinal language of Christianity.

 

One remembers a scene from the EBS current affairs program "Ttollerangs," seen during one's university days. A Christian professor, who also had pastoral qualifications, was shown praying in a Buddhist temple, expressing respect and reverence for a neighboring faith. For the people who are interested in interfaith dialogue, this action was quite admirable. However, a few years later, this professor was Son Won-young, who taught a general course on Christianity from a religious studies perspective at Gangnam University and who departed from the institution in 2006 due to his teaching content and efforts to promote religious harmony.

 

The course he taught covered Christianity from a religious studies perspective and attracted students who had left the church because of its exclusivity and narrowness. Students who took his course regained an interest in the church and started attending services again, and non-Christians gained insights into the truths of Christianity, according to reports.

 

How must this have appeared to students who later became professors at Buddhist universities, as they saw a colleague expelled from the university for expressing respect for another religion in a temple?

 

How must this have appeared to students who later became professors at Buddhist universities, as they saw a colleague expelled from the university for expressing respect for another religion in a temple?

 

Meanwhile, Seoul National University Professor Kim Yohan, a prominent figure in the rise of Evangelical Christianity, responded with the following criticisms:

 

"When Professor Son Won-young explained that Jesus was a bodhisattva, it was not so much an effort to convey the gospel to Buddhists as it was a denial of the uniqueness of the salvation of Jesus Christ. The claim that Jesus is a bodhisattva is a rejection of the gospel of Christianity. Some may think Professor Son Won-young exhibited flexible thinking as a scholar. Still, church members are highly uncomfortable with such claims because it has caused severe damage to the church community, turning strict doctrines into vague areas for the sake of one's academic flexibility.

 

Some argue that Professor Son Won-young's claims should understood as a missionary challenge to make the gospel more understandable to Buddhists. However, if you had preached in such a way to third-world indigenous Buddhists who had no prior knowledge of Christianity, that argument might have some merit. However, in 21st-century South Korea, referring to Jesus as a bodhisattva compromises the truth and religious pluralism.

 

In other words, understanding Jesus as a bodhisattva, as opposed to Jesus Christ, does not align with the faith language and tradition of the Christian community. It's not a matter of language; it's about maintaining the integrity of the Christian faith. Many theologians and pastors would say that it's not about giving in to respect for other religions or being considerate of them but rather about explaining the language of the church community and its terms to prevent misunderstandings.

 

Paul didn't refer to the Greeks as 'unknown gods'; he explicitly proclaimed, 'I declare to you what you worship as unknown.' The concept of the Logos wasn't a direct import from Greek Hellenistic philosophy, and it referred to Jesus Christ, not just any word. In essence, Paul and John weren't trying to respect the Greeks and engage in religious pluralism; they used such language to explain Christian faith.

 

On the other hand, Professor Son Won-young often equated the Gospel of John and the Avatamsaka Sutra, frequently striving to make an equal comparison between them. It is not beneficial for either Buddhism or Christianity. Furthermore, he needed to convey the distinctive nature of the Christian faith or approach it from the perspective of Christology, instead opting for theological vagueness. Thus, his approach is not one of evangelism but rather a reflection of his interest in interfaith harmony and dialogue."

 

The central topic of today's theological debate is religious pluralism. This apostate belief has deeply penetrated the Korean church, spreading as "Jesus Bodhisattva." This claim denies the unique nature of Jesus Christ's salvation. It's an idea that seeks to relativize Christianity from a religious studies perspective. Jesus is not a bodhisattva; he is the way of salvation. Jesus, as a bodhisattva, represents a concept that the Christian community cannot accept.

 

 

Rev. Doug Choi, Ph.D., President and Professor of Christian Dogmatics, PENIEL THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, BUSAN KOREA