Christianity

basic Beliefs

• Believe in God the father, Jesus the son of God, and The Holy Spirit.
• Love God
• Ask for God's forgiveness of your sins
• Worship God
• Forgive Others who have wronged you
• Repentance of sin is essential

Biblical parable

And he said, A certain man had two sons:

And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.
And he divided unto them his living.
And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.
And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.
But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing.
And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him.
And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.

Buddhism

Basic beliefs

• Buddhists believe in the Four Noble truths. The truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path to the end of suffering.
• The path to the end of suffering is the eightfold path. It consists of eight practices that will bring you to Nirvana.
• The right view
• The right resolve
• The right speech
• The right conduct
• The right livelihood
• The right effort
• The right mindfulness
• The right Samadhi (Meditation)

Zen parable

Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.


Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.

"Come on, girl," said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night, when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks don't go near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?"

Comparing and contrasting the texts

Use Of Text in The Prodigal Son

• Short story that teaches a lesson
• Teaches that God forgives if you repent of your sins
• The purpose of the text is to teach people what greed and forgiveness is in the eyes of christianity.
• Teaches that even the worst of sins are forgiven by God.

Use of Text in The Muddy Road

• Also a short story to illustrate a message.
• A zen parable is left to the interpretation of reader, nothing is right or wrong.
• The purpose of the writing is to show that the attachment to things can be harmful. Disconnecting from things will not cause harm.

Structures of Parables

• Biblical parables are lengthy and single spaced between lines.
• Zen parables are double spaced and typically much shorter than Biblical parables.
• Biblical parables have a surface meaning, along with a second interpretation, a deeper meaning.
• Zen parables have a meaning interpreted by the reader, no right answers and no wrong answers.