Buddhism and Christianity

As I've already blathered on about a bit, Buddhism is about becoming aware of the true nature of your existence, the "Buddha nature". All things are contained within this fundamental nature, which is much larger than the usual small, difficult selves with which we habitually live out our lives. When seen in the context of this larger nature, all things are "okay", i.e., one can be compassionate towards all aspects of self and others. Even the small self, which gives us so much trouble in our daily lives, is part of this purity of awareness.

In Christianity, one acknowledges that one is fundamentally flawed and seeks forgiveness and help from a power greater than oneself. By striving to correct correct one's flaws (live morally) and by acknowledging that one is incapable without divine assistance (accepting a divine savior), one can be forgiven for one's sins and be loved. The holy spirit enters those of true faith and gives them guidance.

There is an obvious analogy between the two: there's something wrong if we think the small beings we appear to be are all alone. By acknowledging this "something" larger than ourselves and tapping into it, we can overcome our (at least apparent) limitations. We even find, to our surprise, that we are part of this "something larger".

But if we're all talking about the same thing, why don't more people realize it and stop fussing about who's right? An obvious problem, from my point of view, is that the Christian tradition insists that it is the only way to tap into this "something larger", denying that non-Christians have access to it at all. In contrast, Buddhism claims that the Buddha nature is "no distance" from everyone's daily existence, but that we usually distract ourselves from noticing it. The less obvious problem is that cultivating our awareness something "no distance" from ourselves can become very tricky, and we can easily lead ourselves along a non-productive or even self-destructive path. It's tricky enough that, when you're trying to build a coherent organization, you can easily just skip over the whole thing. (see book summaries)

Comments from those familiar with other religious traditions?