Some people think the way to promote Buddhism in the West is to emphasize the ways in which Buddhism is different from Christianity. That is, to not just explain Buddhist teachings, but to specifically point out how they differ from Christianity.

I don’t think that’s a good strategy, for many reasons. For one thing, I think it leads to a distorted view of Buddhism. By focusing on ways in which Buddhism differs from Christianity, important pillars of Buddhism like the monastic sangha and taking refuge can be neglected because they appear similar to aspects of Christianity, like the priesthood and baptism.

Another reason I think it’s a poor idea is because it tends to attract people who dislike Christianity rather than people who actually like Buddhist practice. I don’t think you can build a community on that.

And finally, I think there’s a lot of value in recognizing the similarities between Buddhism and other world religions. Similarities like gods, heavens, hells, dragons, scripture, moral codes, and clergy.

There are many reasons why I like to talk about the similarities. One reason is that I hope it can lead to more inter-faith harmony. Nineteenth century physicists had competing models of the atom (not all equally correct), but they understood that they were all allies trying to understand the same thing (that is, the nature of matter) and that they agreed more often than they disagreed . Likewise, I think followers of different religions should remember that we’re all trying to understand the same thing (the nature of non-material things), and that we agree on very much.

Another reason is that I take comfort in knowing that many of my Buddhist beliefs are echoed in other religions. I guess I feel that Buddhism can’t be completely wrong if so many of its ideas are echoed by its competitors. For example, believing in dragons can’t be that crazy if Hindus, Christians, and Muslims (I googled) also believe in dragons.

And, I won’t lie, I like to emphasize the similarities because I live in a Christian culture that doesn’t always respect Buddhism or even acknowledge it as a religion, and I feel emphasizing the similarities is a way to gain some respect for Buddhism. (Oh, your religion teaches about heaven and hell? My religion was teaching that 600 years before your religion existed.)

This isn’t to say that our religions don’t have their differences, and I am not claiming that all religions are equally correct. But I like to see the similarities between our religions as evidence that our religions must all be based at least in part in some universal truth.