The concept of ignorance in Tipiṭaka and the New Testament - a comparative study of Buddhism and Christianity

Piotr Goniszewski

Uniwersytet Szczeciński, Instytut Nauk Teologicznych
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1090-9846

Abstract

The purpose of this article is "theological and spiritual reading" of the sacred texts of two great world religions, namely Christianity and Buddhism. In the case of Buddhism, our analysis will focus on selected fragments of theravāda canonical collection of Buddhist texts, i.e. Tipiṭaka: Lokāyatika Sutta (SN 12.48), Dutiyaavijjāpahānasutta Sutta (SN 35.80) and Avijjā Sutta (SN 45.1). In the case of Christianity, we will focus on six New Testament pericopes, in which the Greek noun ignorance appears: agnoia (Acts 3:17; 17.30; Eph. 4.18; 1 Peter 1:14), agnosia (1 Corinthians 15:34; 1 Peter 2:15). After exegetical research, we will proceed to theological and comparative analysis. In other words, we try to look at the Buddhist idea of ​​ignorance (avijjā) from the perspective of Christian theology. We put forward the thesis that between the notion of ignorance in theravāda Buddhism and New Testament literature there is no full symmetry as to their place within the entire philosophical and theological system of a given religion. In Buddhism, ignorance (avijjā) is a fundamental element and characterizes the condition of a person caught up in death and suffering. On the other hand, in the NT, the way of describing the ignorance of the one God and Christ does not have a central function but is only secondary and complementary to the basic soteriological models. If we wanted to find a more adequate analogy in Christianity with the idea of ​​ignorance in theravāda Buddhism, it would be the doctrine of original sin.

Keywords:

Buddhism, theology of the New Testament, interreligious dialogue, comparative theology, ignorance