Which will get into heaven: a rich Christian or a contented Buddhist?

 I've been saying I'd go to Christianity for a while, but it's been getting delayed. Shinran was a good bridge to Christianity. Thinking about it, maybe this was God's guidance. Or perhaps Buddha's guidance?


Looking back, I feel like Shinran was preaching within Buddhism the Christian concept of original sin, such as the theory that the evil person is the true vessel of existence, and telling his disciples, "I am an extremely evil person." I don't know if that's what they were referring to, but


"Shinran's teachings are Christian!"


There seem to have been people who say this, and I think I even saw a book with a similar title somewhere. Some Buddhist scholars also seem to say that Shinran's teachings are unique even within Buddhism. The same goes for Amida Buddha, who is seen as the atonement of humanity, and Jesus Christ.


Perhaps that's why, when I went to Christianity after following Shinran, his teachings made perfect sense to me. They made sense. It felt like I'd heard it somewhere, but also like deja vu? déjà vu.


I'm not trying to say one is superior or the other. It really resonates with me.


So, speaking of Christianity, its holy book, the Bible. Yes, it's located a few dozen centimeters in front of the lower left corner, but as I said before, for some reason it's sealed and I can't open it!


I haven't opened it in about 15 years. And not just Christian, but all kinds of other "holy books" as well. So I gradually forget them, but sometimes I suddenly remember them. For example, in my last post,


"It is harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for an elephant to go through the eye of a needle."


That's probably what it was like. It's so straightforward it's overwhelming, isn't it? Like a 170 km/h fastball right down the middle. I assume people in Christian countries are naturally familiar with the Bible, but what do they think? A lot of developed countries are Christian, aren't they? So, in the so-called Western countries. It's all rich people! Have they really ever read the Bible?


I sometimes wonder, in Christianity, it seems that only Christians can enter heaven.


"Who will enter heaven: a rich Christian or a contented Buddhist?"


I think I'll answer this question in my own words next time.


Let love and mercy guide me.

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