Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
Buddha

Peace of mind is clearly an internal matter. It must begin with your own thoughts, and then extend outward. It is from your peace of mind that a peaceful perception of the world arises.
A Course in Miracles, Lesson 34: I could see peace instead of this.

Of all the comparisons that have been made between A Course in Miracles and other religious / spiritual systems, the comparison with Buddhism is perhaps one that has been made the most, and for good reason. While completely different in terminology and in form, the metaphysical principles that underpin both A Course in Miracles and Buddhism are incredibly similar.

…there are times when the Course reads almost like Buddhism plus God, handling the issues of God and Heaven in the most lofty way ever presented. – Gary Renard

In the course of my spiritual search, Buddhism and A Course in Miracles have been undoubtedly the two biggest influences on me. In many ways, it is my study of Buddhism which allowed me to appreciate the Course much better, especially with regards to abstract concepts. While I cannot claim to be an expert on Buddhism in this lifetime, having only encountered it 6 years ago, I do feel that I intuitively understand the essence of many Buddhist teachings and have always had an affinity for meditation. How or why this is, I cannot explain – my only clue is that I have been told (by many sources) that I have been a Buddhist monk for many lifetimes. (Not that it is materially important or substantial!)

In order for any kind of useful comparison to be made with the multi-faceted, highly-amorphous nature of a major world religion that has evolved over thousands of years, we will require some basic definitions and guidelines.

For the purposes of this article (and for that of this website for that matter), I will (attempt) to be concerned with the kernels of truth, the essence of each particular teaching. It is the content that matters, not the form. As Steve Hagen, a Zen priest, puts it:

The Buddha learned to see directly into the nature of experience. As a result of his teaching and his life, a new religion arose and spread throughout the world. In the process, like all religions, Buddhism accumulated (and generated) a variety of beliefs, rituals, ceremonies, and practices. As it spread from country to country, it acquired a wide variety of cultural trappings: special clothes and hats, statues, incense, gongs, bells, whistles – even peculiar architectural forms, icons, and symbols.

Rituals, ceremonies, prayers and special outfits are inevitable, but they do not – they cannot – express the heart of what the Buddha taught. In fact, all too often, such things get in the way. They veil the simple wisdom of the Buddha’s words, and distract us from it.

This is a major problem, and not just for those of us raised in the West. It is not easy to know where Buddhism ends and Asian culture begins, or to distinguish the original and authentic teachings of the Buddha from what was added later by people with less acute insight. As a result, many Americans and Europeans genuinely believe that Buddhism is about worshipping Buddha, or bowing and wearing robes, or working oneself into a trance, or coming up with answers to bewildering riddles, or past and future incarnations.

Buddhism is not about these beliefs and practices. The observations and insights of the Buddha are plain, practical, and eminently down-to-earth. They deal exclusively with here and now, not with theory speculation, or belief in some far-off time or place. Because these teachings remain focused on this moment – even as you read this – they remain relevant, and of profound value, to every culture and every person who investigates them seriously.

pg. 4, Buddhism Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen

It is because of this emphasis on the core of what the Buddha taught, that many view Buddhism more as a philosophy rather than a religion. In the same vein – A Course in Miracles is not an organised religion, not a cultural phenomenon, not a set of rituals and dogmatic beliefs, and is not even a way of acting in the world (ie. a moral teaching). It is a teaching that is only concerned with changing our perceptions of the external world, in order to achieve inner peace. It is on this first (and significant) similarity between A Course in Miracles and Buddhism that these spiritual teachings build their foundations.

While most Buddhist schools would agree on the central teachings of the Buddha, eg. the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, Buddhism, as with every other organised religion in this world, has been subject to differentiation into thousands of different schools and sects. Indeed, the word ‘amorphous’ comes to mind when trying to describe the vast field of Buddhist literature, terminology and concepts.

A word on language: many Buddhist concepts are often summed up in just one or two words in Sanskrit or Pali, and nearly always have multiple meanings – very often, much of the meaning is lost in translation to English. I pray that the reader tries not to be caught up in the symbols but to see the message behind them.

Also, I would like to make it clear that in no way am I trying to say that A Course in Miracles has ideas or concepts borrowed from Buddhism. As I have mentioned before on this site – I believe that all spiritual paths illustrate to the same universal truths which words can never fully encapsulate.

My intention with writing this article, is primarily to explain and to educate the public about what A Course in Miracles is trying to say, by means of comparison with an existing, well-understood system – in this case, Buddhism.

I will outline my comparison in 8 parts:

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