The central goal of the Buddhist scriptures was to preserve the wisdom of ancient monks who achieved high states of experience through years of devotion, practice, and meditation. The wisdom in the scriptures is from another time, another culture, from a point of view that is the opposite of American consumerism or religious fundamentalism. The fundamental aspect of the Buddhist Scriptures is transcendence, not fulfillment. Here are a few ways this primary analytical difference brings about a unique, but still cohesive philosophy.
Firstly, look at the issue of a man's religious life. A Christian in America would understand the function of their daily life to be continual improvement and continual devotion, actively attempting to summon the humility it takes to bring one's behaviors into Christ's example. But the Buddhists would call that moralism. For a Buddhist, the true path to spiritual growth comes from removing our attachments to the present moment, to our own desires, and to our fears or aversions. Actually, when you actually read the Upanishads, it becomes fairly obvious that Jesus Christ's teachings and the teachings of Buddhism have a tremendous amount of crossover, so actually, there are many ideas of Buddhism that are shared by certain understandings of Christianity, but the main difference is that in Buddhism, there is no preference of the self. The Buddhist is not motivated by some fate in the afterlife. The Buddhist is like a tired wanderer who just wants to go to sleep, an image seen clearly in the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
Then look at the way the Upanishads treat the meaning of life. The dominant view in America is the American Dream, the idea that through the participation in capitalism, a person can improve their station in life. The Upanishads would cut them off right there and say, "Why would you want to improve your station in life?" An American would likely say that having more money, more luxury, more free time, and perhaps more authority are all ways that they could make their day-to-day life more pleasant, comfortable and enjoyable. But the Buddhist scriptures are clear—there is no meaning to be found by chasing desires for a life that could be. There is no meaning in any place, and according to the first principle of the Upanishads, "All life is suffering."
This means that a Buddhist entirely circumvents questions like, "What legal system is right? What religion is right? What government is right?" The Buddhist is a citizen of death. By participating in the daily work of understanding one's self, working through desires and fears, the Buddhist removes himself to a world of private luxury, an independent bliss that comes from just making the most of the present moment, and especially using one's focus to appreciate beauty wherever it can be found.
In terms of a metaphor, watch the movie Titanic. Americans are like the people running around trying desperately to fix an unfixable ship in an unfixable situation. The Buddhists are like the string quartet making the most of their final moments. That's a pretty good idea of what the basic attitude is of all Buddhist scriptures.
