“Why are you acting like that? Don’t you want to go to heaven?” Chances are we have all heard something like this at some point in our lives because in Western society the dominant religion is Christianity. This religion brings the promise of heaven and eternal life to its greatest followers. However, this is not the case in the Eastern world particularly in India where Hinduism brings the promise of moksha to its followers and Buddhism brings the promise of nirvana to its followers. Since Buddhism originated during the time of Hinduism dominance there are some core similarities.
Both believe in the positive or negative effects of karma on past, present or future lives. The way to accumulate “good” karma is through good actions the opposite of which will give you “bad” karma. To get to either moksha or nirvana you have to have a lot of good karma which brings better lives as opposed to bad karma which brings worse lives. Ultimate freedom comes when karma ceases to operate and you are no longer living more lives. Moksha and Nirvana promise to break the cycle of constant rebirth tha...
Both of these religions originated in India. Buddhists and Hindus believe that death is not final. They believe that a person comes back after he or she dies. This process is known as reincarnation, and it provides opportunities for people to enter the world multiple times in different forms. Buddhists and Hindus want to reenter the world as humans, and they want to improve their status through reincarnation.
In a quote from the Dalai Lama he says, “My religion is very simply. My religion is kindness.” IN buddhism where the main goal is happiness, that quote seems to explain it all. The fact of the matter is, religion has been around since the beginning of mankind; religion gave people faith, structure, and a way of life. Without it people begin to lose their sense of direction and purpose. In today’s society there are over 4,200 religions, and they continue to aid people in their life and accommodate to their needs of self-knowledge. In comparison to Cao Dai, Eckankar and Jainism, Buddhism is a religion because of its similar beliefs, the way it's practiced, and its head figure.
In the world, there are five major world religions, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. In the past few classes, I have been exposed to and absorbed a tremendous amount of information on the religion of Buddhism. According to the dictionary, Buddhism is a religion of which originated in India, was founded by the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, and teaches that life is full of suffering caused by desire and that the way to end this suffering is through enlightenment that enables one to halt the endless sequence of births and deaths to which one is otherwise subject. Buddhism is a way of finding peace within oneself. It is a religion that helps it’s believers to find the happiness and contentment us humans seek. One thing I found
Both these religions have basic beliefs that are relatively different from each other. Buddhists on one hand believe in karma, rebirth, dharma and moksa. Karma is "cause, effect and the law which equilibrates the two" . It is the consequences of every action, whether good or bad. This action-reaction may take effect anytime, may be in the current life or not. Rebirth is inter-connected with karma. If one did more good things than bad in his life, his karma will lead him to a life of better condition than the previous one. Dharma is the basic concept of the religion; that is the Buddhist teaching, also meaning the nature of existence. Lastly, moksa refers to the renunciation of the world, which is parallel to the Hindu belief in the importance of asceticism and meditation .
Buddhism is currently the fourth most popular religion in our society today, following Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Its major ideologies are based on the philosophies of Siddhartha Guatama, also known as “Buddha”, who began his teachings in 598 BCE at the age of 35, according to Buddhist texts. A Buddhist’s foremost aspiration is the obtainment of Bodhi, or enlightenment through meditation and Anapana-sati (awareness of the breath). Buddhism shares many ideologies with India’s Hinduism and Yoga such as non-harming, non-violence, and self-awareness. In many instances, people regard Buddhism as a way of life rather than a religion, for it has no clear belief in the idea of a God or Gods. Its structure is built upon a hierarchy much like Christianity where superior orders such as Lamas or the Dalai Lama are said to be chosen by nature through the process of reincarnation rather than by a council like Christianity’s Pope. Though these “higher level” Buddhists are rare (not everyone is a reincarnation of an ancient Buddhist “priest”), all are permitted to follow “The Middle Way” either as a Buddhist monk or the simple attendance of a weekly teaching session from time to time. Throughout the last few hundred years the Buddhist population has blossomed into a healthy 381,611,000 and over fifteen different sects including Zen, Mahayana, and Theravada.
Throughout the history of humankind, man has always searched to find answers to the many existential questions. Numerous different religions and denominations have developed around the world over time. Though, most wonder about the origin and purpose of our existence. Buddhism was founded on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama about 2,600 years ago in India. After he had experienced that everyone was subject to “birth, sickness, death, and old age”, he tried to find a way to break from the cycle of rebirth (Bloom). Siddhartha Gautama experimented with a number of methods to find the cause of suffering which led him to what he called the Middle Way – a path between “licentiousness and extreme mortification” (Bloom). Once he achieved enlightenment, he turned into ‘the Buddha – the enlightened or awakened one’. Christianity is one of the largest and most prevailing religions of the world and largely based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians trust that Jesus was sent by God to save humanity. Therefore, the faith of the followers of the Christian belief is primarily based on the preaching of Jesus and later the spreading of those by his disciples. Although Buddhism and Christianity show several parallels, their three key differences are that Buddhists do not believe in one divine being, and have different views about both the purpose of life and the concept of afterlife.
Siddhartha Gautama is famously known as Gautama Buddha and was the founder of the idea of Buddhism. The Buddha was known to possess supernatural powers and abilities. He was born in the holy land of Nepal and his journey began in India when he decided to travel and teach himself about life. In the midst of his journey, he discovered Buddhism after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death and existence. Buddhism became a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama and since then Buddhism has been popular throughout many civilizations. Buddhism is now one of the most ancient religions in the world, where people follow Buddha, which stand for “awakened one,” and Buddhism which has gained popularity because of the teachings of the Buddha.
In the western world, a dominant belief is that after life, a person’s soul is sent to a place of eternal bliss, heaven, or a place of eternal damnation, hell. To Buddhists, this concept is not the norm. Buddhists believe that a person is reincarnated into another life form, either human or animal. What life form a person is reincarnated as is determined by the person’s karma. The concept of karma not only affects reincarnation, but also what path a person’s life takes. While much of the concept of karma is believable and comprehensible by a person of any denomination, some aspects are dependant upon a belief in reincarnation and that a person will eventually be punished for his sins or rewarded for his good deeds, whether in this life or the next. At the same time, in order to believe in how reincarnation works, a person must understand the idea of karma.
Buddhism, like most other religions, originated in a particular place at a particular time, and its roots are in forms and ideas that were part of the environment in which it developed. The most important of these areas at the time of the Buddha was the valley of the Ganges river which flows from west to east across most of northern India. It was here that the great religions of India first arose and flourished. Only later did they spread to the south. In the time of the Buddha, about 500 B.C.E., this area was undergoing a period of vigorous religious development.
Though both Hinduism’s moksha and Buddhism’s nirvana are more or less synonymous, they both hold distinctive differences in the path that leads followers to the end goal of enlightenment from samsara. In Hinduism, “letting go” or releasing from samsara by way of the realization that “atman is Brahman” is what moksha is defined as. Contrastingly, Buddhism involves extinguishing feelings that cause suffering and thus, achieving
Unlike Hindus, Buddhist follow Buddha’s four noble truths. The four noble truths provide a pathway to enlightenment; they teach what causes suffering in life and how to stop it. The noble truths are very simple and easy to understand. The first truth is that all existence will suffer no matter what, the second truth is the understanding of craving, the third truth is the cessation of suffering, and the final truth is following the noble eightfold path. Practicing Buddhism isn’t complex or difficult, unlike Hinduism. As long as one gives love and acceptance to everyone and everything, is mindful, practices Ahimsa, and detaches themselves from materialistic items one can be a successful Buddhist. Unlike the simplicity of Buddhism, Hinduism is very strict and complex. It is male oriented and difficult to follow through. To practice Hinduism one must follow the four stages of life. The first stage is being a student and study the Vedas. The second stage is being a house holder; support a student and have a family. The third stage is being a Hermit; withdraw from family for many months and prepare to become an ascetic. Finally, the last stage of life is becoming an ascetic. These stages are only allowed to be done by men and an extremely small percent of
By understanding the concepts and terminology of religious traditions it is important to understand other people 's religious experience and expression. To begin with, both Buddhism and Judaism are two different forms of religion with some similarities. Buddhist’s believe they are reborn from a previous life until they reach nirvana, which is the extinction of all desire and release from suffering. In comparison to Judaism, they believe that they are made in the likeness of God and come into the world with the capacity to choose for good or evil. Judaism follows in practicing the Ten Commandments and find happiness in other humans. Buddhist has the same opportunity in his or her life and can find fulfillment in thinking and following in the correct path. Lastly, as Buddhists do not worship a God who created and sustains the world, this makes Buddhism a non-theistic
From the moment we are born we have the tendency of craving the worldly desires that we are exposed to. Its part of human nature to want an ideal life where you are either wealthy, powerful, happy or all of the above without any suffering involved. Although that ideal sounds phenomenal, it is the thought of limitation that drives many people to seek for something more than just worldly pleasures. As some stay within the lines of an insatiable life, others come to the realization that living a life with nothing but worldly pleasures and goals are ultimately not everlasting. This is the point where people go on to pursue something bigger than themselves, something that gives them a purpose and infinite joy or as most would call it, a religion. One of the most fascinating major world religions that many have chosen to follow for centuries is Buddhism. A very complex, yet intriguing religion that seeks for a way of life that ultimately releases a person from suffering and leads them to inner peace and joy.
Ramayana is known as saranagathi shastram. Through the epic, we learn that saranagathi is available to everyone irrespective of caste, creed or gender. We learn from the Ramayana about the saranagathi performed by a crow (kakasura) thus, proving that saranagathi is even available for animals and birds. Perumal has shown us the proper method for performing saranagathi in Ramayana. Lord Rama killed two demons during His trip with sage Vishwamitra. While He killed Tataka & Subahu, with His third arrow, He only pushed Maricha into the ocean but, He did not kill Maricha. Taraka represents Avidhya or ignorance. Subahu & Maricha are the sons of Tataka. They represent the karmas we have committed because of the presence of Avidhya. He killed Subahu to show us
It is essential to commence with the following two quotes which respectively define the Christian and Buddhist’s fundamental notion of salvation, and displays aspects of the two opposing worldviews. Firstly, Jesus said "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16, NIV). Secondly, Buddha spoke "The long road of transmigration is a road of pain for the traveller: let him rest by the road and be free" (The Dhammapada, translated by Juan Mascaro 1973, v. 302). The first quote assumes a lineal event-filled theocentric view of time, a world-loving empathetic view of suffering, and salvation being Christocentric. In general, Christianity’s means of salvation is also defined through Christ's death and resurrection, by grace, through faith, not by works lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:9). The second quote however, Buddha assume...