Today the words heaven and nirvana are often used interchangeably; this has led to some confusion regarding the concepts. The aim of this paper is provide a foundation of understanding, regarding the concepts of heaven in Christianity and nirvana in Buddhism. To define the key characteristics that set these two concepts apart, while seeking to identify any similarities that may be found between them.
When attempting to identify the origin of the Christian heaven, it is important to first define Christianity: "the religion that is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ" (Merriam-Webster.com). Since these teachings are at the core of many faiths, including but not limited to the Catholic, Jewish and Protestant faith, it would be unwise, to try to speak for Christianity as a whole, regarding the matter of heaven or when it came into being.
Christian sects may see death and what follows a little differently however; the “majority” agree that proof of heaven, as a real place, can be found in the bible. The bible teaches that another life awaits Christians, when their time here on earth comes to an end. During the next life, they will dwell in the “presence of God” and other followers of Jesus. In the next life they will be liberated from sin and thereby released from their agony. (ReligionFacts.com). “Heaven is not a figment of divine imagination, some mystical floating, the ethereal, never-never land” (Stowell, (1995) p.87).
In his book Eternity Joseph Stowell examines, Acts 1:11, Jesus rose into the heavens, before the eyes of his disciplines, and the angels said “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched H...
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... achieve in this life to avoid the next.
Works Cited
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Prothero, S, (2008). Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—And Doesn’t. New York: HarperOne.
Sach, J. (2003). The Everything Buddhism Book: Learn the ancient traditions and apply them to modern life. MA, Avon, Adams Media Corporation.
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Stowell, J. (1995). Eternity: Reclaiming A Passion For What Endures, IL, Chicago, Moody Press.
Yu, Han. “Memorial on Buddhism”. Making of the Modern World 12: Classical & Medieval Tradition. Trans. Richard F. Burton. Ed. Janet Smarr. La Jolla: University Readers, 2012. 111-112. Print.
It is said that history is shaped by the lives of great men. Great men are leaders. They bring about change; they improve the lives of others; they introduce new ideas, models, and theories to society. Most of the world's religions were founded, developed, or discovered by great men. Two particular religions - Christianity and Buddhism - developed in different parts of the world, under different circumstances, and in different social atmospheres. But each religion is based upon the teachings of a great man. When one compares the life of Buddha with the life of Jesus, one finds that the two share many things in common. This essay aims to compare and contrast the lives of Buddha1 and Jesus in two key areas: conception and birth. In these two areas, one finds that the Buddha and Jesus share many similarities.
"Basics of Buddhism." n.d. The Living Edens: Thailand. Public Broadcasting Service. Website. 6 March 2014. .
In this term paper I will be comparing and contrasting Buddhism and Hinduism. Comparing both Hinduism belief, sacred text and overall view of how the world SHOULD be. Hinduism and Buddhism are two of the most influential and complex religions around the world. Both religions have similar philosophies and originated in India before 500 B.C. Both are among the top five major religions being practiced in today’s world. Hinduism ranks as the third most popular organized religion and is much older than Buddhism. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, or Lord Buddha, who considered himself a Hindu before being called to his path and attaining enlightenment, and therefore given this fact, it follows that Buddhism share many similarities and some very distinct differences in certain doctrinal sacred texts, ideals, practices, and beliefs of Hinduism.
Christianity is the number one practiced religion out of the top five religions with an estimated total of 2.1 billion followers. (Pew Research Center 1) To Christians the place of heaven along with hell alike, appears within the religious belief’s sacred text called the Bible. A prime example of how the religion views these destinations comes from the book of Mathew in the bible. The scripture reads, “enter through the narrow gate. For wide is
Buddhism is slowly becoming one of the most popular religions in the world, and is estimated to have about 300-400 million followers at the beginning of 2014. The numbers of followers have declined in the countries where Buddhism originated, due to the arising of “New Age Religions” in that part of the world.
“You will be with me today in paradise,” Jesus Christ told this to the thief on the cross while they were dying. However, can people believe that there is truly life after death? In many different religions there are different perceptions of life after death. For example in the Buddhist religion, the Buddhist people believe that life is practice for death. Professor Brown, of California State University of Northridge stated, “The Buddhist people cultivate positive, happy virtuous states of mind and abandoning non-virtuous, harmful, suffering states of mind.” This teaching is mirrored by Christianity teachings as well. Professor Brown also stated, “Death is an opportunity for great spiritual achievement if one is prepared and remembers one’s spiritual practices and beliefs and understandings during the death process.”
Smith, Huston. World’s Religions: A Guide to our Wisdom Traditions. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1994.
Eliot, Sir Charles. HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM. 1921. Vol. 1. London: ROUTLEDGE & KEGAN PAUL LTD, 1954. 3 vols. wisdom library. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. .
Amidst people in different locations, times and civilizations we see a lot of same descriptions of Utopia or Pure Land. It is as if we have a unified idea of what a Heaven, Pure Land, or Paradise is. The characteristics of these heavenly realms are very similar between different cultures. The concepts of having infinite space, light, beauty, great peace, perfection and comfort are present in both Pure Land Buddhist ideals and Christianity. The most important distinction of this other world however is the idea that there is no feeling of time in any conception of Heaven. There is no hurry in any description of Heaven and there is no place to go, we have already arrived. In Heaven or the Pure Land people do not have to worry about being late for a meeting, having to hurry in order to enjoy themselves, and they never need to be 'pressed for time'; in these realms time as it is related to earth has no meaning. The experience of this other realm can be described as serene joy that is wholesome. There are of course many differences between Pure Land Buddhism and Christianity, but the fundamental idea of Heaven is prevalent in both religions.
Mishra, Pankaj. An end to suffering: the Buddha in the world. New York: Farrar, Straus and
The Biblical understanding of the afterlife is, in fact, quite different when one compares the Old and New Testaments. The very first verse of the Bible, “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,” (Genesis 1.1), makes it clear that heaven has existed as long as the rest of creation. Although mentioned several more times throughout the Old Testament, heaven in this case is not the paradise of eternal salvation as described in the New Testament. Rather, it is only the dwelling place of God. Job confirms this when he proclaims, “My witness is in heaven” (Job 16.19). In addition, the author of Psalm 115 writes, “The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings” (Psalm 115.16). Clearly, then, the heaven of the Old Testament was a place for God only, not a place for humans to ever expect to be in, even after dying.
Now we will compare both Buddhism and Christianity. In the afterlife of Buddhism, they believe that they go to Nirvana to get reincarnated and go into a different body. In Christianity they believe that they go to Heaven or Hell. As in if you're good throughout your life you go to
Over 100 million people seek enlightenment by taking on a spiritual journey called Theravada Buddhism, originating in ancient India during 100 BCE. By taking on this religious path people begin to learn traits such as wisdom and acceptance through meditation. I can inform readers about Gautama Buddha’s ancient religion by revealing Theravada’s peaceful teachings and spiritual beliefs. And along this religious journey followers of Theravada become wiser and kinder, they learn to accept things for what they truly are, and this new mindset eventually results in Nirvana, or Enlightenment, the ultimate goal in which every Theravada follower dreams of. This peaceful religion, Theravada, means “school of the elder monks” in Pali, Theravada’s original language in which their sacred doctrines (the Pali Canon and the Pali Tipitaka) are
Sach, Jacky. The Everything Buddhism Book: Learn the Ancient Traditions and Apply Them to Modern Life. Avon, MA: Adams Media Corporation, 2003. Print.