Buddhism vs. Islam
What is the purpose of life? Life holds different meaning for people across the world; such different perceptions on life are framed by religious beliefs. Such meanings and significance be divided into two groups. There are people for whom the significance lies within the world we live in and then there are those who would like to believe in life after death and the entire notion of heaven (Shun 1995, 240). Those belonging to the first category can be further divided into three groups: those who perceive life in terms of family, those who belief life is all about love for country and lastly those for whom life is about mankind. The latter concept appears in religion; it is used by almost all religions to signify the meaning of life (Shun 1995, 242). Taking the latter notion into account, the paper investigates and draws on teachings and verses to show that Islam and Buddhism converge and conform to the same point when it comes to defining the purpose of human life.
One thing I teach: suffering and the end of suffering. --The Buddha (Woodward 2002, 283)
Buddhism denies that there is any "permanent and absolute significance" of life; for Buddhists life is "unsatisfactory and void" (Shun 1995, 243). For Buddha, life and world are "dependent originated." What is this concept of "dependent originated"? It is depiction and a representation of a human lifecycle or different cycles within a single lifetime. These different cycles can include addiction to something, marriage, being involved with something and so forth. This cycle or loop comprising of desires and temptations can end; however, everything has to begin with ignorance (Hardy n.d.).
According to Buddha's teachings, birth or rebirth (the starting point to a cycle) begins with ignorance. Ignorance is followed by will, will...
Columbus reveled in making distinctions between his own culture and 'the other,' in a way that prioritized his own culture, even though ironically he went in search of a non-Western civilization's Indian bounty of spices. Columbus' eradication of another civilization is the most extreme form of Western civilization's prioritization of distinction, in contrast to Buddhism's stress upon the collapse of such distinction. The most obvious negative legacy of Columbus, for
In fact, Hindus consider their religion not as a form of religion per se, but spirituality in general. Selvanayagam (2005) discussed the Hindu concept of spirituality, which takes into account all possible ways or manner in which enlightenment can be achieved. In India, wherein the Hindu religion is the dominant and an integral part of people's lives, Hinduism is considered more than a religion -- it is also a political
V. Conclusion Both Islam and Buddhism are great traditions that have contributed much to both history and religious development. In terms of morality, both religions make significant contributions. Buddhism teaches the learner that actions have consequences, and it is important to think about actions and consequences with one's own intellect in order to determine what actions should be taken. Islam, on the other hand, teaches that societal rights and wrongs are
This also means that it is the Sovereign God and not just Lady Luck that is the Lord of Israel. Since God is sovereign by nature, it means that His sovereignty even extends to the allocation of Gods to tribals and to pagans, and this also means that God did not simply hand over His very representation of Himself as the Father and as the Son and as the Spirit
Buddhism I have admittedly led a pretty sheltered life in terms of interactions with people from other cultures. I am not a Buddhist and so I do not have any first-hand experiences with the religious practices associated with Buddhism. Before this course, and before my experience, I knew some things about Buddhism, but only as much as most people know. For example, I knew that Buddhism is primarily associated with Asian
They both emphasize on the teaching of doing good and following rules to live right and happily. They both have vigorous missionary programs, in which they convert people to their religion. In the two religions, the people can worship in groups or individually. The religions have a leader of worship that is a monk in Buddhism and a Priest in Christianity. The two principles in the religion used parables
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now