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...
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