The Noble
The Noble
Reincarnation, salvation, prayer, 8 fold path, five pillars, and the five key relationships are all a part of both the Eastern and Western religions. The Eastern and Western religions both have some things in common as well as some things they can vary. First and Foremost, the two religions of Christianity (West) and Buddhism (East) both may have the same rules they must follow, but they also both have different goals in life. Both Buddhism and Christianity want to treat other the way they want to be treated, but according to class discussion ¨Jesus is the way to salvation (Christianity). Following the middle path is the way to enlightenment (Buddhism).¨ While the Christians think that following Jesus is only to achieve salvation and that…
Reincarnation is a common belief in the eastern part of the world, with Buddhism as well as Hinduism, supporting the idea of rebirth. In Hinduism each person has an essential self which is called the Atman, and is eternal and seeks unity with God. At physical death, the Atman leaves the body and enters another at birth. The physical body is gone but the Atman remains the same. The status of the body that the Atman re-enters is depended on whether in the previous life the person was morally good or bad, if good it will be in a higher status body, and if bad will be in a lower status body. This cycle of rebirth, birth and death is called Karma which Buddhism also follows, except they do not believe in a soul, but instead the five skandhas which are woven together and make a person attract karma. These two religions are heavily followed in the eastern part of the world and so therefore it may be argued that because it is an accepted belief it is therefore normal to believe in such an idea, however in the western part of the world where religions such as Christianity are followed it is not as accepted. Some would also question the fairness of suffering in this life for something in a past life which they cannot remember and that punishment doesn’t have a value unless you understand what it is for; it needs to be associated with something. However, Hindus would argue that karma is not seen as a punishment; it is just bearing out the karmic fruits…
As Buddhism originated from the Hindu region, it shares many themes and beliefs with Sikhism, Jainism, and Hinduism. The first of these beliefs is the cycle of rebirth, also known as samsara, the belief in karma that influences one’s rebirth. While Buddhism does not believe in the presence of an immortal soul, Buddhism does teach that one’s personality and essence is reborn into the next life to continue the path towards nirvana and escape from the unending cycle of reincarnation (Molloy, 2013). Stemming from the belief that one may be reborn into different life forms, depending on one’s karma, is an expanded prohibition towards harming another life form or Ahimsa. While Buddhism does not go the extreme that some followers of Jainism have been known to, Buddhism does encourage a vegetarian diet among its followers, and discourages any profession that results in the harm of another living being. Also, due to Buddhism’s expansion into China and Japan, its influence on the modern practices of Daoism, Confucianism and Shinto can be clearly seen. Buddhism can be seen as the philosophical teachings of a single man that have grown into a religion, similar to Confucianism. This nature has allowed both Confucianism and Buddhism the flexibility to meld with, influence, and co-exist with other cultures and religions. This nature is best…
Hinduism and Buddhism, both ancient Indian major belief systems, were instrumental in shaping the everyday life as well as a life span of ancient Indians. More of progressive enlightened philosophy than a religion, Buddhism illuminated the path to righteousness, good heartedness, honor and virtue through the Eight Fold path and the Four Noble Truths. Hinduism emphasizes asceticism (refraining from the “wants of life and its worldly pleasure”) and reincarnation, or rebirth of an individual in the hopes of the ascension of one’s soul based on the results of the past lives and the attempt to be released of the “wheel of life” cycle.…
Hindus answer the question of what happens after we die with samsara, the continual round of birth, death, and rebirth. “The rishis taught that the soul leaves the dead body and enters a new one. One takes birth again and again in countless bodies—perhaps as an animal or some other life form—but the self remains the same.” (Fisher 77) With karma, every act we make, and even every thought and every desire we have, shapes our future experiences. Our life is what we have made it, and we ourselves are shaped by what we have done: “As a man acts, so does he become. … A man becomes pure through pure deeds, impure through impure deeds.” (Fisher 77) The ultimate goal of life is moksha, or liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth. Its attainment marks the end of all the other goals. (Fisher 101) Many believe that to achieve moksha will take many lifetimes of upward-striving incarnations are required to reach this transcendence of earthly miseries. (Fisher 77)…
David Eckel, if I had to define Buddhism it would not be by principle that governs a Buddhist way of life but the ultimate goal to which that life is directed, the key would be nirvana. Nirvana is the definitive cessation of the suffering that plagues human existence. The concept of nirvana gains its meaning and much of its importance in classical Buddhist thought from the assumption of reincarnation or transmigration (samsara), an assumption that Indian Buddhist share with their Hindu counterpart (Eckel, D., 1946). Classical Buddhist sources pictured human life as a continuous cycle of death and rebirth. A person, or sentient being could rise on the scale of transmigration as far as the gods in heaven or fall down through the realm of animals to one of the lowest hells. The realm of a person's life in a future life is determined by the actions or karma performed in this life (Eckel, D., 1946). Good actions could bring a good rebirth and bad actions could bring a bad rebirth. In either case, however, the results in are impermanent. According to Eckel even the actions that brought rebirth in the highest heaven eventually would decay and condemn a person to wander again through the realms of rebirth. The only way to escape the cycle all together is to extinguish…
Hinduism beliefs about the afterlife vary significantly from Buddhism beliefs. Hindus believe that humans go through a never-ending cycle of birth and death. Hindus believe in karma. Karma is “action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation: in Hinduism one of the means of reaching Brahman” (Collins English Dictionary, Web). Buddhists believe that every soul is reborn until it has been cleansed. In Buddhism, the goal is to achieve Nirvana. Nirvana is “freedom from the endless cycle of personal…
Buddhism: believes the main goal after death is to reach “nirvana” a state of clarification, and that there is no individual identity once deceased…
Hinduism, Buddhism and Taoism are monistic, meaning they see god in all things. The Eastern mind sees God everywhere, in all things, and sees everything as sacred. Their ultimate reality is an entity and not necessarily a god. "God" is not personal and not to be thought of as a brother or father, but as so much more. Eastern religions see one kind of reality. They view all beings as equal in value. The individual is not actually real and the separateness of humans from creation and from one another is an illusion to be overcome. Human nature is viewed as naturally ignorant and we better ourselves by being enlightened. Following dharma is the good life, which is being in harmony with universal order through personal duty. In Eastern religions, enlightenment is attained within the individual. In Buddhism, it is nirvana; In Hinduism, it is the yoga; In Taoism, it is wu wei. Reincarnation is a central belief; so some things are not that big of a deal, such as justice or injustice. They believe there is one true god and all religions speak of him. There are many paths to god.…
“My interpretation can only be as inerrant as I am, and that's good to keep in mind.”…
In Buddhism, Buddhist does not believe that during their lives they do not live and die once, instead they are a part of a continuous cycle which is known as samsara. Samsara can bring many births, deaths, and rebirths all according to how karma is played out in their lifetime. A person’s karma can play a very important role in a person’s life as to what their next life will become. The only way that Buddhist can become free from the cycle of samsara is by reaching a state of nirvana. When I hear of heaven or paradise, I often understand it as a place where a person goes to after they have died. However, Buddhists believe it is possible to dwell in nirvana or state of bliss, when still alive. My interpretation of this is that our experience in life when reaching nirvana can be a heavenly experience. In order to reach the state of nirvana which is a state of enlightenment one has to have removed all the desires which promote selfish attitudes, like, greed, hatred and etc. and the idea that all things in life do not change. By doing these things Buddhist has to come to the realization of The Four Noble Truth and practice The Eight Fold Path…
Buddhists have a very influential belief of the afterlife which most religions view as blasphemy, and a direct defiance of their religious ideology. Buddhists believe in reincarnation. This is the belief that after death the human soul lives on in a different form, and this form is determined by the choices they make during the previous life. Apart from returning either as a human or animal, hell and many stages of heaven can also be reached depending on the karma received during a lifetime. That is not to say that there is no final resting place, Buddha taught about ‘nirvana’ (not the band). Nirvana is a place of perfect tranquility; it is to the Buddhists what heaven is to Christians. However unlike in Christianity, nirvana is thought as…
In the previous section of reading, the idea of moksha was introduced. moksha is achieved when release from the cycle of rebirth occurs. The ability to reach moksha is dependent on the individuals ability to be impelled by the law of karma. According to the Hindu scripture, there are three ways to Liberation. The primary path is the way of action. The way of action is associated with yoga, more specifically karma yoga. The way of action is dependent on the idea of truly selfless duty without reservation. In contrast, some may argue that the accumulation of any karma is not good. You may ask, how is it that devotion to others has negative connotations. The explanations is that when you receive karma you must be reborn to experience it. This idea explains the transition that Hindu’s make in their old age. They stop engaging in activities that would yield any form of karma. Their hope is that there lack of action will help them become one…
Buddhism is based on "the awakening" of one man. Buddhism holds that life is full of suffering which comes from desire. The ultimate goal of Buddhism is nirvana, the extinguishing of human desire and suffering. This is accomplished by seeking enlightenment to end desire, and thus end suffering. Since desire is inherent in human nature, this results in an effort to renounce the self and "awaken" to the truth of reality. Once a seeker has awakened, he or she is said to be "enlightened." Buddhism was inspired by Hinduism which teaches intelligent indulgence in human desires. The Buddha thought desire to be the prime adversary to human life, and attempted to rid himself of all desire. During his awakening the Buddha resisted all desires, and nearly starved to death at one point. Soon after he realized that indulgence nor denial was the answer to end desire, and thus developed The Middle Way: the Buddhist philosophy of controlled response to human desire. The Western philosopher Spinoza summarized the Buddhist ethic as, "to understand something is to be delivered of it." (Smith, 75)…
Mahayana Buddhism, as aforementioned is more so religious that Theravada Buddhism. Their idea of enlightenment is that one can achieve enlightenment through a normal life as long as they are virtuous and true to their beliefs. This contrasts Theravada Buddhism, followers believe one can only obtain enlightenment through intense, time-consuming, and serious devotion to Buddhism. In addition to their view of enlightenment, the two sects differ in their views of nirvana, virtue, type of practice, sacred texts, politics, and so forth. In both sects of Buddhism, nirvana is a state of pure peace and happiness where there is no suffering, pain, sense of self, or desire. In Mahayana Buddhism, followers believe it is their duty to help others reach nirvana first, and to do this they vow to be reborn as many times as necessary. Amongst their virtues, or values, they believe that compassion is the most important; in addition to their virtues they practice Buddhism in the general word and community; unlike Theravada…