World Religions
Midterm Paper
Buddhism
All religions have feats to overcome. Finding nirvana is one of the most difficult paths to follow Buddhist religion. “To become Buddhist is to follow the way of a man named Siddhartha Gautama. It is to resolve to do what he did- to become a Buddha, an Enlightened One,” (77).
The nature of reality is suffering. If suffering were eliminated from the world, there would be n 525b14f o desire. Desire is what causes suffering, because not having something whether it is a material object or a non-material object is what we as humans spend our energy and time dwelling on. It’s a ‘want’ that causes pain because one can’t have that object. Another word for desire is ‘dukka.’ Although the nature of reality is that desire causes suffering there is a method to a solution.
There are eight steps to overcoming nirvana. The first step is to have the right understanding. One must have a consciousness, and feelings that nirvana is what they are trying to overcome. The second step is to have the right intentions. One must truly, deeply want to work through overcoming nirvana. If the right intentions are not present, then success is futile. The third step, right speech, is not taking part in slander, having poisonous wit, ‘accidental’ tactlessness, idle chatter or gossip. Only truthful, non-violent speech is acceptable. The fourth step is acting in correct conduct. This means: don’t kill and don’t steal. Be respectful of others and be courteous. The fifth step to overcoming nirvana is participating in respectful livelihood. Examples of proper livelihood could be anything besides, a butcher, armament dealer, brewer, prostitute, and pimp or drug dealer. The sixth step is putting in the right effort, and having a strong motivation- like an ox: slow and steady moving forward. The seventh step is having the right mindfulness. In other words having the right mindfulness and thought is having consideration and being compassionate to others. The eight, and last step is the having the right concentration. This last step can be achieved through meditation: having a calm and centered mind. When using these steps overcoming nirvana is possible, and can be easily achieved.
There are two different types of Buddhists. The first type of Buddhist is a “Pure land” Buddhist. This is the largest and most common type of Buddhism. The second type of Buddhism is “Zen” Buddhism. Zen Buddhists are focused on the experience. They have no disconnect between themselves and the universe. They feel very connected with everything in the universe.
In conclusion, being a Buddha overcoming nirvana: finding a state of ineffable bliss and the steps to achieving this is what Buddhism is all about.
Hinduism
Hinduism poses the question: what is the nature of reality? In the Hindu religion Brahman, the Christian equivalent to the Holy Father is God. Brahman alone is their only reality.
A major feat to overcome in the Hinduist religion is that of ignorance. To overcome this is the ultimate goal. Realization is the set goal to recognize Brahman as the God, and the only God. This realization is known as ‘atman’. The solution to this problem from ignorance is ‘moksha’. In other words, ‘moksha’ is liberation from ignorance, but even more importantly ‘moksha’ is freeing from the cycle of death. People of the Hinduist faith believe that one is reincarnated until all of one’s life lessons from Brahman have been learned. Until one learns these lessons they keep coming back to a new life. It’s a cycle of birth and death and can only be ended from escaping ignorance.
The readings we have read in class, “The King of Death” and selections from “Yoga,” have examples of traditions and teachings from the Hinduism religion. One teaching we have learned from ‘yoga’ and the positions is that everything is connected to one’s center of energy. Breath is a very important teaching in finding one’s center when doing yoga. We learned that there is a strong parallel between behavior and breath. Our breath affects our behavior and our behavior affects our breath. A good example of this is when one is feeling nervous, that nervous emotion (nervous behavior) causes an increase in breathing. It is possible to even begin to hyperventilate. An inverse example where breath causes behavior could be: if one is breathing heavily from intense exercise, it could make the person behave as though they were fatigued. In this case since they were doing intense exercise and breathing heavily, it would be logical to assume they were tired judging from their behavior.
In Hinduist faith, there is ‘Jhana’. This is the idea that we all have different layers of ourselves. The utmost outer layer is our ‘sheath’. The ‘sheath’ is like our protective-outer layer; for example skin. The second layer from the outside is breath. Mentioned earlier, breath is what controls our behavior and vice versa. The third layer is our mind. The mind can also be thought of as our ego. This layer is one of the most important because it organizes our thoughts and by far controls our behavior more than any other layer. The innermost layer is the intellect. The intellect is also known as the ‘buddhi.’
One of the major lessons in Hinduism is something called karma. Karma is the doing of right things and receiving rewards from Brahman. When one does something bad there are also consequences. In an example of karma, Suzie trips Tom. In return, Suzie then walks away and runs face first into a door. According to the definition of karma Suzie’s misfortune is because she tripped Tom before. Bhakti, means ‘mind.’ Bhakti is the understanding of how the mind works, what one wants to do deep down in the core of one’s self, to know what is right and what is wrong.
In my opinion, Hinduism seems to be mostly spiritual. The religion surrounds the mind, body and the spirit. The body is a temple and the spirit embodies the soul. The study of yoga is what makes Hinduism spiritual. There are so many different terms like bhakti, karma and jhana that connect to the spirit of the person. Yoga is all about finding one’s center and making peace with it. I myself enjoy yoga. It helps me relax and calms my mind after a stressful day at school or tennis practice.
In conclusion, Brahman is the only God and the largest feat one can overcome as a Hindu is ignorance. Once one has faced and conquered ignorance, the ultimate goal has been achieved.
Islam
Islam is the prophetic religion. This means that Islams’ believe in the prophets. Islam is one of the most demanding religions, even though it is considered to be uncomplicated.
The nature of reality: Islams believe in one God. They call him “Allah.” They also believe that he is real, and that he will come again to live on the face of the earth. The word “Islam” means submission and will to the god Allah. Basically, Muslims fully surrender all of his power to Allah. Allah is the driving force in the Islam religion. The problem here is: forgetfulness. Muhammad, one of Allah’s followers having no extraordinary powers or knowledge of any sort believed that he was the chosen one to carry out Allah’s requests by being his messenger. Muhammad, who though he was the messenger created problems between Christians and Islams, “And thus the stage set for conflict between Muslims and Christians which over the centuries has been one of history’s saddest stories, a tragedy shot through with all the evils the two religions abhor,” (397) both religions believed only their story was the right one. Both Christianity and Islam, although they both have many close similarities still continue to deny and refuse to believe that either story is correct.
According to the Islam religion, we are born free from sin. It is man who sins, but from the forgiveness of God we are not born that way. There are five pillars of Islam: the confession of faith, worship, wealth sharing, fasting and the pilgrimage. These five pillars constitute a core minimum of duties in the Islam religion.
From one reading we did in class, “Muhammad, Prophet of God,” by John L. Esposito, he explains about the history behind Muhammad. “History, Legend, and Muslim belief portray Muhammad as a remarkable man and prophet…The Quran has served as a major source for information regarding the life of the prophet… Muhammad serves both as God’s human instrument bearing His revelation and as the model or ideal whom all believers should emulate. Thus, understanding Muhammad and his role in the early Islamic community is crucial for an appreciation of the development of early Islam as well as contemporary Muslim belief and practice, “(400-401). This excerpt by Espostio explains that Muhammad was a great man to many people serving as God’s instrument. Muhammad was the ideal example of a Muslim that God created for all the Islam people to follow. Esposito also adds that in order to understand the Islam religion, one must comprehend the importance of Muhammad as God’s messenger to the Islamic people.
Muhammad’s duty to
carry out Allah’s word was difficult at first, because of rejection from the
Meccan people. “While there was a trickle of converts, opposition to Muhammad
was formidable,” (402). Some converted, but for the majority of the time,
Muhammad had problems expressing the views of Islam from Allah, “For the
powerful and prosperous Meccan oligarchy, the monotheistic message of this
would-be reformer, with its condemnation of the socioeconomic inequities of
Meccan life, constituted a direct challenge not only to traditional
polytheistic religion but also to the power and prestige of the establishment,
threatening their economic, social, and political intrests,” (402). The excerpt
explains that if a Meccan were to convert to Islam it would contradict all in
the acceptable way of the Meccan lifestyle. Finally, Muhammad found success in
In conclusion, Islam is one of the most demanding religions although it is claimed to be the most uncomplicated. The five pillars of Islam: the confession of faith, worship, wealth sharing, fasting and the pilgrimage, all are important in correctly following the Islam religion.
Works Cited
Eastman, Roger, ed. The Ways of
Religion.
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