The fans of Buddhism and Islam assume that each individual regulates their fate in the afterlife. A Buddhist believes that life and time are cyclical and this believers may be reborn often until the laws and regulations of Karma permit them to reach Nirvana the best destiny of the individual spirit. The fans of Islam view time as linear and assume that they can be allowed just one single chance to have a good life that will determine if they are allowed into Heaven. The religions change significantly in their teachings, view of God, guiding concepts, and goals. This essay will compare and contrast Mahayana Buddhism and Islam and how each religion views the principles of death and the afterlife.
The Teacher plus the Prophet
Both Buddhist and Muslims can trace the beginnings of the religions to two exceptional men Siddhartha Gautama and Muhammad. It is through the Enlightenment of Prince Siddharta Gautama later known as the Buddha that Buddhist religion was founded. Likewise Islam was started out when the Prophet Muhammad was frequented by Gabriel the archangel of God, and received a Revelation. Predicated on their personal encounters each man announced to the entire world that that they had the response to the meaning of life and the afterlife. They inspired millions of individuals to check out their thought process and established two of the world's greatest religions.
Siddharta Gautama was the boy of a King and heir to the throne. Upon his birth his father looked for the services of fortunetellers who announced him a most strange child. The also proclaimed that he'd follow one of two paths. The first journey would lead him to unify India and become a great conqueror and ruler. The second way would make him a world redeemer (Smith 84). Although his dad worked well diligently to keep him on the first path by giving him with every earthly pleasure and shielding him from connection with disease, sickness and loss of life he nevertheless became discontent once he recognized the inevitability of bodily pain, decay and death. His Great Heading Forth required him to leave the pleasures and interruptions of his life behind in search for real truth. His search had not been easy and he searched for first the Hindu experts, then a strap of ascetics, and eventually through dedication and meditations he was Enlightened and known the mysteries of the world and sought to provide his knowledge to others.
Muhammad was created in Mecca, Arabia in 570 Advertisement his father passed on before his labor and birth and his mother passed on when he was six. He was raised first by way of a grandfather who also passed away and then by Abu Talib, an uncle who used him. Muhammad probably functioned as a camel drivers and traveled the Arabian Peninsula, which gave him access to different ethnicities and religions. At get older 25 he wedded his employer a prosperous widow named Khadijah and lived in affluence for quite some time. However, like Buddha he had not been satisfied with the life he observed around him. During his later 30's he commenced regularly browsing a cave in Support Hira, outside Mecca. During one of these goes to Muhammad received a Revelation from the archangel Gabriel who commanded him to be the messenger of God and proclaim that Allah was the only true God and he was commanded by God to distributed this fact.
Buddha and Muhammad both questioned the world around them. Each man desired to understand the real interpretation of man's presence and goal. Both men desired solitude and used meditation in search of real truth. Both men saw suffering and sociable injustice and both hoped to cure what they noticed. One man appeared inward and proclaimed that the purpose of life was to get rid of all anguish and that all individual alone, not a god, was accountable for their own deeds and the results of those deeds (Karma) established one's ranking in the afterlife. He became the Teacher of Buddhism. The other man received a Revelation from God through the archangel Gabriel that informed him to proclaim that there is merely one true God, Allah. He became the Prophet of Allah and proven Islam. Both men where accountable for the creeds, doctrines, and scriptures related with their faith that are used by believers today.
Basic Doctrines of Buddhism and Islam
Both Buddhism and Islam have as creeds or declarations of trust that include a afterlife. Both religions have writings or scriptures that help guide the believers to live a life a life that will cause a positive outcome in the afterlife. The Buddhist creed is named the Triranta (Three Jewels). The creed states: "I seek refuge in the Buddha, I seek refuge in the Dharma, I seek refuge in the Sangham". (The Buddha in the creed refers to Sidharta Guantama, the Dharma is his teachings, and the Sangham is the community or monastery of monks. ) Furthermore Buddhist follow the Four Noble Truths which are fundamental to the understanding of living. These truths in essence state that life means battling and that suffering is the consequence of attachment or desire but that you can stop troubled by following Noble Eightfold Route. The Noble Eightfold Course offers believers a path to follow, through self-discipline and yoga, a way to end desire, the cause of suffering. The Eightfold Path claims that believers must have a Right View, Right Objective, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration. Basically the Eightfold Avenue says that believers should view things as they are really. They should plan to improve, watch their speech, avoid misconduct, choose a livelihood regular with the teachings of Buddha, work hard to see that no negatives distractions or unwholesome thoughts go into their mind and to focus (meditate) on ending suffering. It is through this process that Nirvana may be obtained. Every individual is in charge of living the Eightfold way and accountable for the way they fare in the afterlife. The Tripitaka (Pali Canon) is the holy e book of Buddhism but it generally does not play as significant role as the Qur'an in Islam.
The Islamic creed is the shahadahtain and is a declaration of trust that claims, "There is absolutely no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger" (Kamaruzaman, 2006 3). The Pillars of Faith are related to the idea in Allah, prophets, angels, scriptures, the hereafter, and fate. The Pillars of Beliefs conveys the beliefs of Muslims while the Pillars of Islam display through action the dedication to those beliefs. The Pillars of Islam require that Muslims confess the holy creed at least one time in their life, pray five times daily toward Mecca, give money (zarat) to the indegent, fast on Ramadan, and go to pilgrimage if possible. In doing these rituals they affirm their faith to Allah. The Qur'an is the primary way to obtain every Muslim's trust and practice. It handles all the subject matter that concern all humans: wisdom, values, worship, and law. Muslims think that The Qur'an is an archive of the precise words uncovered by God through the Angel Gabriel to the Muhammad and hasn't been modified or evolved. Muslims price and use the Qu'an atlanta divorce attorneys facet of life.
Existence of God
One of the very most glaring differences between Buddhism and Islam is how each religious beliefs deals with the concept of God and the life of a soul. Buddhism is a faith where the belief in God as a divine originator is non-existence. In Buddhism there is absolutely no God at hand out rewards or punishments and there is no judgement day. Buddhism is not structured upon faith in a supreme-being and Buddha is not really a savior who are able to save others. "The emphasis of Buddhism is on the individual and the nurturing of the person into a religious being alternatively than on theology and worship. " (Kamaruzaman, 2006 3) Buddhists follow the teachings of the Buddha (Dharma) not because they view Buddha as a god but rather because he is the ultimate instructor and guide, the Enlightened One, who is able to help them in their personal search to end enduring (dukkah) and reach Nirvana. Buddha preached a religious beliefs totally devoid of divine power as symbolized by his coaching, "Be bulbs unto yourselves. Those that, either now of after I am inactive, shall rely upon themselves only rather than look for assistance to anyone besides themselves, it is they who shall reach the topmost height"( Burtt, 1955 49-50). Buddhism places emphasis on self-determination, self-discipline, and specific striving. Practicing Buddhist does not strive to please a god or call after a god for help rather they seek information through the teachings of Buddha. By faithfully following a Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Way individuals can improve their Karma and work to obtain Nirvana, the purpose of all Buddhist. Karma is the result of every action, whether good or bad, and establishes how a Buddhist progresses in the afterlife. The basics of Buddhism places focus on individual struggle to do good to become released from the sufferings of life in a corporeal body. Karma exclusively determines if the person must be reborn to try again or if a person has resided a good life and can reach Nirvana. Buddhism educates that a lot of people will be re-born many times before their Karma will allow them to attain Nirvana. It really is this lack of belief in a divine specialist that triggers some to claim that Buddhism is an atheistic philosophy rather than a religion.
In addition Buddhism denies the living of a everlasting spirit because in Buddhism there is nothing long term. The Buddha informed the monks in another of his last address to them, "Behold, O monks, this is my last advice for you. All component things in the world are changeable. They aren't prolonged. Work hard to get your own salvation. " Rather than a permanent heart and soul, Buddhist assume that there are five elements that can come together at labor and birth and individual at the loss of life and these elements are called skandas. The Buddha taught that our egos, personalities and the sense that the "self" is something distinctive and everlasting enclosed in your systems, are just illusory ramifications of the skandhas. Skandas are thought as the body, feelings/senses, perceptions, habits and inclinations, and consciousness. Mahayana, Buddhism considers all physical forms to be void of intrinsic self applied (a coaching called shunyata, this means "emptiness"). The perfect in Mahayana is to permit all beings to be enlightened along, not only out of a sense of compassion, but because we are not really distinct, autonomous beings. Therefore rebirth is not like reincarnation where a person's soul is moved from one body to some other. Alternatively rebirth is a fresh beginning.
In distinction Islam is a monotheistic faith and absolutely everything in Islam revolves around God, Allah, the originator of everything, who has power over everything and everybody. Muslims think that Muhammad is the last messenger of Allah and you will see no other messengers or prophets to follow. The cornerstone of Islam is, "there is no god but God. " The foundation of Islam is beliefs in Allah and distribution to the will of Allah. The Qur'an state governments about Allah,
"Say, 'He is Allah, the main one;
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begets not, and neither is He begotten;
And there exists nothing that may be in comparison to Him. "
Qur'an 112:1-4
Muslims imagine strongly in an afterlife. They believe that you have once chance to do the will of Allah and that whenever you pass away Allah will evaluate your actions. The goal of an individual is to acquire an afterlife in one of the heavens detailed in the Qur'an and to avoid one of the numerous hells. The Qur'an is definitely the literal term of Allah as directed at the Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. Islam will not maintain that the actions of God will lead to salvation but rather that submitting to God, following his instruction, and remembering God in every aspect of lifestyle is important because God will judge every action and that the totality of the people life both good and evil will determine if they're allowed into Paradise or doomed to Hell. Islam shows that each individual has complete responsibility over their activities and attitudes and this on judgement day every man will account for what he has done and his eternal life will be decided on that basis: "Every man's actions have we hung around his neck of the guitar, and on the previous day shall be laid before him a wide-open reserve" (17. 13).
Islam preaches a doctrine of predestination for the reason that Allah has understanding of everything in his creation which nothing exists outside the will of Allah. The Qur'an says this, "'Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for all of us: He is our protector': and on Allah allow Believers put their trust" (9:51). In this respect Muslims believe that Allah will guide who he pleases and send away people as he pleases. This doctrine is controversial because it appears to mean that free will does not really can be found in Islam. If God selects who to guide and who to send away then what of free will? The best explanation is that God created everything and that everything happens along with his will and Knowledge. Despite the fact that men have free will God knows in advance the options that men can make and that exactly what will happen has been recorded in a book called Al-Lawl Al Mahfud (the Reserve of Decree). Islam instructs that each person has a everlasting soul and that this soul survives death and you will be allowed into Heaven or doomed to 1 of the Hells.
Afterlife
Followers of both Buddhism and Islam believe in the life of life after fatality. For Buddhist the goal is to live the right life following Eightfold Path and acquire Nirvana circumstances of nothingness. Buddhists keep that the retributive procedure for Karma will determine the destination of supporters after loss of life. They do not live their lives in concern with God's retribution or in anticipation of his rewards. They seek to simply vanish and in doing so end all fighting and enter Nirvana. However, along the way to the afterlife they may have to repeat suffering over and over and in several realms until they get it right.
Muslims have on life and one chance to please Allah. The incentive for living a good life rather than doing evil is the rewards or retributions of Allah. Allah exclusively will see whether the person has lived a good life and please Allah. Allah is merciful and it His because of his mercy that believers may type in Heaven which is because of his judgement that souls will be delivered to hell. If a heart and soul is sentenced to Hell than it isn't because of Allah but because of selections made during a lifetime. Muslims need to please Allah in every things that they may enter Heaven.
I think about if Allah was to send a Buddhist to hell for being a non-believer would the Buddhist just shrug and say its bad Karma and wait for the next time?
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Burtt, E. A. The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha. NewYork: Thames and Hudson Ltd. 1955. Print
Hooker, Richard. "About Islam. " Washington Status School. 6 June 1999. Web. 15 May 2010. .
Kamaruzman, Kamar Oniah (ph. D). Affiliate Teacher of Comparative Religion International Islamic University Malaysia. 23rd June 2006
Smith, Huston. The World's Religions. NY: Harper Collins. 1991. Print
