Buddhism Worldview Research Paper

Critical Thinking Assignment – Buddhism

I. Part One In part one of this essay I will attempt to answer several questions regarding the overall perspective from which Buddhists see and interpret the world, I feel that the Buddhists worldview can be very intriguing and complex in many ways. In part 2, I will show how the Buddhists worldview creates a huge contrast when compared to a Biblical / Christian worldview. When it comes to the question of origin, there are several different views and ways that this question can be answered depending on a person’s worldview. For a Buddhist the beginning of the world and life is unimaginable since they believe that the world does not have a beginning or end. Buddhists deny the fact that the world
Buddhists believe that we as humans are not static, but kinetic, and continually being in a state of constant and continuous change. Buddhists believe that the meaning and purpose of man is to remove all suffering by eradicating desire. Their concept of suffering is quite a complex structure of beliefs. The Buddhist sees that the end of suffering is achieved by the Four Noble Truths which are the central teachings of Buddhism. It is believed that Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths when he first experienced enlightenment. The Buddhists methodology of morality are principles of a moral behavior called the silla. These principles contain instructions to abstain from: (1) the taking of a life (2) stealing (3) immoral sexual behavior (4) lying and (5) intoxicants. Buddhists view on destiny is that no individual exists through the samsara cycle which is another name for reincarnation. During the samsara cycle each individual is comprised of five groups called skandhas, which consist of the physical, body, emotions, perceptions, volition and consciousness. When death occurs, these groups are undone and are no longer considered a
As described earlier, for a Buddhist the beginning of the world and life is unimaginable since they believe that the world does not have a beginning or end. Buddhists deny the fact that the world was created at one particular time or date. From a Christian perspective, in the beginning the heavens and earth was created by God as mentioned in Genesis 1:1-2:3. As we can these are two very contrasting beliefs, Buddhists believe that the world doesn’t have a beginning or end, and on the other hand Christians believe that heavens and earth were created by God. Next I will compare identity. Buddhists believe that we as humans are not static, but kinetic, and continually being in a state of constant and continuous change. For Christians, man was created in the image and likeness of God so they may rule over all the creatures and animals of the land. The third comparison is meaning / purpose. Buddhists believe that the meaning and purpose of man is to remove all suffering by eradicating desire. For a Christian on the other hand life's purpose in Christianity is to pursue heavenly salvation through the grace of God and intervention of