To Live Is to Suffer - a Hindu/Buddhist Perspective
Works Cited
Crestwell Jr., John T., Pastor, Is Buddhism Practical in Western Culture? Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://www.dmuuc.org/minister/John/Buddhism.html
McIntyre, Ray, A Basis for a Buddhist Ethic. Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://buddhist-beliefs.suite101.com/article.cfm/a_basis_for_a_buddhist_ethic
Molloy, Michael (2008) Experiencing the World’s Religions: Tradition Challenge, and Change. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Sarma, P. Ravi, MD. Hindus: How does Hinduism explain suffering? Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://en.allexperts.com/q/Hindus-946/Hinduism-explain-suffering.htm
Sin and Suffering. (1994, December). Hinduism Today. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1994/12/1994-12-14.shtml
V, Jayaram. The Four Universal Truths About Suffering. Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://www.hinduwebsite.com/divinelife/divinelaws7.asp
To Live is to Suffer. According to Molloy (Molloy 133), “birth is attended with pain, decay is painful, disease and death are painful.” I take this to mean that, since mankind has a physical body, we will experience suffering at many times during our Earthly lives. In this paper, I will present a basic discussion of the Hindu and Buddhist perspectives on living and suffering, interspersed with some of my own life experiences. Hinduism and Suffering Why is a soul born here on earth, and why does it suffer? In the Hindu belief system, every person is accountable for his or her actions (Sarma). Some people say that we create our own suffering. According to Jayaram, suffering arises out of our actions, inactions, reactions, thinking, conditioning, desires, attachment to earthly things, beliefs, attitudes and associations. Jayaram also says that suffering exists only in our minds. I tend to disagree with this last part of Jayaram’s argument. For instance, several years ago, I had a medical emergency that required immediate surgery to save my life. To
Crestwell Jr., John T., Pastor, Is Buddhism Practical in Western Culture? Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://www.dmuuc.org/minister/John/Buddhism.html
McIntyre, Ray, A Basis for a Buddhist Ethic. Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://buddhist-beliefs.suite101.com/article.cfm/a_basis_for_a_buddhist_ethic
Molloy, Michael (2008) Experiencing the World’s Religions: Tradition Challenge, and Change. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Sarma, P. Ravi, MD. Hindus: How does Hinduism explain suffering? Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://en.allexperts.com/q/Hindus-946/Hinduism-explain-suffering.htm
Sin and Suffering. (1994, December). Hinduism Today. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from http://www.hinduismtoday.com/archives/1994/12/1994-12-14.shtml
V, Jayaram. The Four Universal Truths About Suffering. Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://www.hinduwebsite.com/divinelife/divinelaws7.asp
To Live is to Suffer. According to Molloy (Molloy 133), “birth is attended with pain, decay is painful, disease and death are painful.” I take this to mean that, since mankind has a physical body, we will experience suffering at many times during our Earthly lives. In this paper, I will present a basic discussion of the Hindu and Buddhist perspectives on living and suffering, interspersed with some of my own life experiences. Hinduism and Suffering Why is a soul born here on earth, and why does it suffer? In the Hindu belief system, every person is accountable for his or her actions (Sarma). Some people say that we create our own suffering. According to Jayaram, suffering arises out of our actions, inactions, reactions, thinking, conditioning, desires, attachment to earthly things, beliefs, attitudes and associations. Jayaram also says that suffering exists only in our minds. I tend to disagree with this last part of Jayaram’s argument. For instance, several years ago, I had a medical emergency that required immediate surgery to save my life. To
Cited: Crestwell Jr., John T., Pastor, Is Buddhism Practical in Western Culture? Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://www.dmuuc.org/minister/John/Buddhism.html McIntyre, Ray, A Basis for a Buddhist Ethic Molloy, Michael (2008) Experiencing the World’s Religions: Tradition Challenge, and Change. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Sarma, P. Ravi, MD. Hindus: How does Hinduism explain suffering? Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://en.allexperts.com/q/Hindus-946/Hinduism-explain-suffering.htm Sin and Suffering V, Jayaram. The Four Universal Truths About Suffering. Retrieved July 21, 2008 from http://www.hinduwebsite.com/divinelife/divinelaws7.asp