Western and Eastern Religion Comparison
Western and Eastern Religion Comparison
Islam and Buddhism are two distinct religious traditions that provide their own meaningful responses to the fundamental questions about life. Their views on issues relating to the possibility of a Supreme Being, the purpose of life and their understanding of the cycle of life and death are all quite distinct from each other, but at the same time, having minor similarities. These can be seen in the following comparative study between the teachings of these two world religions. Is there a Supreme Being? What is the nature of the divine? All
Muslims profess the existence of the One and Only God, God Almighty who is also referred to as 'Allah '. They firmly believe that Allah is the most high and honored, the creator and the sustainer of all that exists and he has no physical connections between any thing he has created whether it be the creatures or human beings on this earth. He has no beginning and no end. Allah has no physical dimensions like hunger, sleep or rest for he is the one who gives such attributes to his creatures. Buddhism on the other hand, recognises no creator god who initially brought the universe into existence and continues to control it in the way that Allah controls everything that is or happens in the universe from the smallest to the greatest events. The founder of Buddhism, who is known as Buddha, did not want to be worshipped as a god. He taught that people would be happier if they took responsibility for their own thoughts and actions. His teachings were simply a guide for living. Muslims can some what relate to this in the way they are taught to be responsible for their own actions and sins. The two religions are also similar in the way they both believe in the concept of god/s existing in the afterlife. Muslims firmly believe in the existence of
Allah in heaven while Buddhists consider the possibility of gods existing in the heavens that their karma has created. What is the
Islam and Buddhism are two distinct religious traditions that provide their own meaningful responses to the fundamental questions about life. Their views on issues relating to the possibility of a Supreme Being, the purpose of life and their understanding of the cycle of life and death are all quite distinct from each other, but at the same time, having minor similarities. These can be seen in the following comparative study between the teachings of these two world religions. Is there a Supreme Being? What is the nature of the divine? All
Muslims profess the existence of the One and Only God, God Almighty who is also referred to as 'Allah '. They firmly believe that Allah is the most high and honored, the creator and the sustainer of all that exists and he has no physical connections between any thing he has created whether it be the creatures or human beings on this earth. He has no beginning and no end. Allah has no physical dimensions like hunger, sleep or rest for he is the one who gives such attributes to his creatures. Buddhism on the other hand, recognises no creator god who initially brought the universe into existence and continues to control it in the way that Allah controls everything that is or happens in the universe from the smallest to the greatest events. The founder of Buddhism, who is known as Buddha, did not want to be worshipped as a god. He taught that people would be happier if they took responsibility for their own thoughts and actions. His teachings were simply a guide for living. Muslims can some what relate to this in the way they are taught to be responsible for their own actions and sins. The two religions are also similar in the way they both believe in the concept of god/s existing in the afterlife. Muslims firmly believe in the existence of
Allah in heaven while Buddhists consider the possibility of gods existing in the heavens that their karma has created. What is the
Cited: Smith, Huston. World’s Religions: A Guide to our Wisdom Traditions. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1994. Van Voorst, Robert E. Anthology of World Scriptures. Belmont: Thomas Wadsworth, 2006. “Comparative Views of World Religions.” World-Religions-Projects.com. 2001-2010 www.wamware.com/world-religions/comparative/index.htm