Eastern Religions Comparison Essays - Spirituality, Shabda

Eastern Religions Comparison Over the past several thousand years, many faiths have arisen and developed all over the globe. All of these faiths are unique and seem to be quite different from each other, at least on the surface. However, when one starts to investigate more closely he realizes that there are oftentimes some startling similarities. A good example of this would be the religious traditions of the Middle East and Asia. Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism, for example, have very similar philosophies and practices while they all have different origins. Upon examination of these faiths one will be able to more clearly see the relationship between the traditions of the Middle East. In Christianity, we bind our selves to the truth unveiled through scripture, myths, tradition, and the church's teachings. Hinduism, however has a much different interpretation of the idea of binding oneself to the truth. Like many religions Hindus have the basic belief that we all came from God and we must return to God. According to the Hindu faith, the way to accomplishing this is through freeing oneself from the material possessions and pleasures and thus obtaining Moksha. Moksha, for Hindus, would be the point of freedom and the attachment to Brahman. The goal of a Hindu is to release themselves, but also to gain a complete understanding of life. By doing this, they are freed from the continuous cycle of reincarnation. The yogas are the specific direction taken to unleash the human potential of Moksha. The goal of the yogas is to come in to and remain in touch with Brahman. The first way to God is through knowledge. The three steps taken on this path is learning, thinking, and the third, a little more complex, consists of separating one's material ego form one's Atman. The second way to God is through love. The love we show to others can be translated into a love for God. The third path to God is though work. Through a devotion to one's work, God can be seen through the highest rewards if done so wisely. The final Hindu path to God is through Psychophysical Exercises. In this way, a Hindu experiments with mental exercises and observing their effects. Not all Hindus take the same path to God, but the goal is identical. The Buddha made much reform to the path to God. Well, not so much a reform as perhaps an alternate route. He called this the Middle Path. A way between sensuality and asceticism, the Middle Path lay through intelligence. All forms of life, according to the Buddha, can be shown to have three characteristics in common; impermanence, suffering, and an absence of permanent soul which separates us from other forms of life. The Buddha also pointed out that nothing is the same as is was only a moment ago. Everything is changing. Even the hills are being worn away, and every human particle is being replaced every seven years. There is no finality or rest within the universe, only a ceaseless becoming and never-ending change. Buddhism denies that man has an immortal soul. The Enlightenment which dwells in life does not belong to one form of life. Man is always changing and entirely mortal. In addition, Buddhism is a natural religion. It does not violate either mind or body. The Buddha became aware that men are born and die according to their good or evil actions, according to their self-created Karma -- the consequences of good or evil deeds. Even though there are several different forms of Buddhism that have come into existence since Buddha's death, there is still a basic essence that all Buddhists agree with. All Buddhists recognize these. In all, there are four basic noble truths. The first noble truth of the world according to Buddha is dhukka, or suffering. The second truth is tanha, or desire, which is the cause of suffering. The third truth is that in order to free oneself from suffering, one must overcome desire. The fourth truth tells us how this can be accomplished through the eight-fold path. According to Buddha, the eight-fold path is the means to achieve liberation from suffering. It helps one weed out cravings and ignorance, to overcome rebirth, old age, disease, death, sorrows, lamentation, grief and despair. It helps to end mass misery and aids people in attaining Nirvana, or salvation. Specifically, this path includes: 1. Right View 2. Right Thought 3. Right Speech 4. Right Action 5. Right Livelihood 6. Right Effort 7. Right Mindfulness 8. Right Concentration The most simple