Christianity and Buddhism are two religions that have drawn the interest of scholars and philosophers alike. Christianity is centered on Christ as the Son of God and the Messiah. Christians emulate the life and teachings of Christ. Buddhism on the other hand, is centered on Gautama Buddha, a Hindu religious teacher. His life and teachings founded Buddhism religion, whose doctrine Buddhists live by. Several similarities exist between the life and teachings of these two religious leaders (Marcus, Kornfield, and Riegert, 8-9). This paper discusses some similarities found in these two religions specifically on the topics of altruism or selflessness, the golden rule, materialism and wealth, and love.
Altruism or selflessness is a virtue in both
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(King James Bible, John 15:12). Saint Paul, a follower of Jesus also sees love as surpassing all other values, he says “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.” (King James Bible, 1 Cor. 13:13)
Buddhism, similarly, looks at love as a source of peace and happiness, “The bhikkhu who abides in loving-kindness, who is pleased with the Buddha 's teaching, attains to that state of peace and happiness, the stilling of conditioned things, Nibbana. Let him be cordial in all his ways and refined in conduct; filled thereby with joy, he will make an end of ill.” (Dhammapada, 368, 376)
Buddhism and Christianity are in many ways similar in their teachings. Both uphold virtues that cause human beings to live together in happiness, peace, and love. The doctrines of these two great religious leaders dictate the standards by which their followers should live their lives, and are accompanied by great reward and fulfillment. They also illustrate how people should live with and treat each other citing the golden rule as the fundamental in treating others. Both teachings emphasize Sacrificial and unconditional giving as an expression of love to others especially those that are in
DBQ Different people in China had different views on the spread of Buddhism. Buddhism was a religion, created in India (6th century B.C.E) and spread to China (1st Century). After Buddhism, China started to experience political problems. Many people believed this was caused by Buddhism. Some people sided with the belief and praised Buddha saying he has much to offer, while others repelled it for the effect of the ideas on China.
The spread of Buddhism in East Asia had great success when the region became a center of learning for monks and scholars. Merchants in Central Asia came to the region for trade, and as they learned about Buddhism, they accepted this cultural adaptation. When the Chinese had their first contact with Buddhism through people from central Asia, who were already Buddhist, this religion expanded itself through the Chinese empire. As an interest was established for Buddhism in China, monastic orders were established causing political disputes between the emperor and Buddhists for the centuries to come. During the Han Dynasty, Buddhism enjoyed a great state support; however, after the collapse of the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty influences
They are both distinct but at the same time similar in the ways
Jaleen Carroll A1 11/17/17 Free Response Essay There are many major religions in the world, one of them being Buddhism. Buddhism is a religion founded in India around the fifth century C.E. Throughout time, it made its way to China. While in China, Buddhism was viewed by the people in many ways, both positive and negative.
The perception of Buddhism varied greatly from the collapse of the Han Dynasty to the formation of the Tang Dynasty in China. At the same time, the perception towards Christianity in the Roman Empire was undergoing similar changes. Emperors saw the religion as a threat, lower classmen saw it as a path to salvation, while scholars, as a whole, were indecisive. Those in power perceived Buddhism as a strain on China’s society and economy as well as a threat to their rule.
According to Hindu and Buddhist scriptures both believed in karma and reincarnation. Both religions have a common goal of life to attain nirvana or salvation, although they adopted different paths to reach their goal. Buddhism denies the authority of the Vedas and dislikes animal sacrifice, while Hinduism
While Buddhism began as a method to provide stability to lower-class Chinese citizens, Buddhism ultimately caused division between social classes in China. As Chinese dynasties regained stability, leaders questioned the role of Buddhism in China leading to an inevitable rejection of Buddhist ideas by the Tang Emporer. Buddhism played a significant role in China during the post-classical era. Buddhism had begun to spread from India to China during the Han but was widely spread during the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
Since two-hundred and twenty C.E Buddhism has spread through China tremendously. Although the spread was great, people interpreted Buddhism a different way. Generally poor people would agree with Buddhism due to being able to relate with everything Buddhism was presenting, due to Buddhism not being about wealth. While poor people could relate, wealthy people could not due to the wealth and extravagant lifestyle. As the struggles of lower-class people decreased, the amount of people following Buddhism decreased.
Buddhism is an ancient religion that originated from India and gradually traveled to China through cultural diffusion . Many of the Chinese people liked Buddhism, which was also referred to as a “barbaric religion” according to the traditionalist. The Chinese saw their society as sophisticated and superior to any of the new ideas coming from the advance trade routes throughout their country known as the Silk roads. Due to the fall of the Han Dynasty and it’s chaos that it created, Buddhism was a peaceful distraction that gave people optimism when their government failed because of corruption and political disunity. Before Buddhism religions such as Daoism and Confucianism were popular in China, because of Buddhism, followers of the traditional
Buddhism, being founded by Buddha, spread through many trade routes religious missionaries sent by Ashoka. Through these Missionaries, Buddhism was able to reach many places, with one of these places being China. When Buddhism first arrived to China, it was met with mixed reactions which soon define Buddhism rough transition and diffusion into Chinese custom. Buddhism's advancement into China was a direct result of Buddhist monks emphasizing the spiritual benefits of Buddhism. In response to this; Buddhism was accepted by some while Confucian scholars and other high officials rejected it because they believed it was detrimental to China.
The author compares their similarities through perseverance and confidence in their beliefs, however still exposes how truly different they really are in regards to their own personal views
Further in his essay he continues by comparing the similarities between different religion. In one part he compares the “Mahayana Buddhist concept of Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, and Nirmanakaya and the Christian trinity of God as Father, Son and the Holy Spirit” (444). Although he states that the three concepts are similar to the Christian trinity, but he doesn't explain further how it is similar and the reasons behind the concepts. On the contrary, Dalai Lama explains that the important point is to spread love and compassion,patience,tolerance,humility,forgiveness, and all the spiritual qualities of human
Therefore, this article would most definitely be my primary source when comparing and contrasting the two religions in my
Confucius, Aristotle, and Lao-Tzu—all incredibly influential thinkers—did not always agree on how one ought to live; where Aristotle believed that thought or study led to virtue, Lao-Tzu placed focus on inaction, and Confucius taught that rituals paved the way to the best life. A few ideas, however, tie Confucius closer to Aristotle than to Lao-Tzu. Because Aristotle also placed importance on names, emphasized the need to find a mean of behavior, and believed that rulers should most critically be moral, Confucius would have preferred Aristotle to Lao-Tzu. Names—Aristotle utilizes them, even though he recognizes the difference between what exists in reality and the form represented by its name, while Lao-Tzu, on the other hand, maintains that names only serve to put limits on the named, and, in fact run the risk of creating opposites. According to Lao-Tzu, “Recognize beauty and ugliness is born.
Personal strengths are actions or tasks that a person can perform well. These strengths comprise talents, skills and knowledge. A person uses these traits and abilities in his daily life to accomplish tasks, relate with others, and to achieve goals. Everyone has their own set of strengths. Our personal strengths are that vital aspect that makes us unique as individual, and it is part of the value we offer to the world around us.