The Nature of Religion
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 cont
rol 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. In summary, the two world religions share both similar and distinguishing beliefs on their various teachings of life and the existence of Supreme Beings. Their major differences are mainly that Buddhism ignores the issue of a Supreme Being, while Muslims consider Allah as the One and Only God who created this earth. Buddhism also teaches that humans can be reincarnated when they die, while in Muslims believe that after death, there is a life of eternal duration. Although their main similarities are minor, the two religions can relate to the existence of a supreme reality after life on earth, with Buddhists believing in Nirvana and Muslims believing in Heaven. The religions also believe in committing good deeds in order to enter these supreme realities.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Buddhism Buddha, Eight-fold Path, Judgement Allah, Day Judgement, God Almighty, Islam Buddhism, Allah God, Nirvana Muslims, Nirvana Buddhism, purpose life, life death, supreme reality, Supreme Muslims, past lives, buddha worshipped god, cycle life, eternal duration, world religions, responsible own, death life, life earth, committed past lives, escape cycle rebirth, cycle life death, evil committed past,
Approximate Word count = 1231
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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