Short Writing Assignment - Essay Example

Buddhism Buddhism According to Davis (2007), Buddhism traces its origin almost 2500 years ago from Siddhartha Gautama popularly known as Buddha, which means the awakened one in Sanskrit. For Buddhists, the teachings of Buddha are Dharma. According to Davis (2007), Dharma “is the spiritual path, a roadmap to enlightenment.” On the other hand, the Dharma is crucial since it leads individuals out of Samsara, which is the unrelenting suffering in life that human beings experience. In effect, individuals can only transcend the Samsara by following the Dharma.

In their worldview, Buddhists view Buddha as a man whom they take refuge in while they considered Dharma a guide and not a dogma (Davis, 2007). In addition, Buddhism worldview of life is that it suffering as evidenced by the first of its noble truths. Davis (2007) noted that, “The most basic lesson of a science class is to have a hypothesis, before you conduct an experiment. Then you record your observations and draw your conclusions.” In this regard, Davis (2007) identifies these similarities of science to Buddhism being a “science of the mind” when he notes that Buddhists observed that they achieved wisdom and happiness through meditation, which takes place in the mind.

In effect, this makes them draw the conclusion that the Dharma worked. According to H.H.Trulshik Rinpoche, the first teaching that Buddha gave was on the four noble truths in Buddhism (as cited in Davis, 2007). The first of these truths lies in the recognition and acknowledgement of the existence of suffering, which Davis noted is “an objective assessment of reality”. The second of these truths is that ignorance was the main point behind suffering. On the other hand, the third noble truth is that individuals could relieve suffering through spiritual practice.

Finally, the fourth truth gives the path towards transcending the path of suffering (Davis, 2007) According to Matthieu Ricard, Buddhists explained happiness as “the state of being, that comes from freedom” (as cited in Davis, 2007). In this regard, happiness does not mean pleasure in the Buddhism context. In addition, achieving happiness is best through following the Dharma (Davis, 2007).Buddhism and Christianity Worldview This section briefly outlines the distinct elements in Buddhism and Christianity worldview.

In particular, the section considers the worldview, in the two religions, in relationship to the concept about God and some religious concepts, the soul, and suffering. According to the Christian worldview of God, man’s creation was in God’s image, He is Ubiquitous, Supreme, and Omniscience. According to Christianity, the main goal of everything in life is to establish a close relationship with God. In effect, the oneness with god in Christianity is achievable through following the teachings of Jesus Christ, considered as the Son of God.

These teachings of Jesus Christ are in the Bible. On the other, Davis (2007) noted that, Buddhists took refuge in Buddha who is “not a god but a guy.” In addition, Buddhists followed the teachings of Buddha contained in the Dharma, which is not a dogma as opposed to the Bible for Christians. In Christian worldview of self, there is the strong belief that the relationship between the external God and the individual soul, which is eternal, will determine whether an individual will go to heaven or hell.

In this regard, there is independence of an individual’s relationship with God, which is the reference to the relationship of their soul to God. On the other hand, Buddhists identify with an interconnection of all things in life. In effect, this means that there is an existence of cause and effect in all things according to Buddhism. Finally, Buddhists and Christianity have different worldview on suffering. In this regard, Christianity relates the foundation of suffering to rejection of God.

In effect, Christians further believe that continuous rejection of God brings suffering to humankind on earth. In addition, such people who reject God on earth await more suffering in hell. Furthermore, Christians believe that God sent Jesus Christ on earth to redeem humanity of its suffering. On the other hand, Buddhism view on suffering is that it results from ignorance. In addition, the intricate nature of suffering, as viewed by Buddhism, is relievable (Davis, 2007). In this regard, following the Dharma and most specifically following the four noble truths is crucial towards eliminating suffering of humanity according to Buddhism worldview of suffering.

Work CitedDavis, W. (2007, February 2). Light At The Edge Of The World: Himalayas Science Of The Mind. Google Video. [Video File]. Retrieved from http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=- 8093699829364187229