Religion and Theology. Hinduism and Buddhism - Assignment Example

?  Religion and Theology Comparison between Hinduism and Buddhism Hinduism Origin The term Hinduism was derived from a Persian word Sindhu, which is a river in the northwest region of India. For the first time, the term Hindu was first used in 14th century by the Arabs, Persians and Afghans in India to describe the people of the region. It was not until the 19th century when the British colonial administration in India started referring to Hinduism as a form of religion. Hinduism was used as a description for the various religious beliefs and practices of the majority of Indian people (Rinehart, 2004). Despite the dynamics that he religion has undergone, the religion is believed to be more than 4000 years old, tracing bhack to the early Indian valley civilization. Traditionally, the religion is believed to be timeless, as the old people found it in practice. Fundamental spiritual beliefs Hindus believe in in one Supreme Being according to their traditions is both imminent and transcendent. According to the Hindu religious beliefs, the Supreme Being is both their creator and is of Unmanifest reality who deserves their respect (Rinehart, 2004). The Hindus believe in the divinity of the four Vedas, which are the oldest and most ancient elements of scripture in the world. Further, they venerate the Agamas as revealed in an equal measure. They treat these as primordial hymns of God which forms the bedrock of Santana Dharma, a form of an eternal religion. According to the Hindu beliefs, the soul reincarnates, evolving through many beliefs. However, the reincarnation trend stops after the resolution of all karmas. They also believe in moksha, which is the liberation from the rebirth cycle that takes place after the end of the reincarnation process. Since the process is continuous and evolutionary in every soul, not a single soul can be denied of its destiny (Fisher, 2014). Spiritual Practices of Hinduism In Hindu, an individual’s personal spiritual practice is referred to as sadhana which is used to refer to the means of accomplishing individual goals. It recognizes adhikara, which means that every person holds a very unique position in life that is different from that of other people. Therefore, God exists in different forms, which gives people the freedom to feel attracted to one God and leave the rest. Similarly there are different forms of yoga, just like there are different forms of God, which are not similar to one another. Therefore, the Hindu spiritual practice varies from one person to another. Spiritual practices to the include prayer, meditation, going on pilgrimage, bathing, fasting, practicing acts of charity, chanting mantra, reading of the scripture and performing ones’ daily work. How Hindu is practiced today Many Hinduism traditional practices have remained to date (Fisher, 2014). However several adjustments have been made to suit the religion in the modern context. For instance, in schools years, Brahmacharga is a common practice that focuses on instilling knowledge and developing the character of the people. How Hindu is practiced around the world Due to immigration to different parts of the world, the Hindu religion and its practices have also spread all over the world to areas such as Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Guyana, Trinidad, Tobago, Fiji, Mauritius, among others. Rinehart (2004) points out that the various practices of the religion practiced in these areas include sadhana, which is an individual practice of cultivating spirituality and Japa, which is a silent or an audible practice of repeating a mantra. Buddhism Origin It is believed that Buddhism originated from the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who was known as the Buddha in the years between ca 624-544. In his teachings, Gautama was opposed to the idea of man having an immortal soul. Moreover, his teachings did not touch on any Supreme Deity. In his teachings, Buddha insisted that man could overcome greed, hatred and delusion to attain enlightenment practicing the Four Noble Truths and following the path of eightfold. Fundamental spiritual beliefs Buddhists believe that the ultimate purpose of life is to end suffering. According to the teachings of the Buddha, human beings suffer because of the continuous struggle to acquire things that do not last. The Buddhists believe in reincarnation and afterlife. According to the teachings og Buddha, life is a journey, and death is a return to earth, but in a different form. The Buddhists do not believe that the world was created by God. However, this is not to mean that they are atheists since they believe in some form of faith and a Supernatural Being. Spiritual Practices of Buddhism Spiritual cultivation according to Theravada Buddhism is bhavana, which means some form of spiritual cultivation. The term “yoga” has been translated to mean a spiritual practice. Some of the practices associated with Buddhism include meditation, poetry writing, painting, calligraphy, arranging of flowers, and maintenance of gardens (Eckel, 2002). Moreover, the Buddhists believe in devotion, a practice that includes bowing, offerings, pilgrimage, and chanting mantra. How Buddhism is practiced today To date, devotion is still an important spiritual practice among the Buddhists. The practice involves bowing, offering with a good course, and chanting mantra in a meditating mood. Buddhists are concerned with mindfulness and clear awareness of an individual which is an essential quality at all times. How Buddhism is practiced around the world Despite having its roots in Hinduism, Buddhism migrated out of India and is currently practiced in Asia. It has a following of approximately 350 million people concentrated in Asia. However, it is practiced differently in different countries, sects and traditions. Many people who practice Buddhism refer to it as a philosophy or a world view than a religion. Practices that are common in all countries practicing Buddhism include giving to the poor and expressing love and kindness, refraining from causing harm or injury to other people going on retreats and learning. Lab Assignment According to Mayfair Yang in the interview with Tippet, the Chinese inherited what is commonly referred to as modern religion from the west. This development is the main reason for the high levels of popularity of Christianity in China. Through missionaries and Chinese people living in the west, China embraced the religious culture of the west, and totally abandoned the traditional forms of religion such as Taoism. This has had major implications on the people of china. The elite class of China, under the illusion of the superiority of western Christianity abandoned their tradition, embraced Christianity that led to the negligence of the traditional Chinese religion (Tippet, 2008). Not only did it lead to the loss of the Chinese cultural and traditional values, the lure or the west into believing that the western religion was more superior in its doctrines and teachings. Therefore, Chinese people transformed into Christianity massively. Along the transformation process, the Chinese people forgot where they came from totally, fully embracing everything that Christianity could offer. This is described as amnesia, created by loss of roots of a particular group of people. Taoism was a good form of religion. For instance, it embraced the power of quietness, describing it to possess divine power. Quietness that is very different from silence, yet the modern Christianity embraces on divine words, chosen texts prophets and sacred texts. Additionally, Taoism is one of the few spiritual traditions that does not major on the divine reality. However, when the Chinese people embraced Christianity, they forgot these values about their traditional religion. Religious inheritance is mostly a wrong undertaking by a community, especially one that seeks to remain loyal to its traditions. The essence of religion is instilling morals to the people and making them live in peaceful coexistence with one another. It is illusionary for a particular group of people to refer to the others’ form of worship as idolism, as the western travelers, missionaries and administrators described the Chinese way of life (Tippet, 2008). In addition to the critics, they downplayed the Chinese traditional religion to be superstitious, making the elite follow their religion. Eventually, the elites adopted and introduced Christianity to the Chinese people with the notion that it was superior to Taoism, Daoism or Confucianism. On the contrary, the values portrayed by these forms of religion were stronger than those of Christianity. Personally, I am of the opinion that religious inheritance did me more harm than good. Currently, being a Christian was through inheritance, passed on through generations to the current one. History reveals that my traditional religion embraced sincerity and realism more than other forms of teachings. People were concerned with mutual coexistence and helping one another, holding that punishment was in accordance to the level and gravity of the mistake committed. Moreover, my traditional religion was concerned with helping the poor and purposive living, qualities that are almost absent in the form of religion that I currently practice. These were passionate qualities of life. References Eckel, M. D. (2002). Buddhism: Origins, beliefs, practices, holy texts, sacred places. New York: Oxford University Press. Fisher, M.P. (2014) Living Religions:(9th ed) Upper Saddle River:Pearson Rinehart, R. (2004). Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. Tippet, K. (2008).Transcript for China's Hidden Spiritual Landscape. On being. Retrieved from http://www.onbeing.org/program/china039s-hidden-spiritual-landscape/transcript/1083 Read More