One Item of Either Hindu or Buddhist Teaching that is Most in Conflict with your Own Convictions - Assignment Example

What one item of either Hindu or Buddhist teaching is most in conflict with your own convictions (Christianity - The Bible)? The Hindu belief that reincarnation governs the destiny of the soul is greatly irreconcilable to my faith in Christian teaching that there exists a soul unique for every man. While Hinduism theorizes that a soul undergoes several rebirths and deaths in assumption of different forms as well, I adhere to the belief of being given the chance to living life only once and that after death, the same soul is judged by God according to the deeds of man who takes possession of it.

Hinduism holds necessary that the soul be allowed a reasonable number of births and deaths before it leaves this cycle and finally come in union with the Divine One. Equivalently, it proposes that this process gives soul an opportunity to further refinement through the system of karma which makes essential the cumulative human deeds to decide upon the soul's next fate in the cycle (Karma & Reincarnation). This way, after the soul has experienced many lives that affect the next ones in series which the soul eventually proceeds to manage with higher wisdom, the ultimate state of perfection is then achieved.

On the other hand the Bible, or the Holy Scriptures, affirms that each man is identified with a single soul which does not take any other form, but belongs to the same man alone even after death or the Day of Judgment in which his soul is assessed with respect to this man's account of living, whether good or bad. Instead of karma, by Christian faith, I believe that human efforts of striving to be good would be futile without the grace of God. Because of the Creator's love of His creation, every human being is permitted to act according to freewill while still on earth since God does not demand obligatorily for faith to be devoted Him by those who do not discern His nature by heart completely.

He is rather pleased that men, beyond their reverence toward His divinity, find the essence in establishing a more profound sense of connection with Him so that it becomes spontaneous to act with righteousness. It turns out that for Hinduists, it is only possible to attain spirituality after the complex undertaking during reincarnation. Apparently, higher significance is placed on depending upon individual efforts at seeking to be good in the Hindu tradition whereas Christians recognize the truth in human weakness and God's forgiveness that redeems man from wages of sin once they are humble enough to repent and restore fellowship and communication with God as stated in the Bible.

Christian teaching designates one man for every soul and the principle of God's plan of salvation that renders any other means void of effect at obtaining divine fulfillment necessitates not for a soul to take any other form, signifying how God intended for every one of us to be special. The recycling of soul, which is in conflict as well with the Christian's knowledge that only humans are rational beings, places other lower creatures in equation with humans hence the hierarchy that humans are the highest form among all creatures given their will, intellect, and soul, is treated with unjust insignificance by the concept of reincarnation.

Work Cited“Karma and Reincarnation in Hinduism.” 2011. http://www.shaivam.org/hipkarma.htm. 8 Mar 2011.