Comparison of Judaism and Buddhism - Term Paper Example

Comparison of Judaism and Buddhism This paper summarizes and compares Judaism teachings and Buddhism teachings. The paper focuses on the moral teachings of these two religions as the main similarity between the two religions; the paper, however, highlights some other important similarities and differences between the two religions in light of their moral teachings. The paper begins with a brief discussion of the origin and development of these two religions followed by a summary and a discussion of the moral teachings of these two religions; the paper concludes with discussion of other important similarities and differences between these two religions. Judaism traces its origin in the covenant that Abraham made with God (Abrahamic covenant) in 300 B.C.E. In this covenant, Abraham and his descendants were supposed to faithfully keep the commandments of God and to worship Him, while God would be their father and would protect them from all dangers and give them victory of their enemies. In the Abrahamic covenant, the Israelites were supposed to lead morally upright lives through obedience to God. Judaism, therefore, was founded by Abraham, the father of the Jews people, and it is centred to obedience in YHW, the God of Abraham and the God of all Jews. On the other hand, Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama in around 566 B.C.E. Gautama was a son of an Indian kind and he spent his adolescence life and his early adulthood life in a life of extravagance. When he was bored with luxuries of the world, Gautama wondered into wilderness in search of enlightenment and understanding. In his meditations on sufferings while in the wilderness, Gautama had an insight of how to free from sufferings and to achieve salvation. Following this insight, Gautama was known as Buddha, meaning the enlightened one. According to Buddhism religion, morally right actions bring about happiness and long life, while immoral actions bring about unhappiness in the long run. Apart from their similarities in regard to their moral teachings, the other two main similarities between Judaism and Buddhism is in regard to their attitude towards future life, and their views on the proselytizing their religions. Both the Judaism and Buddhism religion do not emphasise on after life; also, both the Judaism religion and the Buddhism religion do not proselytize their religion or their moral teachings. Having briefly explained the origin and the development of Judaism and the Buddhism let us briefly summarize the moral teachings of these two religions. Judaism, as we have already said emphasise on moral uprightness in obedience to God as a way of living out the Abrahamic covenant. The Holy book of the Jews, the Torah explains clearly the right conduct that the Jews should observe in keeping with the demands of the Abrahamic covenant. The moral teachings of the Judaism emphasises on the need for the people to treat each other in a humane and a morally right way. For the Jews, acting in a morally right way brings about success in life because YWH bless those who acts in accordance with His will expressed in Torah and the Talmud. Just like Judaism, Buddhism also emphasises on the need for people to do good actions and to avoid bad actions. Buddhism teaches that a morally upright way is necessary for freeing from sufferings and attaining Nirvana, which is the main goal of Buddhism. The moral teaching of Buddhism consists of teaching people to be moderate in their behaviour; Buddhism teaches people to observe the middle way and to avoid any form of extremism. According to Buddhism, observing the middle way means acting in a morally right way by doing good actions, and avoiding immoral actions. For Judaism, therefore, being morally upright helps one to achieve the Nirvana. Having looked at the main similarity between Judaism and Buddhism, let us look at the main differences between Judaism and Buddhism in regard to their moral teachings. One of the main differences between Judaism and Buddhism is in regard to the nature and the existence of God; while the Judaism religion is monotheistic, the Buddhism religion is polytheistic. According to Judaism, there is only one omnipotent, omniscient, and munificent God who is the creator of all reality, and who is the giver of the moral law. On the other hand, Buddhism teaches that there are many gods, and they don’t believe in an omnipotent God as the creator of reality. Some forms of Buddhism do not believe in the existence of any God. For the Buddhism, gods are not the giver of moral law, but moral law consists of avoiding extremes in life. The other major difference between Judaism and Buddhism is on the main goal of life or of religion. According to Judaism, the main goal of religion is to lead people to live a moral life in obedience to God. According to Buddhism, on the other hand, the main aim of religion and moral life is to lead people to attain Nirvana. For the Buddhists, Nirvana is a condition in which one is freed from sufferings of the world through enlightenment. The third major difference between Judaism and Buddhism is in regard to afterlife. While Judaism religion does not have a definite creed on afterlife, Buddhism teaches that there is an afterlife, which comes in form of reincarnation or union with the universe. Jews normally have varied views on after life, while some Jews believe in an afterlife with God in Paradise, some other Jews believes in reincarnation. The Buddhism religion, on the other hand, teaches that the morally upright people who achieve Nirvana through reflection will be united with the whole universe when they die, thus putting an end to the sufferings of the world, while the immoral people will reincarnate in various forms, depending on the gravity of one’s immorality. Reference Major World Religions- Comparison Chart. 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