The Teachings of the Prophet Mohammed and Gautama Buddha - Essay Example

Prophet Mohammed and Siddhartha Gautama Buddha Prophet Mohammed and Siddhartha Gautama Buddha The Prophet Mohammed and the Buddha lived more than a thousand years apart, yet despite this long period, their teachings were not only different but also had some similarities to a certain extent. The age differences between the religions that they founded reflected the diverse views of the world that they each held, because a lot of circumstances had changed since the time of the Buddha. The Buddha lived in what is currently Nepal in the 5th century B.C. and his teachings tended to focus on the diverse aspects of reincarnation without having any focus on the role of the gods on the lives of human beings (Swearer, 2004). This is not the case with the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed who, living in Mecca in the Arabian Peninsula a thousand years later, did not believe in reincarnation and instead advocated for the existence of one life while at the same time teaching that God should be the only focus of the lives of individuals. Despite the similarities and differences between the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed and Gautama Buddha, the essential truths that they developed had a significant impact on the societies around them; creating some of the most enduring religions in world history. The Buddha is one of the most influential figures in the history of the Asian continent mainly because of the fact that it is his teachings that led to the development of Buddhism, one of the most influential religions in the Far East. A prince who renounced his royal rights, the Buddha chose to undertake the task of finding out the reason for human suffering. It is essential to note that this task took him many years and there came a time when he was seated under the Bodhi tree: he came to achieve enlightenment (Schumann, 2003). The Buddha’s enlightenment consisted of what came to be known as the Four Noble Truths, and these became the basic tenets of Buddhism as a religion. The first of these is that suffering is an inevitable part of life and it cannot be escaped by those individuals who are alive. Secondly, he stated that human desire was the cause of suffering since it is the nature of human beings to desire. The third truth was that suffering can be brought to an end and this could only be attained through the fourth truth, which was that there was a specific path through which suffering could be brought to an end. The Buddha taught that human suffering could only be terminated through the pursuit of a life that observed the ethical standards of the Eightfold Path, because it was through this observation that individuals could be able to achieve enlightenment and bring their suffering to an end. The Prophet Mohammed came from one of the prominent families of Mecca and his revelations are said to have come from the Angel Gabriel during the former’s moments of contemplation in a cave. The revelations to Mohammed were collected into a book known as the Quran after his death and these would become the holy book of the Muslims. The core aspect of the teaching of the Prophet Mohammed is that there is only one God who can not only be divided, but who is also eternal (Peters, 1991). Another aspect of his teachings was that he was the last prophet of God, following in the tradition of previous prophets such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, essentially declaring himself to be the seal of the prophets. In addition, the Prophet Mohammed taught that there would be a day of judgment where all individuals would be judged according to their deeds when they were alive. The Day of Judgment would also bring about the eternal reward or punishment for all human beings. Despite their being far apart religiously, the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed and those of the Buddha have some similarities. These teachings are mainly based on the manner through which their followers came to perceive them in later times. Both Buddhists and Muslims share a massive faith in their founders and this is in such a way that they are revered for having had the authority to not only teach their followers about the most important aspects of life, but also to help them achieve enlightenment (Collins, 2009). Furthermore, while the Buddha is revered by his followers for having been a man of knowledge who had attained enlightenment through years of contemplation under the Bodhi tree, the Prophet Mohammed is revered by Muslims for having been chosen by God to not only receive his message, but also to interpret it for his for his followers. Both of these individuals were able to develop a set of ethical standards which were to be pursued by their followers, with the followers of the Buddha pursuing the Eightfold Path, while the followers of the Prophet Mohammed following the Sharia. The humbleness of these individuals as is portrayed in their descriptions is one of the aspects which secured the loyalty of their followers and this allowed for the development of two major world religions. The teachings of the Prophet Mohammed promote the belief that Muslims should shape their lives around God in such a way that they not only pray to him five times a day, but also ensure that they not only read the Quran but also live their lives according to the laws set by God (Nigosian, 2004). However, this is not the case with the teachings of the Buddha, whose teachings are completely unconcerned with the notion of the centrality of God. It should also be noted that while the teachings of Mohammed urged his followers to look towards God in order to achieve peace, this was not the case with the Buddha, who asked his followers to rely on themselves and in their own wisdom be able to achieve peace. From the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, the goal of living is to ensure that one achieves eternal life and this is in contrast to those of the Buddha who stated that the goal of life is to ensure that the cycle of life is brought to an end. For Muslims, the major motivation for living a righteous life is to ensure that they receive rewards on the Day of Judgment; the greatest reward being entrance into paradise. Buddhists, on the other hand, seek the exact opposite and that is to ensure that they stop the never ending cycle of reincarnation which can only be achieved through the attainment of enlightenment. The discussion above has attempted to show that despite the similarities and differences between the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed and Gautama Buddha, the essential truths that they developed had a significant impact on the societies around them, creating some of the most enduring religions in the world history. Furthermore, the discussion has shown that the Buddha was a prince who renounced his royal rights in order to undertake the task of finding out the reason for human suffering. This is comparable to the Prophet Mohammed who came from one of the prominent families of Mecca. In addition, it has been found that both of these men had their revelations during periods of solitude and contemplation. Finally, both Buddhists and Muslims have been shown to share a massive faith in their founders. This faith can be seen in such a way that both the Buddha and the Prophet are revered for having had the authority to not only teach their followers about the most important aspects of life, but also to help them achieve enlightenment. References Collins, R. (2009). The sociology of philosophies. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Nigosian, S. A. (2004). Islam: Its history, teaching, and practices. Indiana: Indiana University Press. Peters, F. E. (1991). The quest of the historical Muhammad. International Journal of Middle East Studies, 23(3), 291–315. Schumann, H.W. (2003). The historical Buddha: The times, life, and teachings of the founder of Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. Swearer, D. (2004), Becoming the Buddha. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 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