Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Buddhism and Jainism
Based on Michael Molloy's three patterns for comparing and contrasting religions, there seems to be a great deal of similarity between Buddhism and Jainism and marked differences between Hinduism and Taoism (Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, & Change, 2002.)
To start with, Buddhism and Jainism both meet the definition of religion as a 'spiritual path' and Carl Jung's description of religion as meeting the need for personal fulfillment or "individuation." Buddhism and Jainism also share a common prophetic and mystical orientation: nontheistic in nature; believing in guidance from enlightened beings (the Buddhist 'bodhisattva' and the Jain 'tirthankara'). Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, was himself believed to be the twenty-fourth 'tirthankara' and according to Buddhist Cosmology, an enlightened being is born in each era (Gautama...
Both religions are similar in upholding the path of 'dharma' and 'ahimsa.' The two religions also share the same worldview in that both preach the doctrine of 'karma' and reincarnation and achieving salvation.
Buddhism and Jainism do share some common philosophical ground with Hinduism in terms of a cyclical concept of time and the belief in 'karma,' but according to Gavin Flood both Buddhism and Jainism stem from the shramana current of religious thought, as against Hinduism, which has its roots in the Brahmanic or Vedic school of thought (An Introduction to Hinduism, 1996.) In fact, both Buddhism and Jainism rejected many aspects of Hinduism such as the Vedic beliefs and the system of castes.
The first elemental difference between Hinduism and Taoism is the transcendental nature of the former and the immanent nature…
The first elemental difference between Hinduism and Taoism is the transcendental nature of the former and the immanent nature of the latter. This characteristic also leads to Hinduism's sacramental orientation and the importance lent to the use of sacred words and scriptures in areas such as music and art vs. The more mystical leanings of Taoism and the value it places on silence and wordless meditation. The second significantly different pattern of contrast is that while Hinduism advocates dualism or that nature is contaminating and exists as an opposing force to the non-material world of the spirit, Taoism believes that nature is sacred and needs no alteration (Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, & Change, 2002.) third aspect of contrast is that Hinduism preaches the doctrine of karma and cyclical time, and that the 'atman' or human soul will receive 'moksha' or liberation from personal limitation, egotism and rebirth only through following a path of 'Jnana Yoga,' 'Karma Yoga' and 'Bhakti Yoga,' whereas Taoism places far less emphasis on the individual. Taoism, instead, takes the view that actions are not guided by an internalized moral system but by society, tradition and a sense of mutual obligation (Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge, & Change, 2002.)
The fourth point of marked difference is that while Hinduism practices 'exclusiveness,' Taoism is inclusive in nature accepting belief in many deities and regarding truth as relative in the interests of attaining social harmony.
In conclusion, though there are some similarities and some differences when comparing any two religions, Buddhism and Jainism do seem to have a very common basis in their overall orientation whereas there seems to be sharp differences between Hinduism and Taoism.
In fact looking further the contrast between the two on the expression of the connection between Jesus and his mother is quite different as in Mark an interchange is spoken by Jesus through the following passage, where in a sense her forsakes her and his family. Mark 3: 31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. 3: 32 And the multitude sat
Religion Qualifications of the divine and the nature of supreme reality are core concepts of any religious tradition. Hinduism and Buddhism conceptualize the divine and the nature of reality in complementary yet distinct ways. Buddhism emerged from Hinduism, in a manner not wholly unlike the way Christianity emerged from Judaism. Therefore, there are several core similarities in the cosmologies and the conceptualizations of divine reality between these two faiths. Moreover, the
3. Ahab and Manasseh are powerful examples of how the human will is ultimately weak without God. Their failure to effectively lead the Israelites through a vulnerable period of history shows that neither Ahab nor Manasseh understood how important their faith was to their ability to govern. The stories of Ahab and Manasseh can therefore illustrate valuable lessons related to leadership in general. One of the ways these stories can
According to Bass, "Hinduism is the only major religion lacking an adequate explanation as to its origin," as no definitive Hindu text exist that that date before 1000 B.C. Indeed, because Hinduism is one of the religions that views time as cyclical rather than linear, what information is available about Hinduism does not give a very accurate picture of its history (Bass 5). What can be gleaned from this
' Religion is belief in the existence of a supreme being while science is a study to explain the how. The main conflict of these two disciplines begins with the concept of life. Religion explains that God is the creator and giver of life, whereas scientists argue that life evolved from a microorganism. The debate between religion and science is highly controversial but I choose to take the stand of the
Religion the Church of Scientology The first pre-publication excerpt, entitled "Dianetics, A New Science of The Mind," from a new speculative non-fiction work by L. Ron Hubbard appeared in the May 1950 issue of the pulp magazine Astounding Science Fiction. It was prefaced by a note from the magazine's editor stating "I want to assure every reader, most positively and unequivocally, that this article is not a hoax, joke, or anything