How Judaism and Buddhism define religion and human spirituality

Judaism and Buddihsm

Dow defined religion as a human activity which is easily accepted, but within the framework of reality that it creates for itself. By accepting the existence of whatever myth, god, spirit or supernatural force that is proposed by a particular religion, one is able to see the logic of all that follows. The basis of religious thought, that is, most of the entities, gods or whatever, cannot have their existence validated through direct observation. The scientific view of religion is that it has provided human culture with excellent understanding of the natural world and of human behavior.

The term Judaism is derived from the Greek word, Ioudaismos, which was coined by Greek speaking Jews as a means of differentiating their religious beliefs from those of their pagan neighbors. Judaism is monotheistic, basically meaning that Jews believe in the existence of a single god. Judaism is based on the principles that are contained in the Hebrew Bible, also referred to as Tanakh, and is a lot of the times linked to Jewish people. It has been suggested that early Jews were monolatrous, which meant that they worshipped one god but also that they accepted the existence of other gods even if they themselves didn't worship them. They also believed that they were God's chosen people and were thus expected to keep his commandments (Lewis 138).

Buddhism began in around 500 BC and its founder is known. People living at around that time had become disillusioned with certain Hinduism beliefs among which were the caste system. The caste system left a number of people as outcasts due to their lack of belonging to a particular caste. This disbelief resulted in the people turning to a number of different beliefs like worshiping animals in a bid to satisfy the emptiness that they felt inside. Another reason was the Hindu belief of reincarnation which left many with a feeling of dread. This resulted into a breaking of Hinduism into a number of different sects of which Buddhism became the most successful of them ("What is Buddhism"). Like many other religions, Buddhism has many stories with regards to how it came about. These stories were mainly about the events surrounding the life of the founder, who in this case was Siddhartha Gautama. The Buddha was born about 560 BC in Northeastern India to the family of the rajah or ruler at that time. His mother died a week after he was born and he was thus raised by his mother's sister who was his father's second wife. There was a supposed prophesy given by a sage at the time of his birth which stated that the child born would be a great ruler if he stayed at home or a savior of mankind if he left home. It was for this reason that his father surrounded him with wealth and pleasure, keep painful and ugly things from him in order to make him want to stay and succeed him as king when the time came (Adamson 3).

The Buddha eventually married and had a child but the time did come when he told his father that he wanted to see the world. His father ordered that the streets be cleansed and decorated and all the elderly and ill people stay inside. It was on his journey that he saw the four passing sites that forever changed his life. Some people did not get the message and as a result, Siddhartha's first troubling sight was of a decrepit old man. On inquiry, he found out that everyone became old later on in life. He later met a sick man and learnt that people became sick and suffered pain and then saw a funeral procession on its way to the crematorium and the bereaved weeping bitterly. He was informed that it was the way of life and that even he would eventually die like everyone else. The last sight was of a monk begging for food with a look of tranquility on his faith which made him decide that it was the life for him. Immediately, he left his family, wealth and possessions in his search for enlightenment and the day came to be known as the Great Renunciation (Armstrong 187).

Ultimate reality (God)

The basis of God in Judaism is derived from Rambam's thirteen principles of faith. In the first line of the Torah, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." God is introduced as the maker of the universe with his background information not needed as his existence is a given. Judaism views the existence as proof of God's existence. Another fundamental belief in Judaism is the belief in God (Day 83).

"Hear, Israel: The Lord is God, the Lord is one." Are the words from the central prayer in Judaism referred to as the Shema. The thought of the existence of any other God is viewed as heretic by the Jews and it is therefore why all prayer and praise are directed to God. God is also viewed as incorporeal meaning that he does not possess a body and does not take a physical form. Reference to God's body is considered to be metaphorical and the physical representation of God is considered as idolatry. God is seen as not being of any gender as he lacks a physical body. He is not viewed as either male or female as God is referred to in masculine terms and the Divine presence filling the universe or Shechinah is referred to in feminine terms ("Judaism").

Do is eternal, which means that he transcends time and has no beginning or end. He is viewed as omnipresent and is seen to be everywhere with no boundaries that contain him. He is always near and fills the universe and beyond. God is believed to reward good and punish evil making him just and merciful. People try to atone for their sins through the use of prayer, repentance and giving and in so doing find their way back into God's favor. God is omnipotent or all powerful although the only thing he is unable to control is the free will that is characteristic of man. He is all knowing and knows the thoughts of man as well as his deeds whether past, present or future.

Buddhism is viewed as a path of practice and spiritual development which leads to insight into the true nature of life. Its practices of meditation are a means of changing oneself so as to develop the qualities of awareness, kindness and wisdom. Experiences developed within the traditions of Buddhism over thousands of years have created an incomparable resource for all those wishing to follow a path that eventually culminates to enlightenment or Buddhahood. Buddhahood does not include the idea of worshipping a creator god and as a result some people do not see it as a religion in the normal sense. Its basic tenets of teaching are straightforward and practical, that is nothing is permanent, actions have consequences and change is always possible. Buddhism addresses itself to all people irrespective of race, nationality or gender. It teaches practical methods like meditation that enable people realize and utilize its teachings in order to transform their experience and be fully responsible for their lives and also develop the qualities of wisdom and compassion.

Salvation (reconciliation of humanity with ultimate reality)

In Buddhism, salvation is believed to be through human acts. Salvation means that one has reached Nirvana which is defined as a transcendental, blissful, spiritual state of nothingness and therefore one becomes a Buddha. One attains nirvana through following the Novel Eightfold path which involves accepting the Four Nobel Truths which are the existence of suffering, the cause of suffering, the end of suffering and the end of pain. This is also referred to as the Right Understanding. The Right Resolve means renouncing the pleasures of the body and changing one's lifestyle in order to avoid harming living creature as well as having kind thoughts for everyone. One needs to avoid gossip, lies or slandering of others which is referred to as right speech. Right action entails not killing, stealing or engaging in an unlawful sexual act. The Right occupation means avoiding work that can charm others. The Right Effort means working in a bid to eliminate evil from their lives by putting effort in developing good conduct and a clear mind. The Right Contemplation means one being self-aware of their deeds, words and thoughts so as to free themselves of desire and sorrow. Right meditation means training one's mind to focus, without wavering, on a single object. This will enable them develop a mind that is calm and capable of concentration ("Salvation in Buddhism").

According to various intellectual sources, there is a gradual transition from physical death to an afterlife whereby the body and spirit remain connected to one another through either resurrection or immortality of the soul. The transition from life to death is believed to actually begin three days after death when the soul is believed to hover over the grave in hope of getting restored to the body. Other beliefs are that the soul maintains a temporary relationship with its body in a type of purgatory, twelve months after death. This state leads to either paradise, or Gan Eden or hell, Gehinnom. The rabbis believe that the righteous are eligible to receive salvation depending on whether they have fulfilled the seven commandments of establishing courts of justice, refraining from blaspheming the God of Israel, idolatry, sexual perversion, bloodshed, robbery, and eating meat that is cut from a living animal.

In conclusion, both Judaism and Buddhism, even with subtle differences in beliefs aim towards making man a better person spiritually. The major difference lies in the fact that Judaism is a religion where there is belief in the existence of God while Buddhism has no such thing. They both however strive to create a good relationship between man and those around him.