Comparing Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam
Posted by beckyclay | June 2, 2009
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Sikhism is a monotheistic religion because it teaches that there is just one single true creator God. Sikhs believe in predestination and that every being has a purpose, while also believing in reincarnation and karma. They believe that the more karmic debt one has, the more lives they will live, and that the less karmic debt they have the closer they are to reuniting with God. It is only once a Sikh has completely rid himself of all karmic debt that he can achieve this union with the sole creator God.
Christianity and Islam are very representative of the monotheistic nature of God. Both religions believe in the same single-creator of the cosmos God, and also hold the belief that once they die they will rejoin with God in his kingdom.
Pantheism is the view that God and the physical universe are equal, meaning that the physical universe and God are one in the same. A pantheistic religion also believes that this God is impersonal or transpersonal. Contrary to a personal God, an impersonal or a transpersonal God is one who is not subject to, or possessed of, a human-like personality. They believe that God is not like a human, and to go a step further, God is unlike anything we can understand. A religion that represents pantheism is Taoism.
Taoism expresses pantheism very clearly in its primal doctrine the Tao Te Ching. Of the five main divisions that the Tao Te Ching can be divided into, the Tao, Yin Yang, The Sage, Wu Wei, and Te, the Tao division is the area most representative of a pantheistic view of God. The Tao states that we are all the Tao, that we should return to the Tao, and that the way to return to the Tao is by realizing we are already part of the Tao. The Tao is said to be “the way” and “the path,” that it has no beginning or end, that it is beyond form, and also that it is the source of all things. Taoists believe that the Tao is the universe, that the universe is the equivalent of god, and that all people are equal parts in the universe as well.
Agnosticism is very similar to the religious nature of skepticism in that it is the belief that due to the nature of religious claims, we either 1) do not currently possess the knowledge to make claims regarding God’s existence, or 2) will never possess the knowledge needed to make claims about God’s existence. Same as in religious skepticism, the view that we do not currently possess the knowledge to make such claims is much weaker than saying we will never have the knowledge. Saying that we currently do not have the knowledge leaves the door open for a shift in beliefs making it the less definitive and therefore weaker argument of the two. Religions representative of Agnosticism are Buddhism and Zen.
Both Buddhism and Zen Buddhism are categorized as agnosticism because of their skeptical position of the nature of God. Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, held the belief that the idea of God is not something that one should concern himself with. He believed that any opinion of God could never be formed because one would never be for certain either way. Instead of concerning yourself with things that you cannot know, one should focus in the now and concentrate on things that can be attained, like enlightenment.
The third main aspect of religion concerns the principle concerns, and just as the nine religions have represented the different natures of religion in general and of God, they also share similar and dissimilar principle concerns. There are four categories that classify the nine religion’s principle concerns, they include: 1) enlightenment, 2) reuniting with god, 3) conformity, and 4) role in the cosmos. The majority of the religions discussed share the principle concern for enlightenment; they are Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Zen Buddhism.
To the Hindu, enlightenment can be obtained through the liberation of reincarnation. Though Hindus do not have a single system for obtaining this liberation, they have the Yogas, which are methods and disciplines that can be used for assistance. By practicing the four Yogas, a Hindu will be able to rid themselves from bodily desires, worldly desires, self-pleasures, ignorance, and the illusion. Once liberation has been obtained, a Hindu is then reunited fully with Brahman, and ultimately has “being.” Being is a term used to reference the knowledge that we are all just one being in an overwhelming world in an overwhelming cosmos.
For the Buddhist, enlightenment is obtained through practice of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. By the achievement of these steps the Buddhist experiences Nirvana, which is the salvation from the sufferings on earth and most importantly the salvation from the cycle of reincarnation. Thus, by achieving Nirvana the Buddha has consequently also achieved enlightenment and reached his final destination in the cosmos.
The Jain religion has the principle concern of obtaining enlightenment as well. Followers of Jainism believe that by virtue of following the five great vows of ahimsa, truth telling, no theft, no sensuality, and no attachments, one can liberate the soul by ridding himself of all bad karma. Once all bad karma has been eliminated, enlightenment is obtained and consequently one becomes omniscient or “all knowing.”
Zen Buddhism also shares the principle concern of enlightenment, believing that one who searches deep within himself has the capacity to obtain full consciousness through meditation practice. This deep introspection differs from Buddhism in that there is little reliance on written works or teachings. The Zen Buddhist believes that the best way to achieve awakening is to practice just as the Buddha did, through deep meditation and no written works. It is through that method alone that one can gain the same insights of enlightenment as the Buddha did.
Next to enlightenment, a reuniting of the soul with God is the second most principle concern among the nine great religions. Religions that share this belief are Sikhism, Christianity, and Islam.
The Sikh religion’s principle concern is to ultimately reunite the soul with God. The Sikhs believe that there is one true creator God, and that once they have broken free from the cycle of reincarnation by liberating their souls from bad karma, that the soul will then be reunited with God for eternity.
Christianity also holds the principle concern of reuniting the soul to be with God, the creator of all things. Christians believe that by having faith in Jesus Christ, that he is the savior and the redeemer of all sins, that God will award them righteousness and award them an eternal life in His kingdom (heaven).
Islam too shares the principle concern of reuniting the soul with Allah. Muslims believe that by living a life pleasing to Allah and by genuinely believing in Allah, that they will be rewarded with an eternal life with Allah in His kingdom. As a consequence of this belief, Muslims are inspired to live a life of good deeds and to genuinely repent to Allah when they sin.
Conformity is the third principle concern of the nine great religions, and the religion that holds this as most important is Confucianism.
Confucianism is a religion that acts more like a set of rules. The primary focus of Confucianism is to lead a life full of inner moral qualities such as ideal relationships, virtue, goodness, benevolence, love, humanity, etc. Confucius developed a grand list of rules in which to follow in order to attain this ultimate state of Jen, or propriety. Confucians believe that the ultimate goal of human life is to live and contribute to an orderly and perfect society, which can only be achieved when there is a universal practice of propriety, the guidelines of which are detailed in Li.
Lastly, the fourth principle concern of the nine great religions is that which focuses on a role in the cosmos. Taoism is the religion that most concerns itself with this principle.
Taoists follow the Tao Te Ching, and believe that the Tao is equivalent to the cosmos and also that everyone is the Tao. The ultimate goal of Taoism is to become one with the Tao (or the cosmos), and that state can only be achieved once one realizes that they are already part of the Tao. By living a life according to the Tao, one learns how to act in accordance with nature and ultimately what their role in the cosmos is. Once one realizes that they are part of the Tao, they then become one with the Tao, or in other words, one with the cosmos (since the Tao is the cosmos).
In addition to their religious natures, views of God, and principle concerns, each of the nine great religions can also be related to four main divisions of philosophy. These divisions are 1) metaphysics, 2) epistemology, 3) ethics, and 4) social aspects. A diverse range of practices and viewpoints are expressed in each division, and inevitably there are several similarities and dissimilarities (as also seen in the typology given earlier). To ensure a clear understanding of what each division entails, it is first necessary to give an intelligible definition of each before attempting to illustrate the individual roles each religion plays in them.
The first division of philosophy is metaphysics, which is the study of reality. It is the study of abstract studies such as being, knowing, substance, cause, identity, time and space. Also related to metaphysics are the ideas pertaining to God, the soul, after life, reincarnation, and the cosmos. It is these ideas that will be discussed first, in our effort to thoroughly examine each of the nine great religions.
In Hinduism, the idea of God is an infinite perfect being in the cosmos that decided one day to create the world. They believe that multiple gods exist, each with their own unique purpose and characteristics. The infinite perfect being is referred to as Brahman, and is not so much a separate being as he is the compilation of all of the gods put together.
The Hindu term for soul is “atman” and is believed to be eternal and “Tat Tuam Asi,” meaning, “That Thou Art.” The soul is viewed as the equivalent of Brahman (the term that represents of all the gods), and Hindus also believe that the ultimate truth that we are all aiming to is an understanding that we are all gods. In essence, all gods make up Brahman, and Brahman is the equivalent to the soul. Because Brahman is the equivalent of the soul, every soul is equivalent to the gods. Ultimately, it logically follows that if each soul is equivalent to the gods, then each soul is also equivalent to Brahman, which encompasses everything. This order of reason provides a rational ground for a Hindu to believe that we are all gods.
Followers of Hinduism also believe in reincarnation and an afterlife. They hold that one will remain in the cycle of reincarnation until they are able to rid themselves of all karmic debt (also known as bad karma). Once one is able to completely free them from bad karma, their soul will be liberated from the curse of reincarnation and reunited with Brahman, the infinite perfect being.
In Buddhism, the existence or even belief in God are not discussed. Buddha has been quoted to say something of the following, “Do not concern yourself with God because you can never know for certain.” This type of thinking is often referred to as Buddha’s “noble silence” meaning, he chose not to ponder such questions about reality based on the fact that he did not deem them to be capable of leading to true knowledge. This viewpoint is a representation of agnosticism, in that it neither affirms nor denies the existence of god, but rather suspends judgment on both cases.
Buddhists do not believe in any type of soul or metaphysical entity. They believe there is no permanent self or “anatta,” but rather you are a composition of many things. But although there is no belief in a soul, the Buddhists still believe in reincarnation and an afterlife. Somewhat similar to Hinduism, the Buddhists believes that one will reincarnate until all bad karma has been terminated, and once that happens, one will be liberated into a state of Nirvana. Nirvana is also known as the “paradise realm,” where one reaches a state of being unborn, un-originated, uncreated, and unformed. Basically, a person that has attained Nirvana is liberated from the cycle of death and rebirth, and is released back into the uncreated, unformed state of existence, also known as the cosmos.
On the idea of the cosmos, the Buddhists believe that there are three planes involved: desire (the lowest), material (the middle), and the immaterial (the highest). The immaterial or the highest level of the cosmos is infinite, and not believed to have been created by any superior force or power. Similar to how Christians and Muslims believe
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