Comparing Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zen Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam
Posted by beckyclay | June 2, 2009
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The primary tenet of Taoism is the Tao itself, and the belief that everything is one with the Tao. Taoists believe that in order to become one with the Tao that one must first acknowledge that he is already part of the Tao to begin with. The foundation of the Tao religion is the Tao Te Ching itself, written by Lao Tzu. The Tao Te Ching is a small volume of metaphors that Lao Tzu documented before leaving town. The metaphors of the Tao Te Ching can be translated into insightful guides to life as well as an understanding for the cosmos as a whole.
Christianity’s primary tenet is the belief that Jesus is the messiah and the redeemer of all sin. This belief is cultivated by use of the bible, and by reading and understanding all of the promises that God ahs fulfilled. There are 10 rules that God gave, called the Ten Commandments, which all Christians are expected to adhere to. They are: 1) You shall have no other gods before Me, 2) You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth, 3) You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, 4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, 5) Honor your father and your mother, 6) You shall not murder, 7) You shall not commit adultery, 8) You shall not steal, 9) You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, and 10) You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.
The primary tenet of the Islamic religion is very similar to that of the Christian religion. Muslims believe that Allah is the only God, and derive their ethical standards from the Koran. Expanding on the ten commandments of the Christian, Muslims are to “walk the straight path” by adhering to the Five Pillars the God revealed to Muhammad. These pillars are: 1) Shahadah (the profession of faith, 2) Qiblah (prayer), 3) Zakat (alms), 4) Ramadan (month of fasting), and 5) Pilgrimage. And while each of these pillars clearly defines what it entails, there are additional general prohibitions that naturally come with the pillars, such as: do not gamble, do not steal, do not lie, do not eat pork, do not drink intoxicants, do not have extra marital sex, etc. Although there seems to be several more rules for the Muslim than there is for the Christian, it may actually be due to the fact that the rules are more articulated, whereas for the Christian the same rules apply but are more acquired by inference rather than an actual list.
The fourth and final philosophical aspect to cover in the evaluation of the nine great religions is the social aspect of each religion, including congregation, ritual, sacrifice, and social class. By covering each of these areas in each religion we will be able to easily see the similarities and dissimilarities between them.
In Hinduism, followers congregate in a temple where they recite scriptures and sing songs of worship. They heavily emphasize on ritual, and it is considered to be the most important aspect of the Hindu belief. The daily ritualistic practice of puja is very common and is comprised of three parts, 1) darshana, 2) bhog, and 3) prasada. While puja is performed in a sacred corner in the home, its intent is to keep Hindus aware of their family gods and mindful of their duties as individuals. The first step of puja is darshana, which is seeing the family deity. The second part is bhog, which is when the worshiper offers flowers, fruits, and cooked foods. The third and final step of puja is prasada and is the retrieval of the blessed food and consuming it. There are also very special rituals of sacrifice that only Brahmin can perform, because they are so complex and elaborate. These rituals performed by the Brahmin are called the shrauta rituals. 2
The social class of the Hindu religion is best explained by the onion metaphor. If you can imagine an onion cut in half, and that you are staring down at its inside rings, the rings would be representative of every different part of you, while the onion itself represents “you.” Now imagine the outermost ring to be representative of your profession, the next inner ring would be your possessions, the next ring would represent your social status, next your family, next your personality, and ultimately, once the center of the onion is reached, that is where your soul or your “true” self exists. It is your soul, your atman, your Brahman. All of the other things are not actually “you,” they are just externalities that surround your true self and who you really are.
Followers of Buddhism typically meet in a Buddhist Temple where they learn Buddhism and participate in chants and meditation. While some Buddhists may meet there often, there is no set time or day where a Buddhist is expected to go. The Temple operates on a “go as often as you like” schedule and Buddhists do just that.
Typical Buddhist rituals include meditation, mantras, mudras, prayer wheels, monasticism, pilgrimages, and veneration. These rituals are very common and are generally practiced by every Buddhist following the path to enlightenment. While there are no animal sacrifices made in Buddhism, there are plenty of human sacrifices that are made such as desires. Although it is the Buddhist belief that desires contribute to suffering, until a Buddhist reaches the third noble truth, they are still in a stage where they feel they are sacrificing something for a greater good. Buddhists also believed that everyone was equal and rejected the caste system entirely.
Members of Jainism generally meet in a Jain Temple, however is it not a Jain belief to hold that worship leads to liberation. Congregating together is more a means to spiritual and karmic development, meditation, offerings, and prayer. Typical Jain rituals include monasticism, worship, and meditation, and do not contain any sacrifice. Similar to the Buddhists, Jainism was also not a supporter of the caste system and rejected it completely.
Sikhs, or believers in Sikhism congregate in Temples where they read and sing scriptures and listen to sermons. Attending Temple is a means of acquiring spiritual knowledge and wisdom and is not a requirement of the Sikhs at all. Also similar to the Buddhists, the Sikhs have no special worship days and are free to attend however many or few services they desire. Sikhs condemn empty ritual and do not believe in a social class of any kind. They hold that everyone is equal and also offer no sacrifices with the exception of personal sacrifice for supreme principals.
Zen Buddhists generally congregate at the Buddhist Temple similar to the Buddhists and the Sikhs. There is no set meeting time, however monks typically meet twice a month to gather and chant together for the welfare of the Japanese people. Zen Buddhists offer no sacrifices besides personal ones, but only with the purpose of obtaining a higher state of pleasure. Zen Buddhists do have a small social class, consisting of Zen Masters and students or lay people. The Zen Master is obviously superior to the student, but only by the means of his enlightened state.
Confucianism does not have any type of congregation for worship, as it is more a system of ethics rather than a religion. However, although not a religion, there are several ancestor worships that take place as they are seen by Confucius to “bind people together and give social order.” Confucianism also has a very elaborate and methodical social structure, listed in the Li division of the Confucian writings. Li is comprised of five main parts, however it is parts four and five that most clearly illustrate the social expectations of each member of society. From men, to women, children, and government officers, the Confucian doctrine has a very organized method of how everything should be run in society.
Taoism is another religion that does not have a congregation or place of worship, nor does it possess any rules of sacrifice, ritual, or social class. The Taoists are perhaps the most simplistic of all the religions discussed, in that they simply believe that the Tao consists of all things, everyone is part of the Tao, and that the goal of every human is to acknowledge that they are part of the Tao.
Christianity is a religion that gathers at a congregation for prayer and worship, similar to the Sikhs. Typically Christians will meet once a week, while also participating in common rituals such as communion, baptism, prayer, marriage, bible studies, etc. Christians also follow Jesus in the view that there are no social classes, and that everyone is equal in the eyes of God.
Islam is a religion very similar to Christianity in its ways of worship. Perhaps the most obvious difference is the ritual of praying five times per day, seven days per week, and totaling thirty-five prayers each week. While Christians are not limited to praying less than this amount, it is actually in the Islamic tradition to pray this many times.
As clearly illustrated by each of the religions discussed, although every religion may contain metaphysical, epistemological, ethical, and social properties, the content of which varies tremendously. From the way that Christians believe in an absolute monotheistic God to the way that Hindus believe in multiple Gods is a clear demonstration of these differences. However at the same time, there are also many similarities between the different religions as well, for example the way that Zen Buddhism and Confucianism are both relativistic religions or how Jainism and Sikhism are examples of pluralistic systems.
One frequently hears these days that “All religions are basically the same.” But this is like saying a new BMW is the equivalent to an old VW Bug. One could easily compare the similarities and argue that, both have windows, both have tires, both have wipers, etc., but it is when we look at the differences that we can really begin to see why one is superior or inferior to the other. The same basic principles need to be applied when discussing the natures of religion.
To say that all religions are the same is an example of someone that is comparing only the similarities. And it is very probable that if you were to ask that same person to compare a BMW to a VW Bug, they would immediately start pointing out the differences. For someone to honestly believe that such a statement is valid, they are merely demonstrating their ignorance on the subject, and will hopefully some day be enlightened by the truth. That is, that every religion in the world is different, even if only by a small margin.
Works Cited
"Faith, Doubt, and Zen Buddhism." Home of Silent Temple, a new form of Zen Buddhism. 02 June 2009 < http://www.silenttemple.com/id54.html >.
"Hindu Rituals." The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences & the Arts. 02 June 2009 < http://asms.k12.ar.us/classes/humanities/worldstud/97-98/religion/hinduism/rituals.htm >.
"Religious pluralism -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 02 June 2009 < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_pluralism#Sikh_views >.
"What Buddhists Believe - The Buddha's Silence." BuddhaNet - Worldwide Buddhist Information and Education Network. 02 June 2009 < http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/whatbudbeliev/34.htm >.
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