Religion is a guiding light that shines into all factors of life. It builds one’s character and personality, and affects one’s perspective on his surroundings. Religion wears many hats, as it can range from a loosely set philosophy to a strict, taxing code of conduct. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s religion was a non-traditional one which emphasized self-reliance (Rowe 5), individuality (St. John 6), and the natural goodness of man (Jue 7). He saw religion as a relative, personal set of beliefs which can change and vary widely between practitioners, and even within one person over a period of time. In fact, Emerson began his religious journey as a Calvinist in Harvard’s School of Divinity, then held a career as a minister of a Unitarian church in Boston (Leude 1). His beliefs as a Unitarian were similar to his Transcendentalist philosophies (1), discovered soon after his resignation as a minister. When analyzed from a biblical perspective, Emerson’s literary works clearly reflect the influences of eastern religion and mysticism in their depiction of nature as well as God, the human spirit, and religion.
Eastern philosophy is based upon religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Sikhism, Jainism, Taoism, and Confucianism (Hagin 1). The core values of these religions have many similarities. Judgment comes from measurement of good works against bad. Morality and ethics are stressed as more important than belief in a specific doctrine. Most eastern religions believe in the ideas of karma and reincarnation. Karma is the force that determines the cycle of reincarnation based on the individual’s works (2). Buddhists specifically follow a moral code called the Eightfold Path. It consists of right seeing, resolve, word, action, means of existe...
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Throughout centuries, humans have expressed different perspectives toward a single idea. The subject of religion invites challenging discussions from skeptical minds because religion is diversely interpreted based on personal faith. The authoress sets her novel in a fictional town, Cold Sassy, where religion plays a predominant role in people’s lives. Through Will Tweedy’s narration she explores the religious opinions of the town’s most prominent citizen Rucker Blakeslee, Will’s grandpa. Although Blakeslee spent his whole life in a religiously conservative town, he has a radical approach toward religious concepts such as predestination, suicide, funerals, faith, and God’s will, thus forcing him to challenge the traditional views of organized religion.
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Yu, Han. “Memorial on Buddhism”. Making of the Modern World 12: Classical & Medieval Tradition. Trans. Richard F. Burton. Ed. Janet Smarr. La Jolla: University Readers, 2012. 111-112. Print.
Although not looked upon as a widely popular topic in the 21st century, transcendentalism has played a role in everyone's life. Action of the tenets and values of transcendentalist people vary. Religious traditions from each generation amplify the movement along with the social and political activity.
The eastern view toward human rights is considered to be the soft relationships. These views are clearly seen and understood through the Buddhist beliefs. A focus of the Buddhist teaching or Dhamma resides in the precept that there is no self, no ego, and no soul. All is conditioned to change and therefore nothing is permanent. An individual’s action affects his surrounding and vice versa. An individual is conditioned by his experience and inherits the results of his past actions, kamma (karma in Sanskrit). Building upon these concepts, a Buddhist is continuously striving for personal improvement and eventually the ultimate perfection. Human nature is understood to be less than perfect and an individual is responsible for his own action in molding his own destiny.
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Transcendentalism was conceivably one of the most important movements in American history. It was an influential philosophy, brought to life by thinkers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. Though this movement’s prime was during the 1800s, its way of thinking can still be influential today. With powerful morals and spiritualistic views, people in today’s society could easily grasp onto transcendentalism and move toward a more free-minded lifestyle, just like Emerson and Thoreau wanted their society to
This paper is a comparison between two very different religions. Specifically Christianity and Buddhism. Coming from opposite sides of the globe these two religions could not be any farther apart in any aspect. I will discuss who Christ is for Christians and who Buddha is for Buddhists. I will also get into the aspects of charity, love, and compassion in both religions and I will be looking at the individual self and how christians see resurrection where the buddhists feel about the afterlife. One thing to keep in mind is that the two religions are very different but they seem to have a very similar underlying pattern. Both believe that there was a savior of their people, Buddha and Christ, and both believe that there is something good that happens to us when our time is done here on earth. This is a very generalized summarization but in order to go in to depth I need to explain the two religions more to fully convey this theory.
Charters, Ann & Samuel. Literature and its Writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 137-147. Print.
The word Transcendentalism, as used at the present day, has two applications. One of which is popular and indefinite, the other, philosophical and precise. In the former sense it describes man, rather than opinions, since it is freely extended to those who hold opinions, not only diverse from each other, but directly opposed. (1)
Buddhism is currently the fourth most popular religion in our society today, following Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Its major ideologies are based on the philosophies of Siddhartha Guatama, also known as “Buddha”, who began his teachings in 598 BCE at the age of 35, according to Buddhist texts. A Buddhist’s foremost aspiration is the obtainment of Bodhi, or enlightenment through meditation and Anapana-sati (awareness of the breath). Buddhism shares many ideologies with India’s Hinduism and Yoga such as non-harming, non-violence, and self-awareness. In many instances, people regard Buddhism as a way of life rather than a religion, for it has no clear belief in the idea of a God or Gods. Its structure is built upon a hierarchy much like Christianity where superior orders such as Lamas or the Dalai Lama are said to be chosen by nature through the process of reincarnation rather than by a council like Christianity’s Pope. Though these “higher level” Buddhists are rare (not everyone is a reincarnation of an ancient Buddhist “priest”), all are permitted to follow “The Middle Way” either as a Buddhist monk or the simple attendance of a weekly teaching session from time to time. Throughout the last few hundred years the Buddhist population has blossomed into a healthy 381,611,000 and over fifteen different sects including Zen, Mahayana, and Theravada.
In the midst of all of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essays, “Circles,” is undoubtedly a piece which masterfully incorporates Emerson’s philosophies of etymology with the spiritual. Etymology, down to its core, deals with the origin of certain phrases, words, or examples used to describe an object of meaning. Emerson uses this technique to craft a spiritual essay that pushes the reader to see the universe from a different perspective, and to tear away from the social norms of what is expected of religion to follow his or her own path. To do this, however, Emerson stresses the importance of understanding and reason. To understand is to classify, differentiate, and compare. To reason, on the other hand, exceeds understanding by serving as the intuitive facility to the soul. To do this, one must become a poet as described by Emerson.
In conclusion, the process of growth and expansion for both Eastern and Western religions has been a great journey. As mentioned before Eastern religions expanded in a very peaceful manner, while the growth and expansion of the Western religions was more violent. They both went through many changes and adaptions which included some blending of cultures and beliefs. In some cases the result was a new religion. In the end, both religions had to go through as process of great growth and expansion to become the World religions of today.