Pious individuals within most all religious traditions venerate historical and contemporary figures that exemplify their religion. Bodhisattvas in Buddhist tradition and saints in Christian tradition are two such figures that inspire devotion and admiration from adherents. Though Bodhisattvas are recognized in all Buddhist traditions, they have particular importance in the Mahayana tradition. The bodhisattva is one who forgoes entering nirvana and therefore ending the cycle of suffering in samsara until all sentient beings “down to the last blade of grass” have also attained enlightenment. A bodhisattva strives to attain bodhi, or awakening, while delaying their own enjoyment of nirvana, in an act of compassion towards all other life aimed …show more content…
Similarly, Christian saints, predominately in Catholicism, bridge the world of the afterlife with the mundane human world. Through their explementary faith and pious actions, they excelled in Christian virtue to such a degree that the Catholic institution canonized their holiness. The induction into sainthood—a title bestowed upon an individual posthumous rather than chosen by the individual during life as in Buddhism—often is accompanied and preceded by public and cult veneration of the individual. While the distinctions of bodhisattva and saint are adorned by many pious individuals, an analysis of the bodhisattva Guanyin and Saint Mary provides insights into the comparative function of bodhisattvas and saints for pious lay individuals within Mahayana Buddhism and Catholicism. Inhabiting a uniquely fluid position of mediation between the spiritual realm and the temporal realm, bodhisattvas and saints function as guides to moral conduct and examples of pious live to strive to imitate, they offer unconditional compassion and help to devotees, and they participate in the sacred economy of their religious world through exchange of spiritual aid and guidance for devotion, prayer, and rituals from their …show more content…
The princess, upon resisting her father’s wishes to marry, became a nun, and her father retaliated by burning the convent. After traveling through hell and gaining insight into the suffering of sentient beings, Miao-shan lived her life as a hermit, and selfishly saved her ill father by offering her eyes and arms to him, appearing to her father as a thousand-handed and thousand-eyed being. Through Buddhist hierarchy in China initially resisted this narrative due to its assertion that women were able to achieve enlightenment, the story has prevailed in popular mythology to such an extent that Miao-shan’s date of birth and entry into the monastery are celebrated by Mahayana Buddhists. While Guanyin transcends the constructs of gender due to her status as a bodhisattva, she was first portrayed as a man and is now most often portrayed as a woman. In all canonical Buddhist scriptures Guanyin is referred to as a man, rather than a woman. However, the Lotus Sutra devotes one whole chapter to Guanyin and illuminates how Guanyin’s role as a bodhisattva necessitates the transcendence of gender. In the Lotus Sutra, Guanyin is said to enumerate thirty-three different male and female forms, adapting to the needs of the individual Guanyin seeks to guide towards enlightenment, choosing what form she appears in. Saint Mary does not share this
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.
Buddhism is one of the prominent and influential religions and philosophies of the world. A basic tenet of Buddhism is that worldly desires and possessions cause all suffering. To absolve one’s self of necessities beyond basic human survival is one of the many plateaus that Buddhists strive to achieve. Furthermore, Buddhists free themselves from temptation via seclusion from society and attempt to allow nature to support them. They believe that Nirvana, the ascension to heaven, can be achieved by freeing oneself of earthly desires.
This carved schist shows Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of mercy and compassion. The divine statue is standing in front of a nimbus while clutching some sort of garment in his left hand. Most of his right arm seem to have fallen off. Only his lower body is is cover in clothes. He is also wearing several neck less that are attached to his ears as well. On the base of the statue four other Bodhisattva’s are carved surrounding someone who appears to be Buddha.
In the comparison with other class of Chinese faith , the study of Chinese Buddhism benefits. First, the International range of Buddhism allows for fruitful comparison with developments in other neighboring finish such as India and japan and the contemporary identicalness of Buddhism as a missionary. Buddhism is a way of breakthrough repose within oneself. It is a organized religion that helps us to find the happiness and contentment we seek. Buddhist develop inner peace, kindness and wisdom through their daily practice; and then share their experience with others delivery real number benefit to this humankind .They try not to injury others and to live
It is said that history is shaped by the lives of great men. Great men are leaders. They bring about change; they improve the lives of others; they introduce new ideas, models, and theories to society. Most of the world's religions were founded, developed, or discovered by great men. Two particular religions - Christianity and Buddhism - developed in different parts of the world, under different circumstances, and in different social atmospheres. But each religion is based upon the teachings of a great man. When one compares the life of Buddha with the life of Jesus, one finds that the two share many things in common. This essay aims to compare and contrast the lives of Buddha1 and Jesus in two key areas: conception and birth. In these two areas, one finds that the Buddha and Jesus share many similarities.
There are three motives followers of Buddhism have lesser, middling and great motivation. Mainstream Buddhism has middling motivation and Mahayana has great motivation. Mainstream Buddhism end goal for the majority of its followers is to become an arhat who is a worthy one or the small minority that want to become a Buddha. Mainstream Buddhist have been known to lead the more selfish path since their main goal is to achieve nirvana for one self and stay there. The path to either becoming an arhat or Buddha varies in length. Becoming a Buddha is said to have a more difficult and long journey than one of an arhat. Now Mahayana Buddhist follows the Bodhisattva Path, which can take up to an aeon to complete and when embarking on this path one first accepts the bodhisattva vow. A reason so many are motivated to accept the bodhisattva vow is to avoid bad karma and the penalties that come with it like the five realms of hell. The main goal in Mahayana Buddhism is to attain Buddhahood which, is when one does not reside in nirvana, they wish to pursue other realizations and they come back down out of nirvana to help other beings attain nirvana this is called a Bodhisattva. Since Mahayana Buddhist return from nirvana they remain in a state of samsara till the end. The nirvanas Mahayana and Mainstream
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.
Though both Hinduism’s moksha and Buddhism’s nirvana are more or less synonymous, they both hold distinctive differences in the path that leads followers to the end goal of enlightenment from samsara. In Hinduism, “letting go” or releasing from samsara by way of the realization that “atman is Brahman” is what moksha is defined as. Contrastingly, Buddhism involves extinguishing feelings that cause suffering and thus, achieving
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.
Throughout the history of humankind, man has always searched to find answers to the many existential questions. Numerous different religions and denominations have developed around the world over time. Though, most wonder about the origin and purpose of our existence. Buddhism was founded on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama about 2,600 years ago in India. After he had experienced that everyone was subject to “birth, sickness, death, and old age”, he tried to find a way to break from the cycle of rebirth (Bloom). Siddhartha Gautama experimented with a number of methods to find the cause of suffering which led him to what he called the Middle Way – a path between “licentiousness and extreme mortification” (Bloom). Once he achieved enlightenment, he turned into ‘the Buddha – the enlightened or awakened one’. Christianity is one of the largest and most prevailing religions of the world and largely based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians trust that Jesus was sent by God to save humanity. Therefore, the faith of the followers of the Christian belief is primarily based on the preaching of Jesus and later the spreading of those by his disciples. Although Buddhism and Christianity show several parallels, their three key differences are that Buddhists do not believe in one divine being, and have different views about both the purpose of life and the concept of afterlife.
Buddha believed that by following the Eightfold Path, one could fulfill and find legitimacy in the Four Noble Truths, and reach Nirvana; the release from selfishness and pain. Like the Hindu, Buddha believed in reincarnation, a major factor in achieving Nirvana, as...
Moksha is a common belief in the Hindu religion and it describes a state where one’s soul connects with God’s soul. In the Hindu religion, achieving moksha removes one from the cycle of life and death, which is the state of reincarnation as one moves from one life to the next. In essence, moksha is a state of unification of one’s soul with that of the creator, therefore achieving oneness of atman and Brahman. This essay discusses the various similarities and differences that exist between Buddhist Nirvana and Hindu Moksha. It can be noted that Buddha was raised in a rich family and he lived through the riches up to some point in his life when he realized that he wanted to discover something different.
Reaching Nirvana in Buddhism The ultimate life goal of Buddhists is to reach Nirvana, nirvana being enlightenment. All Buddhists go through the cycle of life and rebirth to find their inner peace. Buddhists live by 4 Noble Truths. When living by the 4 Noble Truths, they have to follow the Noble Eightfold Path as well. The steps in life that a Buddhist takes all lead to ending the suffering.
Buddhism and Christianity are different religions. Both have numerous similarities as well as differences that one might find really interesting to look at in details. These two religions have certain beliefs, values and traditions which are really compatible. On the other hand, some of these values, beliefs and traditional practices are quite contradicting and conflicting. This makes the study of these two religions an inevitable and pleasurable task. Theology historians have raised adequate concerns and issues relating to connections between Buddhism and Christianity. They claim that there is strong comparability between the characters of Jesus and Buddha, especially their lives and teachings.
A comparative analysis of salvation in Christianity and Buddhism exposes stark contrasts between the grace of Jesus Christ and the self-saving action and enlightenment of Buddha. I attempt to compare the Christian and Buddhist concepts of salvation in this essay to emphasise on the significance of each founder's roles in salvation, and to extract similarities and differences between them both.