Nature And Religion

1200 Words3 Pages

Religion throughout history has been influential among humanity, shaping the culture and views people take on life. Determining the differences between human beings and nature has continued as a controversial topic among multiple religions, arguing over the relationship between humans and nature. Perspectives on nature and the world in any religion are sacred so the way nature and the world are treated is unique in order to not disrupt the beauty in hopes of preserving it. The Judaism religion recognizes humans as separate beings from nature, while Buddhism claims nature and human are deeply connected, making them the same thing. The main reason for this is because in western religions, such as Judaism, they believe there is one god that is …show more content…

Nature is said to be constantly changing, just like humans are constantly changing in many different aspects of the mind and body so is nature. According to this source “In nature there are no static and stable "things"; there are only ever-changing, ever-moving processes. Rain is a good example to illustrate this point.” This source describes the nature “ever-changing” and “ever-moving” so no matter what happens, it will always change and that also carries over to their perspectives on the world as well. In Judaism, however, they believe in God and that he is the ultimate creator and the reason things change in nature is because He sets it in place. Whereas in Buddhism, nature and the world and everything around us are changing because it’s a process that has to, not for any specific reason. Buddhists are known that nothing is going to stay the same gives them the chance to focus on themselves and to try to attain nirvana. Nirvana is a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. The way this is achieved is just eliminating all desires and greed and cravings and live this simplistic life. It represents the final goal of Buddhism. Judaism but, so in some aspects is the same, but nature and human beings are two completely separate entities. The …show more content…

Another one of the ways of living Buddhism is karma. Karma is the idea that everything does happen for a reason and every action has an effect on future events. Majority of Buddhists are vegetarian for being in fear of gaining bad Karma because even something as simple as enjoying a steak or hamburger can really hurt a Buddhist in their next lifetime. It is important for Buddhist to preserve and protect nature because taking natural resources from the earth is considered greedy and being a Buddhist it’s ideal to live a simplistic lifestyle with the bare necessities. According to the article on Buddhists attitudes towards nature “In the theory of karma the effects of our actions are in proportion to the greed and hatred which motivated them, so if our spoiling of the planet through stripping its resources and polluting it was motivated by greed, we are now beginning to experience the effects of that greed.”(Ellis). Buddhists stripping the earth of its natural resources is considered can lead to greed and desires and by eliminating these thoughts and desires give the Buddhists the chance to focus on themselves and live a more simple lifestyle. Judaism humans are placed on this earth to

Open Document