Today the words heaven and nirvana are often used interchangeably; this has led to some confusion regarding the concepts. The aim of this paper is provide a foundation of understanding, regarding the concepts of heaven in Christianity and nirvana in Buddhism. To define the key characteristics that set these two concepts apart, while seeking to identify any similarities that may be found between them.
When attempting to identify the origin of the Christian heaven, it is important to first define Christianity: "the religion that is based on the teachings of Jesus Christ" (Merriam-Webster.com). Since these teachings are at the core of many faiths, including but not limited to the Catholic, Jewish and Protestant faith, it would be unwise, to try to speak for Christianity as a whole, regarding the matter of heaven or when it came into being.
Christian sects may see death and what follows a little differently however; the “majority” agree that proof of heaven, as a real place, can be found in the bible. The bible teaches that another life awaits Christians, when their time here on earth comes to an end. During the next life, they will dwell in the “presence of God” and other followers of Jesus. In the next life they will be liberated from sin and thereby released from their agony. (ReligionFacts.com). “Heaven is not a figment of divine imagination, some mystical floating, the ethereal, never-never land” (Stowell, (1995) p.87).
In his book Eternity Joseph Stowell examines, Acts 1:11, Jesus rose into the heavens, before the eyes of his disciplines, and the angels said “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched H...
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... achieve in this life to avoid the next.
Works Cited
Anonymous. Christian Beliefs about the Afterlife. (8 February 2007). ReligionFacts. http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/beliefs/afterlife.htm
Gombrich, R. (2005) Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benares to Modern Colombo. Routledge
Prothero, S, (2008). Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know—And Doesn’t. New York: HarperOne.
Sach, J. (2003). The Everything Buddhism Book: Learn the ancient traditions and apply them to modern life. MA, Avon, Adams Media Corporation.
Smith, H., & Novak, P. (2003). Buddhism : A Concise Introduction. [Pymble, NSW]: PerfectBound.
Smith, J., & Green, W. (1995). The Harper Collins Dictionary of Religion. San Francisco, CA: Harper Collins.
Stowell, J. (1995). Eternity: Reclaiming A Passion For What Endures, IL, Chicago, Moody Press.
In Stephen Prothero’s, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know and Doesn’t (New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2007), 297 we discover the average American’s lack of religious knowledge. Prothero discusses religious illiteracy in three ways. How it exists, came to be, and just how to possibly solve this problem. Today religious illiteracy is at least as pervasive as cultural illiteracy, and certainly more dangerous. Religious illiteracy is more dangerous because religion is the most volatile constituent of culture, because religion has been, in addition to one of the greatest forces for good in world history, one of the greatest forces for evil. Religion has always been a major factor in US politics and international affairs.
Smith, Huston. World’s Religions: A Guide to our Wisdom Traditions. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1994.
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.
Mishra, Pankaj. An end to suffering: the Buddha in the world. New York: Farrar, Straus and
In this term paper I will be comparing and contrasting Buddhism and Hinduism. Comparing both Hinduism belief, sacred text and overall view of how the world SHOULD be. Hinduism and Buddhism are two of the most influential and complex religions around the world. Both religions have similar philosophies and originated in India before 500 B.C. Both are among the top five major religions being practiced in today’s world. Hinduism ranks as the third most popular organized religion and is much older than Buddhism. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, or Lord Buddha, who considered himself a Hindu before being called to his path and attaining enlightenment, and therefore given this fact, it follows that Buddhism share many similarities and some very distinct differences in certain doctrinal sacred texts, ideals, practices, and beliefs of Hinduism.
Oxtopy, W., & Segal, A. (2007). A concise introduction to world religions. (1st ed., p. 258). New York: Oxford University press.
Bibliography: Religious Persons and Traditions Buddhism- Plain and Simple
Amidst people in different locations, times and civilizations we see a lot of same descriptions of Utopia or Pure Land. It is as if we have a unified idea of what a Heaven, Pure Land, or Paradise is. The characteristics of these heavenly realms are very similar between different cultures. The concepts of having infinite space, light, beauty, great peace, perfection and comfort are present in both Pure Land Buddhist ideals and Christianity. The most important distinction of this other world however is the idea that there is no feeling of time in any conception of Heaven. There is no hurry in any description of Heaven and there is no place to go, we have already arrived. In Heaven or the Pure Land people do not have to worry about being late for a meeting, having to hurry in order to enjoy themselves, and they never need to be 'pressed for time'; in these realms time as it is related to earth has no meaning. The experience of this other realm can be described as serene joy that is wholesome. There are of course many differences between Pure Land Buddhism and Christianity, but the fundamental idea of Heaven is prevalent in both religions.
Eastman, Roger. The Ways of Religion: An Introduction to the Major Traditions. Third Edition. Oxford University Press. N.Y. 1999
The Biblical understanding of the afterlife is, in fact, quite different when one compares the Old and New Testaments. The very first verse of the Bible, “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,” (Genesis 1.1), makes it clear that heaven has existed as long as the rest of creation. Although mentioned several more times throughout the Old Testament, heaven in this case is not the paradise of eternal salvation as described in the New Testament. Rather, it is only the dwelling place of God. Job confirms this when he proclaims, “My witness is in heaven” (Job 16.19). In addition, the author of Psalm 115 writes, “The heavens are the Lord’s heavens, but the earth he has given to human beings” (Psalm 115.16). Clearly, then, the heaven of the Old Testament was a place for God only, not a place for humans to ever expect to be in, even after dying.
Oxtoby, Willard G., and Alan F. Segal. A Concise Introduction to World Religions. Oxford, Canada: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Now we will compare both Buddhism and Christianity. In the afterlife of Buddhism, they believe that they go to Nirvana to get reincarnated and go into a different body. In Christianity they believe that they go to Heaven or Hell. As in if you're good throughout your life you go to
Oxtoby, Willard Gurdon., and Alan F. Segal. A Concise Introduction to World Religions. Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford UP, 2007. Print.
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.
Over 100 million people seek enlightenment by taking on a spiritual journey called Theravada Buddhism, originating in ancient India during 100 BCE. By taking on this religious path people begin to learn traits such as wisdom and acceptance through meditation. I can inform readers about Gautama Buddha’s ancient religion by revealing Theravada’s peaceful teachings and spiritual beliefs. And along this religious journey followers of Theravada become wiser and kinder, they learn to accept things for what they truly are, and this new mindset eventually results in Nirvana, or Enlightenment, the ultimate goal in which every Theravada follower dreams of. This peaceful religion, Theravada, means “school of the elder monks” in Pali, Theravada’s original language in which their sacred doctrines (the Pali Canon and the Pali Tipitaka) are