A Comparison of Christians and Buddhists

886 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: what happens at death different religions

Christians Live for Today, Buddhists Live for Tomorrow

Death is perhaps the most difficult aspect of life humans are forced to deal with. In order to help us cope, we have implemented the grieving process--a series of events with the purpose of making death easier to deal with--into our lives. Not everyone handles death in the same fashion, and each culture has rituals characteristic to itself that may differ greatly from another culture's rituals. Christianity and Buddhism are two religions that have completely different grieving processes, and in a conversation with Ms. Sit-Sen Wong, a Buddhist from Malaysia, this idea was confirmed as a fact. Through life, Buddhists constantly prepare for death and the afterlife, while Christians, although concerned about that, focus on enjoying the present life as much as possible. Many factors have contributed to this deduction and all are based on the differences in the grieving process rituals between American Christians and Malaysian Buddhists.

Until someone close to us passes away, we forget just how important every minute is that we have. Life is short, therefore, it is necessary not to spend too much time on any one thing. The amount of time spent mourning in America is considerably less than that spent in Malaysia. For example, the funeral and burial, the final outward phases of grieving, takes place, on average, a week after the death of the individual. The Buddhists, however, pray for the soul of the individual every day for six entire weeks. While the Christian view is to grieve, but quickly continue with one's life, the Buddhists feel that they cannot continue until the prayer process is complete. While a Christian may continue to pr...

... middle of paper ...

... during the service, as the Buddhists focus entirely on prayer.

It is evident that the grieving process for Buddhists is far more structured than that for Christians. This is because the family and friends of the deceased are the main concern and the soul of the individual is not. The funeral service helps to reassure everyone that the soul is going to heaven, and that we will all meet again. There is much comfort found in this that allows Christians to carry on, focusing on this life to reserve their spots in heaven. The Buddhists, however, are certain that the soul will be reincarnated, so it is extremely important to ensure its safe journey. The focus is placed on prayer for the soul, as what one did in life makes little difference in the end. It is because of these factors that the Christians live for today, the Buddhists live for tomorrow.

Show More
Related

  • Improving End-of-Life Care in The United States

    2060 Words  | 5 Pages

    Death comes to all in the end, shrouded in mystery, occasionally bringing with it pain, and while some may welcome its finality, others may fight it with every ounce of their strength. Humans have throughout the centuries created death rituals to bring them peace and healing after the death of a loved one.

    Read More

  • Bioterrorism with Smallpox

    2341 Words  | 5 Pages

    Smallpox is a highly infectious and fatal disease caused by the Variola virus. It causes extremely painful pustules to sprout across the entire body. Spread from human to human, it has since been eradicated from the world through the efforts of the World Health Organization. However, there is a distinct possibility that it may be reintroduced through bioterrorism. Biological weapons may cause another pandemic to erupt across the world and kill millions of individuals. Through constant vigilance and careful planning, mankind can prevent this scenario.

    Read More

  • Hinduism and Death

    1142 Words  | 3 Pages

    There is much to be said of the Hindu insights on death, and only a fraction of it fit into the four pages you will find at the center of this issue. We intend to do more in the future and welcome readers' contributions. Our objective is to share the message of the awakened ones who conquered death and knew the body's dissolution as freedom from bondage, as liberation into the Light, as a flowing of the finite into the Infinite. They asked us to think fearlessly about death, to fathom its meaning. They urged us in exiting life to let go of the ego and be the immortal Self which time and again shrugs off the shackles of sorrow.

    Read More

  • The Great Influenza

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    Billings, Molly. “The Influenza Pandemic of 1918.” virus.stanford.edu. Modified RDS, 2005. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Overview of Smallpox

    1060 Words  | 3 Pages

    As early as AD 100, in Rome smallpox ravaged for 15 years, causing two thousand deaths daily. The disease spread throughout Europe, Asia and Northern Africa from the 12th through the 15th century. Colonists and explorers from E...

    Read More

  • Smallpox Physiology

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    Smallpox is a lethal disease that is caused by Variola virus, which is classified under orthopoxvirus family (Norn, 2011). Small pox was one of the most feared diseases in the world until it was eradicated by a joint global vaccination program that was led by the World Health Organization. Eradication of this disease was a major global achievement where smallpox disease was officially declared eradicated in the year 1979. The last known case of small pox was recorded in Somalia in the year 1977. The other case of small pox that was recorded in 1978 in Birmingham city was as a result of laboratory accident (Surjan, 2009). One person was killed in the incidence and a limited outbreak of the disease was recorded.

    Read More

  • The Importance of the Influenza Vaccine

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    At no time was a search for the cure for influenza more frantic than after the devastating effects of the pandemic of 1918. The pandemic killed somewhere between twenty and a hundred million people, making it twenty five times more deadly than the ordinary cough and sneeze flu. The symptoms of this flu were like something straight out of a horror movie: the victim’s facial complexion changed to a dark, brownish purple, the feet turned black, and they began to cough up blood. Eventually, death was caused, literally by drowning, when the victim’s lungs filled with their own blood. The first scientist to claim to solve the enigma of influenza was Dr. Friedrich Johann Pfeiffer. He isolated a bacterium he named Hemophilus influenzae from the respiratory tract of those who had the flu in the pandemic of 1890. He was believed to be correct in his discovery until the pandemic of 1918, when scientists searched the respiratory tracts of influenza victims and only sometimes found his bacterium. Robert E. Shope and his mentor Paul Lewis were the next to attempt to crack the code of influenza. They chose to study the disease in pigs, a controversial choice because many people believed that the swine influenza pigs were contracting was not the same as the human flu. The first experiment they ran was ba...

    Read More

  • Negative Essay On Vaccines

    1863 Words  | 4 Pages

    Vaccines are one of modern medicine 's game-changing breakthroughs, but they have been around for hundreds of years earlier in primitive forms. Dating back to medieval times, the first precursor to modern vaccination occurred in China around the tenth century. (2) Known as variolation or inoculation, the method was used to prevent smallpox that plagued Europe and Asia. (2) Chinese doctors found that when healthy people were exposed to smallpox scab tissue, they were less likely to get infected or got a milder, less dangerous case. (2) The most common form of inoculation in China was to crush smallpox scabs into powder and then breathe it through the nose.(2) Because smallpox was such a destructive disease, in the late 1700 's, George Washington ordered mandatory inoculation for troops who hadn 't survived smallpox before. (2) Also in the late 1700 's, Edward Jenner

    Read More

  • Death And Death Research Paper

    1723 Words  | 4 Pages

    Death is a natural part of life that we all have to face one day. The way in which friends and love ones cope during this time is based on their culture or religious belief and their support system. Different religion or culture has different mourning customs which are unique to their own believes. For this project, three religious practices: Christianity, Muslim and Catholic were examined along with their own unique customs and believes. Despite the wide array of differences between each culture, they all believe in life after death and that there is a heaven and a hell.

    Read More

  • The Purpose Of Vaccination: The Purpose Of Vaccines

    1980 Words  | 4 Pages

    Illness has been a major part of humankind’s lives almost since the beginning of time. Throughout history, illnesses caused fatal epidemics that caused deaths between young and old, and brought fear upon all for the absence of a cure. Having an illness throughout most of history was considered an inevitable death sentence, as the majority of causes of death (Offit). Vaccinations have been experimented in China and Turkey in the 15th century, with methods such as inhaling or rubbing grounded up smallpox scabs against open cuts (Clem). Then in 1700s, the first form of modern vaccination was invented by Edward Jenner with the cowpox virus acting against smallpox, giving immunity against it (Offit).

    Read More

  • Smallpox

    605 Words  | 2 Pages

    Smallpox is an very contagious disease that lasts for about 41 days, 24 of those days are mildly to severely contagious. Variola passes from person to person through contact, prolonged face to face contact, contact with body fluids or scabs from pustules, and in extreme cases the pathogen can become an airborne pathogen. The smallpox virus is passed from human to human and it is not known if any other animals and/or insects can directly pass the variola virus to humans. There have been many cases where people have confused the variola virus with other viruses. For example S Scar Rickettsiella is an deadly disease that is nearly identical to smallpox but it is not as deadly and somewhere on the body a little scar shaped like a S (about the size of an mole) appears on the body. There is one live culture of smallpox kept in America in Atlanta, Georgia in an very secure facility. There is also one kept in Novosibirsk, Russia. Many world leaders fear that the next weapon will be biochemical terrorism. Smallpox can become an airborne pathogen which could cause the greatest amount of damage in a terror attack. From the time the virus enters into...

    Read More

  • Thanatology: The Death Drive

    1537 Words  | 4 Pages

    Due to specific religions, anxiety of death can either increase or lessen depends on the understanding and specificity of religion. For instance, in Buddhism death is not the end of life, it is the end of the physical presence, but the spirit will still remain and seek out through the need of attachment to a new body and new life (Herman, 1990 ). Death anxiety in the Buddhism is different because they don 't see death as the end but as a new

    Read More

  • A Tibetan Perspective on Birth and Death

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many religions and philosophies attempt to answer the question, what happens after a person dies? Some religions such as Christianity and Islam believe there is an afterlife. They believe that good and moral people enter Heaven or paradise and that bad and immoral people go to Hell. Other religions and cultures believe that death is final, and that nothing happens after a person dies. Buddhism and Hinduism have a different idea about death. Both of these religions originated in India. Buddhists and Hindus believe that death is not final. They believe that a person comes back after he or she dies. This process is known as reincarnation, and it provides opportunities for people to enter the world multiple times in different forms. Buddhists and Hindus want to reenter the world as humans, and they want to improve their status through reincarnation. In ancient India, many members of lower casts wanted to come back as members of higher casts. While this is an important goal of reincarnation, the main goal is to reach either moksha (Hinduism) or nirvana (Buddhism). In other words, the goal is to reach a point of spiritual enlightenment that removes the person from the reincarnation process. Geoff Childs, an anthropologist examines the views of the Buddhist religion by studying the lives of the people in Tibetan villages. He looks at issues that adversely affect these people such as infant mortality. He carefully looks at the lives of people who have been left behind by deceased loved ones, and he pays careful attention to customs and traditions surrounding death. Tibetan Buddhists view death as a means of reaching spiritual perfection, and they seek to reach this level of spiritual perfection through living spiritually meaningful lives....

    Read More

  • End Of Life Care Culture

    1154 Words  | 3 Pages

    Death is also part of life cannot be avoided or disregarded. Vietnamese Buddhists believe that a person's life is determined to prolong the life being meaningless. The family wants pray in order to have a peaceful trip to the next life. Maori spiritual healers have belief, which is connected with their culture, land and genealogy to repair the sense of identity and sense of belonging while they have serious sickness. In order to heal the person’s spirit, the person need to relearn the culture as part of a ritual health way. For Filipino Catholics, a priest is required to offer the ritual of the patient to invitation forgiveness for their sins to get the power and peace to the people goes through the way of dying. For many African-Americans have a strong faith, prayer and the power of God would heal their patients. Compared to non-Hispanic whites, African Americans are tending to reflect religion as a handling approach of progressive planning issues with end-of-life treatment. It is important to consider the role of spiritual leader and a spiritual care provider and partner of end-of-life care discussions. There is a strong faith and prayer, songs, music for the higher spiritual God to restore mental and physical balance in Native Hawaiian. To expression respect for a dying elderly, Hawaii family, including family expanded and

    Read More

  • Loss and Bereavement

    2076 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Buddhist religion believes in recoronation (life after death) so when a person dies the Buddhists believe that the dearly departed will come back in another life form.

    Read More

More about A Comparison of Christians and Buddhists

Open Document