Buddhism and Hinduism

Primitive religion as according to E. B. Tylor and James Frazer

Tylor, who is a well known anthropologist, defined religion as the faith in mystical and supernatural powers which originated to explain the origins of the earth. The faith in these supernatural spirits came as a fact to explain more about death and life. It explains more about what happens after people die and where they actually go. According to Tylor ancient individuals used dreams where spirits were thought to appear showing that the mind of humans existed independently. This is as a result f their primitive nature. The ancient people used this scene to explain their belief on life before and after death. There exist many myths to explain the belief in the supernatural powers and their existence. Tylor explains that the mind of people at similar times and the explanations given by many cultures and religion are primitive in nature as well as the belief in supernatural powers. The difference in the minds is the fact that some people have undergone social evolution. Tylor explains that science elaborates better the natural phenomenon unlike modern religions like Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism which focus on God the creator and also the belief in supernatural powers and spirits (Fine, 2001). James on the other hand elaborates his theory by using two given stories. The supreme individual gets two messages which are to be delivered to humans. The messages are about eternal life and death. The death message arrives earliest than the message of eternal life and as a result death came to be. He elaborates that there is a big difference between magic and religion where he suggests that magic is used to influence the world of spirits according to the primitive nature of the people. The dead as he says are also honored and pleased by sprinkling water on them. Taylor and James portray that religion is not an explanation enough as to happenings of the natural phenomenon and that science proves it all.

How Buddhism is used to illustrate Durkheim’s and Geertz’s point that religion is not about God

Buddhism is one of the modern religions which consist of the beliefs, traditions and practices in a supreme being known as Buddha who is known to be a person who brought light to the people by emphasizing more on how to end sufferings and bring understanding. Durkheim argued out that religion is seen as a social occurrence while on the other hand Geertz argued that religion is just a cultural system. They both view religion as one way of leading to good morality among the people since religion has got its rules and regulations. According to Durkheim, the society is the base for sacredness since the society outlines its rules which are to be followed by all people regardless of the religion (Kozak, 2011). He implies that the people have the power in the society such that religion can not be termed as a source of power as people view it. Geertz on the other hand sees religion as a collection of materials and signs with different meanings which are followed by people all over the world. Buddhism religion has a symbol of a Buddha whom they worship and who acts as their deighty.the symbols in different religions have various meanings and importance which are followed by the people. The society is very important as it contributes to the well being of a person and religious as well. Religion depends mostly on the society. Religion can bring biases in the society where certain people are considered to be more powerful as compared to others which contribute to Buddhism being criticized as it divides the people instead. It is important to note that religion encourages a good environment for all people in the society. Some religions have symbols and meanings which are not according to the beliefs of the society for example Buddhism which have various symbols as Geertz argues it out in his theory.

Why sacrifice have so much power

Christianity and Judaism religions focus more on the bible and their belief in one eternal God who is the creator of the universe. Sacrifices are termed as offerings given to the Supreme Being in form of food, animal objects as well as liquids which is known as libation. Judaism practiced sacrifices both blood and non blood offerings in order to please their God. They saw sacrifices especially blood sacrifices as more superior than prayers and offerings and Israelites especially believed that sacrifices were one way of maintaining the good relationship with their God. Sacrifices as Judaism religion emphasizes are one way of pleasing and serving God since by accepting the sacrifices it reveals that God still exists. In Christianity Jesus Christ as the only son of God was sacrificed in order for Christians to get salvation. It was the method God used to save people from sins as he had made an agreement with Abraham. It is important to note that blood sacrifices act as covenants and agreements between different people. They are used as signs and symbols to seal different covenants. The sacrifices are so powerful such that breaking of such sealed covenants can lead to serious consequences especially loss of lives. Christianity whatsoever is against human and animal sufferings as Jesus crowned it all when he died on the cross as a sacrifice in order to save lives. Thus sacrifices are one means of saving lives. Hindu religion emphasizes more on offerings other than animal sacrifice. They do grain, milk and spices offerings as a way of pleasing their God. The offerings are performed during weddings, burials and other important rituals and celebrations. Though sacrifices are very powerful, the modern religion does not support sacrifices especially human sacrifices as it is seen as a way of destroying the natural creation.

 

Karl Marx’s critique of religion

Karl Marx was considered to be a non-religious man though he did not believe in the modern religion which includes Christianity, Islamic, Hinduism and Judaism. He believed that man was a religion in himself. He argued that man has power over the surrounding and over what to do not necessarily by being governed by certain religions. He is so hated by people since of his stand against religion. He argues that religion is for the people who are not aware of whom they are especially the ones that have lost themselves. He suggests that it is man who makes the religion and not vice versa (Marx, & Raines, 2002). He suggests that abolition of religion will contribute to happiness of many people in the world. He continues to say that religion blinds and darkens the minds of innocent people who remain oppressed under the chains of religion. He says that many people don not fight for justice and their rights simply because of religion. He sees religion as one way of destroying people’s conscience, ability, opportunities and strength to fight for social justice. Marx clearly observed that in most developing countries poverty increases with increase in strong religion. In many countries where diseases, hunger, conflicts and fighting, poverty and high levels of corruption take place are guided by religion (McKown, 1975). Religion should not be an excuse of failing to develop thus Marx finds reasons to criticize it strongly. The oppressed people continue being oppressed by corrupt leaders since they are guided by their religions and can not fight back for their rights. Karl Marx is very irritated by this fact and thinks that religion contributes not only to sufferings but oppressions. Marx criticizes religions as he sees it as the path to oppression and suggests that religion is the man himself and not those oppressive guidelines and teachings.

Difference between Buddhism and Upanishads and Christianity

According to Vedas the existence of the whole universe is as a result of some supernatural being and powers while the Upanishads believe that the origin of the whole universe is Brahman. According to this religion Brahman is the origin and control of all the physical and spiritual things in the universe. The religion believes that after all the things are over, they can be manifest themselves in to other things which is contrary to Christianity and the other religions. Christianity dwells on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ while Buddhism dwells on the life and teachings of the Buddha (Ingram, & Streng, 1986). Christianity is an outcome of Judaism while Buddhism is an outcome of Hinduism. Christianity and Judaism believe in the holy trinity who includes God the father, son and Holy Spirit while Buddhists believe in Buddha and sufferings in the samsara (Kozak, 2011). Christians follow the teachings of Christ the messiah while Buddhists follow the teachings of Buddha. Christians believe in the holy gospel of spreading the gospel to all people so that they can receive salvation while Buddhists believe in attaining Nirvana which is a cycle involving death and rebirth. Christians worship in churches and cathedrals where they teach people on salvation through the clergy while Buddhist worship in temples monasteries where monks and nuns dwell as they spread the gospel of Buddha. Christians believe in life after death and they do not know the actual date of the coming of the messiah while Buddhists do not believe in such beliefs about the second coming of Jesus. Buddhists have nothing to believe in salvation. They only believe in Nirvana where they put their desires first while Christians believe that Jesus Christ brought salvation to the people by dying on the cross. Christians believe in resurrection and forgiveness of sins and salvation is achieved by faith in God.

Bhagavad Gita as one of the greatest synthesis in Hinduism

The Bhagavad Gita is very famous and is widely read and is captured among the three principles of Hinduism after Upanishads and Brahma sutras. It is set as a way to solve ethical problems whereby the teachings are in such a way that the business of the people is in the performance of what they do and not the actual actions they did. Its teaching is that God should not be questioned after someone loses anything in life instead everybody should perform his duty (Schmidt-Leukel, 2006). In most religious ceremonies, the Bhagavad Gita is commonly used strictly according to the Hindus teachings. The Gita which was published long after the Hindus teachings contains many theories and philosophies which contribute to its being the most read book. The Upanishads which are the treaties made gave rise to the Vedas. They form the basic principles of Hinduism and are also the goals and teachings of Vedas. The Gita forms the most fundamental part in the Mahabharata. It is a conversation between two gods on the battle field. The Gita holds the balm of the Upanishads just like the way the Vedas is contained by the Upanishad. The Gita is the most valued jewel according to the Hindu since it is a widespread gospel and teaches of the synthesis of the yoga. It is greatly ranked in the world’s writings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Fine, L. (2001). Judaism in practice: From the Middle Ages through the early modern period. Princeton, N.J: Princeton Univ. Press.

Ingram, P. O., & Streng, F. J. (1986). Buddhist-Christian dialogue: Mutual renewal and  transformation. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

Kozak, A. (2011). Buddhism and Christianity in dialogue: The Gerald Weisfeld  Lectures 2004. Norwich: SCM Press.

Kozak, A. (2011). The everything Buddhism book: A complete introduction to the history, traditions, and beliefs of Buddhism, past and present. Avon, Mass: Adams Media.

Marx, K., & Raines, J. (2002). Marx on religion. Philadelphia, Pa: Temple University Press.

McKown, D. B. (1975). The classical Marxist critiques of religion: Marx, Engels, Lenin, Kautsky. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.

Schmidt-Leukel, P. (2006). Buddhism, Christianity and the question of creation: Karmic or divine?. Aldershot: Ashgate.