The Four Noble Truths:
1. Buddha says: Life is suffering.
Jesus says: You will hear of wars and rumours of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.
(Paul says: For the creation was subjected to futility...we know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves.)
2. Buddha says: The cause of suffering is craving and attachment.
Jesus says: Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
3. Buddha says: The end of suffering is getting rid of craving and grasping.
Jesus says: If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the good news, will save it.
4. Buddha says: The path towards overcoming suffering is the Eightfold Path.
(Right view, right aim, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration)
Jesus says: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the low and the prophets.
Jesus says: Don't be angry with a brother or sister...Don't look upon a woman with lust...Don't divorce without grounds...Let your word be 'Yes', 'Yes' or 'No', 'No'...Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
I have not tried to prove that Siddhartha and Jesus said the same thing, or that the religions that sprang up from them said the same thing. My aim has been to merely show that both individuals dealt with the same major issues of human existence. And their responses, though unique and different, share some eerie similarities.
Cheers,
Kev
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5 comments:
our friend Buddha is rather more succinct is he not?
I finally got back to commenting on people's sites...but yours is too long to read..and i'm lazy...haha..so =P
and NO! I DID NOT TURN ALL RED FROM THE CIDER....liar!
we should start dancing again sometime....oh, and switch into MY bio class...yep...
anyway, here's to wishing you a MERRY CHRISTMAS!~
God bless!
Sarah
when i was studying asian religion in relgious studies 204, i found that many asian religions are centered around the same ideas.
1. "Life is suffering."
most religion states the obvious, life sux sometimes. we all agree on that.
2. "The cause of suffering is craving and attachment."
3. "3. The end of suffering is getting rid of craving and grasping."
These too goes hand in hand. Daoism, Confuciousism, hinduism, Shinto, Shikh, Jainism; we all suffer due to some sort of attachment, which leads to perhaps hate, jealousy, etc, which results even in more suffering. (perhaps not all the forms of them now, but when they first started). some even say goes on to next life, right? (like karma, or hindu's reincarnating into a social class where they can't achieve enlightenment or samsara).
4. "Buddha says: The path towards overcoming suffering is the Eightfold Path.(Right view, right aim, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration)." Then how do we end it all? In other words, we always have to do some sort ritual, or some sort of way, or person, to rid ourselves of these things. (ie. yoga, mantras, self-afflictions, mangdalas, staying away from society, learning some form of "knowledge", perhaps some sort of divine TEXT, for buddishm "REALIZING life is suffering is also a path to enlightenment).
well, u perhaps study more relgiions than i hv.. (and u probably do it better too since u did the "methods of studying religion" class). but all of them seem to be tackling the same problems.
It always deals with a sense of power beyond humans,
- apprehened rationally as well as emotionally,
- appreciated corporately as well as indivudually,
- celebrated ritually and symbolically as well as discursively,
- transmitted as a tradition in conventionalized forms and formulations,
that offers people
- an interpretation of experience,
- a view of life and death,
- a guide to conduct, and
- an orientation to meaing and purpose in the world.
If u don't mind me asking, how do u know what u beleive in is true? Faith, Fact, Feeling? We can say that "Jesus is the only one, or GOD, dat reached down to us. He was the only one that ressurected." That, i've heard a billion times. What is ur take on it?
Is funny how very similar they are. And when you factor in stuff like the similarities with Enuma Elish with Genesis,the many many changes that has happened from the beginning of faith till now, the question really is, is what we believe really truly what we believe or is it a mixture of a whole lot of other things, like how cars steal designs from other brands making them all look similar.
Now that's just messing with our heads.
-Eug
Wing, Eug, your comments were wonderful - thank you!
I am drafting a response to your comments. I don't know when I will be ready to post it. But rest assured, I will continue this conversation.
-Kev
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