Understanding Hinduism and Buddhism Essay

Tags: buddha life cycle personal characteristics suffering

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Total Length: 1750 words ( 6 double-spaced pages)

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Maya



In the reading, Maya has been given different meanings by the Upanishads. From my understanding, the world contains both magic and matter. Therefore, the world is real because it takes many different forms and accommodates diversity. Therefore, God is our creator who directs us to the concept of Maya when dealing with nature. For the Shvetasvatara this implies that God is the one who rules over Maya and this includes human beings and all other things found on earth. The world can be looked at as something stable and permanent, but some disparity can be drawn from the aspect that makes movements. This move has enabled it to shift and change all the time and is similar to the world of one’s thoughts and dreams where changes also take place. Time is also seen by people to be something that is real and the distinct divisions in this element of time are the past, present, and future occurrences. However, the real variable given to the element of time is that it is relative.



The brief introduction of the word Maya brings us to look at the reality that has been displayed by the Upanishads. When we look at any given machine, what comes to mind first is the different elements brought together to make the object mobile. A machine is considered to have individual parts that make a realistic comprise and has a purpose. This is similar to our realization of things in the world. From the concept, we look at the world and recognize that it also has different forms that enable it to shift with amazement of varying degrees. Reality then hits individuals to contemplate of death being the end of everything that has matter and is magical. Nonetheless, this view is not shared with the Upanishads who view individuals as being manifestations that come from the realm of Divinity. Therefore, for them, an individual does not become extinct ones their soul dies, but instead, they continue to live on but in a different form altogether. Looking at Hinduism, the process of reincarnation occurs when they believe in death as an introduction to a new reality where people are reborn enabling them to take a new life force.

ANATTA



Buddha does not agree to anything having a permanent identity, and this takes us to having a reality check where each person and thing in the world does change because it has different parts that change continuously due to different factors. Buddha defines this as “no permanent identity.” When referring to people, it can be defined as having “no identity soul or self.” All this, ‘no identity’ proverb to the Pali is what is called Anatta while for the Sanskrit it is called anatman or “no Atman.

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” For Buddha and Hindu, timeless is a notion that they do not agree on as the Hindu views it as something that has an unchanging reality. For instance, when we consider a non-living thing, say a car, many things have been assembled to make the product. The things comprising the car undergo wear and tear; they will need to be repaired at some point. Although we define human beings based on their gender as males or females, we must appreciate that each of them unique regarding ideas, body parts, and even organs. All the things that make up an individual or human being continue to change as they grow. However, such beliefs contradict what Buddha followers hold because they take a strange angle when viewing reality. However, it is rational because when the car faces mechanical issues, or even a friend fails to be a friend in need at some point, the Buddhist view comes into play.



Reality is also known to undergo suffering where people become dissatisfied with how things are going or playing out and for Pali they refer to it as dukkha while Sanskrit say Duhkha. This looks at life as one element that will never bring satisfaction to any living being or creature because of the changes that occur in the world every day. Although we try putting things in order, life will bring us back to reality by re-introducing dis-order, and this gives people a wakeup call that life is never satisfying. For example, rich people are never satisfied with the amount of wealth they have amerced over the years and will continue to hunger for more. Even when one is happy with his or her achievements, worries set in when they are remembering a family member, friend or relative who may be struggling to make ends meet in life. Life brings such issues to people because of its changing nature including misery such as floods, the death of a loved one and sickness among others. The suffering in question for Pali (dukkha) does comprise the whole range of suffering and frustrations in life. A new car is pleasant for a short while because time brings to reality that things required for the car to move appropriately and help in running our daily activities smoothly. In conclusion, Buddha asserts that when it comes to living,….....

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Works Cited

Shipton, Warren, Coetzee Elainie and Takeuchi Rajdeep. Worldviews and Christian Education: Appreciating the Cultural Outlook of Asia-Pacific People. Partridge Publishing, 2014.

Titmuss, Christopher. The Explicit Buddha: The Depths of the Teachings for Awakening. Lulu.com, 2017.

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