Rachel: Buddhist
Junee: Hindu
Vasundhara: Confucianist
Irissa: Taoist
Who is God?
What is the meaning of life?
What is the purpose of mankind?
What happens after life?
Junee: Hi guys! I’m interested in learning about each of your religions and your various beliefs. Let’s start by talking about God. Who is God to you?
Irissa: Hi Junee, I believe in Taoism. My religion is a bit different than all of yours, mine’s more on a concept, or “philosophy” rather than an actual religion. We don’t believe in any particular God, we believe in the “Tao”, which is basically just the flow of life. We believe the Tao will lead us, to great things. Tao is just the ultimate reality. Basically a presence that was here before the Earth was even created. Into the olden days of my religion, we did have many Gods. Although the Gods were taken from other religions, not any from our own that we believe in.
Rachel: Well, in my religion of Buddhism, the Buddha stopped praying to the gods about ending the suffering of others, and oneself. The Buddha filled his world with many gods, the most important god was Brahma, the creator god. Buddhism does not believe in having a personal god or a divine being, it does not have worship, praying to, or praising of a divine being. It does not offer a form of redemption, forgiveness, no heavenly hope, or a final judgment to those practicing its system. It is not considered to be atheism because I do not believe in a personal god, it is pantheism, there is an impersonal force the void which is the ultimate.
Vasundhara: In my religion that is Confucianism, there is no God. The founder of this religion was a Chinese philosopher called Kung Fu Tzu, also known as Confucius, and he believed in the Great Ultimate (Tao). But he never implemented that into his concept of Confucianism. He made this religion humanistic that focused on building virtue and maintenance of ethics, primarily Jen which is respect for all individuals; Chun-tzu which is converting Jen into habitual action; li which is correctly living the 5 relationships that include ruler/subject, father/son, elder/younger, husband/wife and friend/friend; and Te which is to provide service and Wen which is to focus on the beautiful things of life.
Junee: For me, as a Hindu, the concept of God is one that is very complex. It really depends on the individual and their beliefs because Hinduism is a religion that encompasses many ideas and philosophies. However the complex concept of God can be boiled down to a Total Being that embodies enlightenment. Some noteworthy gods would be Vishnu the Preserver, Brahma the Creator, and Shiva the Destroyer. I also believe that at my innermost soul there is a hidden greatness called the Atman. The Atman is my connection to the Total Being.
Irissa: That’s really interesting! We all have different views on God. I can understand all the reasons why you guys believe in these Gods. I’m just curious, Junee, you believe in all of those things, and seem to be a strong believer in your concept of God, what do you believe to be the meaning of life then?
Junee: The meaning of life for me as Hindu would be to peel away at the layers of selfishness, ignorance, and worldly things in order to become one with my Atman. By doing this I would be able to reach Utter Reality which is the end of all suffering. Hinduism also teaches me to promote peace, forgive others, have compassion, and identify with the meek.
Rachel: In Buddhism, the primary purpose of life is to end suffering. The Buddha taught that the humans suffer because we continually strive to receive, or gain things that do not give up lasting happiness. The point that the Buddha was trying to make was not that there are not things in life that give joy, but he pointed out that none of them last and our attachments only cause more suffering. This is done by the recognition that things are impermanent and by freeing oneself from the attachments that lesson suffering and then later on end the cycle of rebirth. These teachings are expressed most concisely in the Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path, which together form the foundation of belief for all branches of Buddhism.
Irissa: For a Taoist, the meaning of life is to just live in accordance with the Tao. Live your life thinking about the positive flows of the Tao. Live in harmony with the natural ways of life, just going with the “flow”, which is the Tao. Our main purpose is to reach immortality. And this has many different meanings to that, and obviously reaching this is extremely challenging. We believe healthy diet, no sexual contact, and just behaving in a moral way. Interesting right?
Vasundhara: The meaning of life to me is to pay respect to all the individuals in the entire world and provide them with service such as helping them whenever they are in need, helping in organising charity and other services like that and be benevolent Also, to concentrate on things like music, poetry and art. Basically it is just to follow the five principles as mentioned earlier.
Junee: Despite the apparent differences, it’s stunning to see how similar our beliefs are. Although the specifics may vary, I’m sure that we can all see real value in the meaning and purpose of each other’s religions. So Vasundhara, what happens after life for a Confucianist?
Vasundhara: There is no particular answer to that question. Due to the emphasis laid on the the services done in ones lifetime, my religion never or Confucius never came up with an answer to that question. In my religion, afterlife is not given that much importance. So it is kind of difficult for me to answer that question. We Confucians focus on what we can do for the mankind rather than think about what happens after life.
Rachel: The Buddha described reincarnation, or taking on of a new body in the next life in a different way than the traditional Indian understanding. Salvation in early Buddhism was nirvana, the extinguishing of the karma that constitutes the self. Nirvana is not a place or state, but the end of rebirth. Buddha said very little about Nirvana, he had felt that the practice of ending suffering was far more important, and focusing on ultimate salvation would only lead to having more attachments, which would then cause more suffering.
Junee: In Hinduism we believe in reincarnation. When we die our souls are weighed and based upon that we are reincarnated into a different being. Once we become one with our Atman and reach Utter Reality, we are free from the cycle of reincarnation and reach Nirvana.
Irissa: Oh wow our religions are so different, it’s actually very fascinating. Well for Taoist people like myself, we don’t fear death. This doesn’t mean we desire or long for it in any way, but we just believe in living life to the fullest, with the Tao. We believe when we live, we live with the Tao. When we die, we still live with the Tao. Nothing changes. Honestly we really don’t concern too much about this, many chose to even not believe in an afterlife. They simply believe that the physical form may have died, but the spirit lives on, having reached the Tao with the Gods, which means they have reached immorality.
Junee: It’s been great talking to you guys about our various beliefs. This discussion has been both enlightening and enjoyable! Thank you!
No comments:
Post a Comment