FREE ESSAY ON THE NATURE OF RELIGION

THE NATURE OF RELIGION

STUDIES OF RELIGION
THE NATURE OF RELIGION
REPORT 
Introduction
Islam and Buddhism are two distinct religious traditions that provide their own
meaningful responses to the fundamental questions about life. Their views on issues
relating to the possibility of a Supreme Being, the purpose of life and their
understanding of the cycle of life and death are all quite distinct from each other, but
at the same time, having minor similarities. These can be seen in the following
comparative study between the teachings of these two world religions. 
Is there a Supreme Being? What is the nature of the divine?
All Muslims profess the existence of the One and Only God, God Almighty who is also
referred to as 'Allah'. They firmly believe that Allah is the most high and honored, the
creator and the sustainer of all that exists and he has no physical connections between
any thing he has created whether it be the creatures or human beings on this earth. He
has no beginning and no end. Allah has no physical dimensions like hunger, sleep or rest
for he is the one who gives such attributes to his creatures. Buddhism on the other hand,
recognises no creator god who initially brought the universe into existence and continues
to control it in the way that Allah controls everything that is or happens in the
universe from the smallest to the greatest events. The founder of Buddhism, who is known
as Buddha, did not want to be worshipped as a god. He taught that people would be happier
if they took responsibility for their own thoughts and actions. His teachings were simply
a guide for living. Muslims can some what relate to this in the way they are taught to be
responsible for their own actions and sins. The two religions are also similar in the way
they both believe in the concept of god/s existing in the afterlife. Muslims firmly
believe in the existence of Allah in heaven while Buddhists consider the possibility of
gods existing in the heavens that their karma has created. 
What is the purpose of life? 
Islam teaches that God created human beings and endowed them with immortal souls. Each
individual possesses the quality of uniqueness and the duty of each person is to work out
his or her own destiny and each is responsible for his or her own action. Buddhists would
say that rather than being created by a Supreme Being, humans actually got themselves
born due to karma made in past lives. This was made with a particular father and mother
with whom we have karmic connections. Islam also teaches that the task of a human being
is to make a sincere effort and strive to do his/her best. Islam discourages its
followers to sit in resignation. However, whatever results from effort is to come from
God's decision and should be accepted with patience. At the same time, giving thanks and
praise to God is also part of the central purpose in life. In contrast to Buddhism
teachings, Buddha did not want to be worshipped as a god, but instead, taught people that
the central idea of life was to reach as sense of incomprehensible peace in their minds.
In Islam, life is essentially preparation for the Day of Judgement when Allah will call
all people to hear an account of how they have lived. This will determine their destiny
after life. On the other hand, Buddhists believe that humans are on this earth because of
the evil things that they have committed in past lives and the main purpose of life is to
reach the state of enlightenment. To escape the cycle of rebirth is to enter the supreme
reality of Nirvana where there is freedom and bliss. To attain nirvana is simply to be
out of existence. The way in which Buddhists are taught to go about this is to devote
their life to compassion, charity, and non-violence and to clear their mind of all
content and learn to drift away from the consciousness of this world. 
How do we understand the cycle of life and death? Is there life after death?
In Islam, life on earth is considered to be a minute part of the totality of existence.
The life in the hereafter is of eternal duration. Every individual is accountable for his
performance in the worldly life and is answerable in front of God on the Day of
Judgement. On this day, God will raise every one from the dead and he will allow those
who have lived a good life to enter the paradise of heaven and those who have done evil
will be punished by suffering in the torment of hell. People will be judged not only on
their deeds but also on their faith. Believers may have their sins forgiven or undergo a
period of punishment and will go to heaven, but disbeliveers will go to hell. They had
their chance to turn to Allah and now it is too late. Only when they have complete
submission to God may they be salvaged. In contrast to Buddhist teachings', our future
lives may or may not be in a human form but while we are on this earth we may continue to
be reborn due to the evil things that we have committed in our past lives. Buddhists
consider rebirth as another chance to work toward realisation, while Allah considers life
to be the only chance of proving your worthiness to God so that you may enter Heaven. The
ways in which both religions encourage people to go about reaching Supreme Reality
(whether it be reaching Heaven or Nirvana), are also different to each other. In
Buddhism, the only way to escape the cycle of rebirth is by following the Noble
Eight-fold Path, a strict ethical system and by committing ourselves to meditation so
that we are no longer conscious of this world. As stated before, Muslims are worthy of
entering Heaven if they have completely submitted to God and if they have performed good
deeds, while Buddhists mainly focus on the importance of attaining peace in one's mind so
they can reach Nirvana. 
An average Muslim believes that God gives life and death and that death may come at any
time, thus, every one should try to send on ahead for good deeds that will earn the
pleasure of God. With this perception, a Muslim has to live a virtuous life all the time.
Buddhists also believe in living a virtuous life all the time, but rather than it being
for the purpose of pleasing a god, it is mainly for reaching enlightenment. 
Conclusion
In summary, the two world religions share both similar and distinguishing beliefs on
their various teachings of life and the existence of Supreme Beings. Their major
differences are mainly that Buddhism ignores the issue of a Supreme Being, while Muslims
consider Allah as the One and Only God who created this earth. Buddhism also teaches that
humans can be reincarnated when they die, while in Muslims believe that after death,
there is a life of eternal duration. Although their main similarities are minor, the two
religions can relate to the existence of a supreme reality after life on earth, with
Buddhists believing in Nirvana and Muslims believing in Heaven. The religions also
believe in committing good deeds in order to enter these supreme realities.