23 Aug 2022

110

Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism: A Comparison

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Ultimate Reality 

The ultimate reality may be defined as the absolute nature of the things in the environment. The various religions seek to identify significant definitions for this concept as a measure of relating it to their deity beliefs. According to Hinduism, Brahman is recognized as the ultimate reality within the universe such that it serves as the final cause of all things that exist (Kaviraj, 2014). Through the Brahman, all diverse things that exist in the world are bound together. Judaism since its origin almost 4,000 years ago recognizes the existence of a Supreme Being, God. This supreme being is the source of the ultimate reality though there are tensions of establishing and bridging a connection between God and humanity. The Genesis accounts of creation provide two descriptions of God. The first is one who is omnipotent, transcends the universe, and harmoniously created the world in six days (Edwards, 2014). On the other hand, one who is immanent in nature and constantly threatened by the evil forces of nature that are quasi-divine. In Buddhism, dharma or dhamma helps identify reality to its believers that is usually the natural order of things. In this case, it is not necessary for an individual to think of god as it requires just identifying the natural laws (Lomas, Cartwright, Edginton, & Ridge, 2014). This practice may make the people their own supreme authority. 

Human Beings Relation God 

Each of the three religions dictates a particular relationship between the human beings and this reality. In Judaism, believers of the religion identify God as the ultimate reality. The Supreme Being bears the image of an indivisible and incomparable being. Therefore, God maintains a personal relation with the believers and is reflected as the ideal that the people should seek to emulate (Edwards, 2014). For the Buddhist, there is no evidence of a personal relation to a divine being or God. In this case, there is no form of worship or praise for the divine god. The believers of this religion practice an ethical way of living to help realize the ultimate state of reality (Lomas, Cartwright, Edginton, & Ridge, 2014). This belief completely contradicts its origin from Hinduism and serves as a similar option to atheism. The former identifies an absolute God who does not have a beginning or an end, beyond comprehension of the mind and the senses, existent in all beings and they exist in him too. Though Hindus worship different gods and goddesses, they do not serve as different entities but are different forms of the absolute Brahman (Kaviraj, 2014). In this way, worship can be conducted in numerous ways and makes it possible to establish a relationship with God in his different manifestations. 

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Concept of Faith 

In its general text, faith is trust or show of confidence in a particular religion. However, it may serve as a synonymous concept to the term belief. In Judaism, though the term is not a religious concept it is used once in the 24 books of its religious scripture. The term Emunah used in this religion translates to mean faith such that it emphasizes two aspects of an individual belief and understanding (Edwards, 2014). In this scripture, the innate conviction brings about a perception of truth that goes pervades reason. In Buddism, faith is important in the teachings of Gautama Buddha as it translates from the term saddhā. In actual sense, it brings the meaning that one has a conviction that something is, determination to achieve goals, and a sense of joy drawn from the previous two factors (Lomas, Cartwright, Edginton, & Ridge, 2014). In this way, it may loosely translate to the concept of belief particularly in the first two definitions. In Hinduism, faith is a common aspect depicting the belief in the various teachings of the religion (Kaviraj, 2014). The spiritual connection between the absolute one and the people is evident from the smallest shrines to the large temples. In all the above, it is evident that faith is synonymous for belief in the practice and adherence to the religious teachings. 

Ultimate Reality, Supreme Being or self-help 

In Hinduism, ultimate reality identifies that Brahman is the final cause and connection to all things that exist. Therefore, seeking the absolute one in the numerous manifestations can help in understanding the problems of the world and ways to help fix them (Kaviraj, 2014). The individual is taught to make a connection with Brahman to lead a better life on earth. In the concept of the Supreme Being as is the case of Judaism, the wrong things of the world are depicted as the quasi-divine evil forces (Edwards, 2014). There is little that one can do to fix the problems affecting the world. All that one can do is call on God to help make changes. He can alleviate pain and suffering hence the role of the individual is to have faith. In Buddhism, the self-help aspect of reality identifies the individual effort in making a better world. The religion does not incorporate a Supreme Being but believes in the concept of ethical living (Lomas, Cartwright, Edginton, & Ridge, 2014). In this way, an individual is taught to take up a moral way of life to reduce instances of problems in the world. 

References 

Edwards, R. B. (2014). Judaism, Process Theology, and Formal Axiology: A Preliminary Study. Process Studies , 43(2), 87-103. 

Kaviraj, S. (2014). Religion, politics and modernity. Occasional Paper , (11), 163-184. 

Lomas, T., Cartwright, T., Edginton, T., & Ridge, D. (2014). A religion of wellbeing? The appeal of Buddhism to men in London, United Kingdom. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality , 6(3), 198. 

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StudyBounty. (2023, September 14). Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism: A Comparison.
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