Buddhism

CE Assignment

A world religion is classified as a religious belief system which have their own specific traditions, beliefs, cultural practices and different perceptions on how they view the world. Everyone is entitled to have their own world view which can be shaped by your experiences and the people around you. There are many religions that are apart of todays society, however this response will focus on two of the most popular, Christianity (Salvation) and Buddhism (Karma)

Buddhism is one of the many world religions that exist in todays society. Buddhism officially began in India over 2500 years ago. There are more than 360 million followers of Buddhism world wide. This religion is based on Prince Siddhartha Gautama who lived in the 500 BCE era. This prince was protected as a child from all of the sufferings of the world. One of the most important aspects of the Buddhism Religion is the goal of escaping the ending of suffering and the cycle of rebirth.

Buddhism had a very strong moral dimension. It advocates acting in ways that benefit others while at same time advising actions that lead to peoples sufferings. This leads to the concept of Karma. The law of Karma is a fundamental principle of the Buddhist religion. Karma refers to the sphere of conscious actions, which counterpart to the physical law of action and reaction, meaning that every intentional action will have effect. For example, if a person does something good and appraisable they will be rewarded with good outcomes happening to them in return and if evil actions are conducted consequences will occur.  The Buddha says: "I declare, O Bhikkhus, that volition is Karma. Having willed one acts by body, speech, and thought." (Anguttara Nikaya) Karma is a complex idea that many people today are still misinterpreting its true meaning. The teaching of Buddha links to the teaching of rebirth. The consequences of our actions can be very immediate but sometimes these can just take time. They can occur in current life of in future lives beyond this earth. Karma can influences the choices we make in our lives. Understanding short term benefits we might gain form doing something morally wrong, we will still have to pay the consequences of those shameful actions.

Christianity is officially the world most largest religion with over 2.4 billion adherents, known today as Christians. Christians beliefs are based in the teaching of Jesus who is the son of god who sacrificed his life for everyone else. The Christian religion has a concept called salvation. According to the Christian belief, salvation means eternal life after death is the saving of the soul from sin and its consequences. “The salvation of a soul spares that soul the wrath of God’s judgement and an afterlife of eternal damnation.(Opposing views, 2016) “It may also be called "deliverance" or "redemption" from sin and its effects” (Christians Salvation, 2009) Salvation is caused by grace or deity by free will and personal efforts through pray. Biblical salvation refers to the deliverance from all of the consequences of sin and therefore involves the removal of sin. Jesus death and surprising resurrection on the cross achieved salvation. Salvation is the underserved gift of god. We receive salvation because we have been saved by faith.

After reading and analysing both Karma and Christian salvation, I have identified that they are two very different concepts. Firstly, one of the main differences between them is that Karama is all about your own dividual actions which have an effect, which can then lead to consequential outcomes. However, salvation in Christianity is simply that act of saving someone sin or evil, which means somebody else creating action for your salvation. Secondly whilst salvation is involved in the removal of sin, salvation is generally a good concept as it is basically removes all consequences of sin. However, if a wrong action is conducted, the law of Karma states that bad/evil actions will result in negative consequences.  In salvation God and Jesus rescued us form a deserving fate however in Karma you own actions are your own doing and only you can be responsible for your own actions. Additionally, the concept of Salvation involves God forgiving and wiping our sins freeing us form a horrible fate. “God will never hold them against us”(Psalm 103:12). Salvations and forgiveness are closely related. There is no salvation without our forgiveness. In karma we are not forgiven by our actions instead the people must pay and suffer from their own consequences.

Karma and Salvation are 2 religious concepts that have been researched to effectively compare Buddhist idea or Karma and the Christian version of salvation. Evident Research proves that these two concepts are totally different. Both practices are very unique and play a specific role in each of the respected religions.

Reference List

CE World Religions Booklet

Bibliography

(n.d.). Retrieved May 14, 2016, from What does the bible say about Salvation : http://www.christianbiblereference.org/faq_salvation.htm

Foster, J. (2016). What is salvation . Retrieved May 15, 2016, from Life Hope and truth : https://lifehopeandtruth.com/change/salvation/what-is-salvation/