RELIGION 101 PART TWO

Most of us do not think of foreign religions at all. But to cover them is important. First we will give some definitions that will help in your understanding.

Nirvana:
Buddhism- the ineffable ultimate in which one has attained disinterested wisdom and compassion.
Hinduism-emancipation from ignorance and the extinction of all attachment
An ideal condition of rest and harmony, stability, or joy.

Bodhi:
An awakening or enlightenment meaning achieving clarity of perfection, reason and knowledge.
Complete and perfect sanity, or awareness of the true nature of the universe.
After attainment, it is believed one is freed from the cycle of Samara: birth, suffering, death and rebirth.

Dharma:
The underlying order in nature and human life and behavior considered to be in accord with that order
Right way of living
Proper conduct
“The Way of Higher Truths”


Now that we have a little understanding of these meanings lets look at some of the greatest foreign religions in the world.

We have probably all heard the remark “If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed will go to the mountain.” Mohammed claims that the angel Gabriel gave him the truth. Mohammed decided that he would show the power given to him by God by moving a mountain. Was a mountain moved, no? There is no proof. If so it could be proven.

Islamism originated from these teaching of Mohammad who was a 7th century Arab. He was a religious and political figure. The word Islam means submission, total surrender of one’s self to God [Allah] and a Muslin is one who submits to God [Allah].

Muslins believe the God revealed the Quran to Mohammad and that he is the final prophet.

Muslims do not regard Muhammad as the founder of a new religion but as the restorer of the original monotheistic faith of Adam, Ibrahim and other prophets whose messages had become corrupted over time (or according to some authorities only misinterpreted). Like Judaism, Christianity, and the Bahá'í Faith, Islam is an Abrahamic religion.

Again and again we find religions that cannot be proved. Most leaders of different religions do not try to prove themselves or validate their teachings. Their claims are based on the visions or experiences of their founders.

Buddhism founder Siddhartha Gautuma based his authority on having achieved NIRVANA and BODHI. Nanak, the founder of Sikhism says he had a mystical experience in which he visited Heaven and spoke with a god named Sat Nam. Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism, and Confucius, the father of Confucianism, simply claim to know the truth based on their own acquired wisdom.

In Buddhism, any person who has awakened from the "sleep of ignorance" (by directly realizing the true nature of reality), without instruction, is called a buddha. If a person achieves this with the teachings of a buddha, he is called an arahant. Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, is thus only one among other buddhas before or after him. His teachings are oriented toward the attainment of this kind of awakening, also called enlightenment, Bodhi, liberation, or Nirvana.

Buddhism is a dharmic, non-theistic religion, which is also a philosophy and a system of psychology. Buddhism is also known as Buddha Dharma or Dhamma, which means the "teachings of the Awakened One" in Sanskrit and Pali, the languages of ancient Buddhist texts. Buddhism was founded around the fifth century BC by Siddhartha Gautama, hereafter referred to as "the Buddha."

Many groups claim angels, space aliens, inner selves, and ascended masters and so forth, have given them the truth, that it has been revealed to them.

Hinduism and Shinto founders are unknown, leaving these religions to stand entirely on the merits of their teachings.

Hinduism originates from the ancient Vedic tradition and other indigenous beliefs, incorporated over time. Prominent themes in Hinduism include Dharma (ethics and duties), Samsāra (The continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth), Karma (action and subsequent reaction), and Moksha (liberation from the cycle of samsara).

Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism share traits with Hinduism, because these religions originated in India and focus on self-improvement with the general aim of attaining personal (first hand), spiritual experiences. They along with Hinduism are collectively known as Dharmic religions.

We have nothing therefore on which to base our decision about the truth of any of these except what the founder of the religion has said and whether the teachings seem to work in the our own life’s.

Whether we reject one religion or accept another is simply a matter of blind faith. Now we have looked at some of the foreign religions, now to go to some that we do not consider to be foreign.

God Bless
rECj/LJG