Buddhism Vs Judaism

Functionally, religions are bound together by their uncanny ability to answer unanswerable questions. Religions provide answers to the deepest questions at the core of humanity. What happens after death? Where do we come from? What constitutes right and wrong? Religions offer an answer when no clear answer is available, in this way; all religions serve a common purpose or function. Examining the answers to these fundamental questions provides level ground for religious comparisons. However, I feel obligated to note that I believe world religions, on a substantive level, vary too widely to deem any overarching comparison appropriate. Throughout this essay I will attempt to prove that there are benefits in comparing the functionality of different

Judaism is a monotheistic religion based heavily on laws and traditional practices. It has remained largely unchanged for thousands of years, just recently being influenced by secular culture, as seen evidently through the popularity of the Reform and Conservative movements (***podcast***). Furthermore, Jewish people can be heard reciting the same prayers in Hebrew, and celebrating the same holidays at the same times no matter where they are in the world. More than faith alone unites the Jewish people; they are united in law, language, and practice. The story of Judaism is linear, beginning with time itself, when one all-powerful God creates the heavens and earth. Alternatively, Buddhism is a vastly polytheistic religion, in which one has the individual prerogative to worship as few or as many Gods as they like. There is no religious obligation to follow a precise set of laws and practices. A North American Buddhist and an Indian Buddhist may practice Buddhism in very different ways. What unite Buddhist people are more general religious concepts from which they attempt to attain spiritual and religious enlightenment – a state of Nirvana. Despite these fundamental differences between Buddhism and Judaism, they both provide the faithful individual with different answers to the same questions. Recognizing this, the disarranged comparison between topical aspects of the two religions can be replaced by a meaningful and

Humans have been occupied by a fear of mortality since the beginning of self-consciousness. Religion often provides one with a way to overcome their fear of death. When faced with the question, “What happens after death?” a comparison of the answers provided by different religions can provide valuable insight into their fundamental philosophical outlook. Judaism and Buddhism go about answering this question quite differently. Both offer a notion of salvation, but to understand each doctrine respectively, one must first understand the religion’s conceptual perception of reality. In Judaism, time is linear, and so is the doctrine of salvation. The soteriological theory offered in Judaism is that one-day the Messiah will be recognized on earth, bringing with him an age of peace, spirituality, and unity under the one true God. In Judaism, salvation is obtainable by all people regardless of religion, as long as they live their lives according to the ethical standards represented in summation through the Ten Commandments. In the Olam-Ha-Ba or the Jewish messianic age, it is taught that the souls of righteous people will be re-joined with their bodies in the land of Israel at the time of resurrection. This provides faithful Jewish people with some peace of mind about their existence after death. The Promise of eternal salvation also acts as a motivating factor, reminding faithful Jewish people to passionately adhere to