Comparison Of Buddhism And Luke's Gospel

(A)According to the Holy Catholic Church, when one dies, if one has lived a holy life, than one is freed from the shackles of sin and able to enjoy salvation in God’s presence for eternity (Church 1987-1995). According to Buddhism, if one has obtained enlightenment, then upon death one is freed from Samsara, the cycle of reincarnation (Eknath pg 199-203). Though these two cosmological principles may seem terribly divergent, there is much more in common between the two traditions than would generally be assumed. The essential assumption which all Buddhism is based around is that all suffering is, at its core, derived from desire and as such, a perfect state beyond death would have one freed from it. In Luke’s Gospel, when questioned upon a woman’s marital status after death, Our Lord responded, “…they that shall be accounted worthy of that world, and of the resurrection from the dead, shall neither be married, nor take wives. Neither can they die any more: for they are equal to the angels, and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” (New

Dharma and moksha, with Kāma, physical pleasure and Artha, wealth and success, are the four goals of life for Hindus, the Puruṣārtha (Jaini). The Eightfold Path is the set of eight virtues or practices one must keep in order to achieve enlightenment and reach nirvana. The Path governs how one ought to behave, how they understand the world as it works and how they ought to interact with their fellow living beings. The most obvious difference between the two paths to freedom is that Hinduism includes provisions for sensual pleasure and material gain, which Buddhism identify, along with all other earthly aspirations are more causes for suffering. However, the two echo one another in sentiment and morality more often than they do