1. Introduction
Religion has commonly been conceptualised as a sacred entity that is the binary of the secular world (Matthews, 2012). Hence there have been debates over whether human emotions such as romantic love can be compatible with religion as these traits may be deemed as human hubris in religion. Romantic love is an eclectic concept that can take on different meanings in different contexts; hence the romantic love that I will discuss in this essay will be based on the concepts of Romanticism and Love. Romanticism is the response to the Enlightenment which exalted “the mind and reason as the sole source of knowledge and experience”; conversely, Romanticism emphasised the “emotional experience of life” and the individual’s experiences
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Similarities and Differences between Judaism and Buddhism
There are various similarities and difference between the romantic love in Judaism and Buddhism. In both religions, the romantic love included spectacular acts carried out by the divine in order to save people were seen such as God splitting the Red Sea and Buddha causing an earthquake to scare off Mara. Both religions also emphasized soteriology where there was a focus on liberating people from suffering.
The fact that the romantic love in both religions was not senseless and indulgent illuminated the goodness of the love. The love that God had for the Jews were based on their honouring of the Covenant, if they did not live by the Ten Commandments then they would be deemed as sinners. The Buddha also did not try to “save every living being” but he only aided those who were “spiritually matured” and accepting towards his teachings (Dhammananda, 1987). Hence it is evident that the romantic love in Judaism and Buddhism is exclusive and can only be felt by those who are
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The Buddha was present physically while expressing his romantic love as he only imparted to His followers what he personally felt and learned; He died eventually and his passing demonstrated the very nature of life (Faure, 2009). On the other hand, God was transcendent and He spoke to His people through Prophets such as Abraham and Moses; Angels also carried out His instructions, for example Gabriel halting the execution of Isaac and the Angel of Death killing all the first born sons of Egyptians while sparing the Hebrew families (Matthews,