The Death And Parinirvana Of The Buddha, By John Strong

Throughout the semester we have learned how different challenges have arisen for different religions. However, we have also learned that a great number of challenges are solved through the organization of religious communities. In Buddhism, it is known as the sangha, in Christianity the ekklesia, and in Islam the ummah. The focus of this essay will be to identify who/what creates these religious communities, who are the leaders, and then the practices found at the center of these communities. First, looking at Buddhism and their community, sangha, we can find our answers in, “The Death and Parinirvana of The Buddha” by John Strong. This reading focuses on the final teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha before he reached his final nirvana, which is

He, unlike the Buddha, only had a relatively small amount of time with the Jews before he was taken away and executed. However, despite this sudden death it is still possible to answer the questions beginning with what/who constitutes the community. To begin the community in Christianity is center around the church and in the church, we have the followers and the priests who will study the teachings of Jesus and his Apostles. Christianity then decides that it will help the creation of other communities through a book known as the Didache. The Didache’s translation is “The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles” and it was basically a guide to set up a new Christian community (Ehrman 2003). It provides several answers including how Romans and Jews should treat their past food laws and also gives insight into who leads the community (Ehrman 2003). In the Didache, it explains that the leaders of the church are the high priest, which consist of the apostles and prophets, while also warning that false prophets may come and gives ways to identify them. For example, “When an apostle leaves he should take nothing except bread, until he arrives at his night’s lodging. If he asks for money, he is a false prophet” (Ehrman 2003). From there the Didache explains that bishops and deacons were the next in line for leadership and that they would, “conduct the ministry of the prophets and teachers among you” (Ehrman 2003).

It originally was his house in Medina that was used as the center for the Muslim community, which later became the mosques (Yalman 2001). The mosques became the center of Muslim communities and were a place for followers of Muhammad’s teachings to meet and worship, however, the leaders of this community and the overall Islamic religion varies. For the Sunni, they believe that the leader should be elected to power, but the Shia believed that the only proper leader would be a descendant of Muhammad (HNN Staff 2005). This has caused a great split in the religion which has continued to modern times. However, there is some leadership structure in that we see imams lead their mosques in prayer. As for what practices enable community members to continue to have interaction and access to what is sacred this would be the adhan or the call to prayer. The adhan is typically performed from a minaret and is connected to the second pillar of Islam, Salat, meaning prayer, which occurs five times a day (Key Term Sheet). When followers enter the mosque, they will all pray in the same direction as the mihrab. The mihrab points in the direction of Kaaba in Mecca, which is the center of the most sacred mosque in Islam (Encyclopedia). This unity in direction and focusing on Kaaba allows all the followers of Islam to focus on their