BYMICHAEL CALVO

True Being

Foundation of Buddhism

Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha, the man who woke up.

Borne as a prince and future king, he would be confronted with sights of disease and death that would lead him to question the possibility of fulfillment on the physical realm.

In principal, Buddhism is about renouncing the world entirely and thus entering into true being.

True Being

The Third Noble Truth states: if the cause of Dukkha is selfish craving (Tanha) then in order to stop suffering, we must overcome Tanha. By achieving this through the Eightfold Path, we will attain nirvana.

Through the Eightfold Path, we learn to take control of the switches that define our destiny through understanding. According to the Dhammapada, “All we are is the product of what we have thought.” and “to understand something is to be delivered of it.”

Because of this, Buddhism sees ignorance, not sin, to be life’s greatest adversary.

Overcoming Ignorance

The Eightfold path is a method maintain a steady attention to our actions, emotions, and moods. By witnessing our emotions non-reactively, we are able to understand their origins and thus remain in control of them.

The third step in the path, Right Speech, does not imply resolving to speak only truth. This step asks us to simply notice how often we lie or slander and then to ask ourselves what are we trying to protect.

This continual self-examination along the path leads us to total control of our emotions and moods. The final step, or Right Absorption, follows the technique of raja yogi and leads to the same goal- a total unfettered control of one’s mind. This control of body, mind, and mood teaches us that our thoughts and emotions are finite, freeing us from an unconscious, mechanical existence.

The Soul

The denial of the existence of a soul by the Buddha does not reflect the dualistic mentality of Hinduism, though much else of the religion was adopted.

The Buddha did not agree that there was a ghost encased in our bodies that outlasts the physical form.

Believing in reincarnation himself, the Buddha offered the concept of a wave. A wave is at no time a separate object, it consists of the water in which the wave moves through. We too move through many forms, but they each no not inherit an unseen ghost that outlasts the body.

Foundation of Islam

Like most religions, Islam was spawned from one person’s teachings. The angel Gabriel spoke Muhammad and told him that he would be the last prophet of God.

In a time of superstition and animist religions, Muhammad turned people away from the belief in many deities, and showed them the truth of Allah, The God.

The guiding principal of the faith is total submission to God’s will, and solid faith in the single God.

Teachings and Concepts

Submission to God is the first step to becoming a Muslim and the faith is centered around maintaining that practice. The Five Pillars of Islam are meant to guide Muslims along the straight path to God. In the same way the Eightfold Path encourages continuous self-examination, the Five Pillars of Islam encourages continual submission to God.

The most important part of Islam is the belief in the one God. Allah is the same god as in Christianity and Judaism, and Muhammad refers to those who follow these faiths as “People of the book.” Even though they do not practice the Five Pillars or follow a different prophet, their faith in Allah is enough to make them brothers.

The Five Pillars

The straight path is unbending and thus uncorrupt. Believing that Christianity and Judaism were incomplete versions of the truth, Islam was created to be a complete way of life. The Five Pillars help keep Muslims along the path as journey through life.

The first pillar is the recitation of the founding principal of the faith: “There is no god, but The God- and Muhammad is his prophet.” This, along with the second pillar (prayer five times a day), is meant to keep Muslims from putting themselves at the center of their world. These practices help humble their spirit and let them realize how important they are compared to the greater good, and to Allah.

The Five Pillars, Cont.

The third pillar is charity, and fasting during Ramadan is the fourth. Only the hungry and understand hunger, and by not eating or drinking till sunset, a Muslim becomes compassionate for those who truly do not have anything. This works hand in hand with giving charity to the unfortunate. It also makes a Muslim reflect and ask himself why he would put himself through such a physical sacrifice.

The final pillar is the pilgrimage to Mecca. The pilgrimage strips everyone of privilege, and promotes international understanding since people from around the world are gathered together to attain a closeness to God.

Side to Side

Buddhism teaches the practitioner to detach himself from worldly emotions and desires, shedding the ego in favor of a universal state of mind. By achieving this, the Buddhist is free from want and desire, and through meditation he is able to remove the veil of impulse and emotion on his mind- seeing everything as it truly is. In this state, the Buddhist achieves a full understanding of life, achieving a new perspective on the world that was not possible with the weight of Dukkha on the mind and in the heart.

Muslims strive to become selfless through their love of God and attain peace through his guidance. Through practice of the pillars, a Muslim is reminded of his humanity and becomes more compassionate to the unprivileged and the suffering of others. Islam teaches brotherhood of all people and helps spread tolerance of all people through a shared love for the one God.

Both religions have guidelines and a path that teaches the practitioner the correct mindset and practices that help them live a fuller, more meaningful life.

The Way and its Power

There is no conventional deity in Taoism, but there is a greater power that affects mortal life. It is an unseen force that flows through all life, often affecting it in physical ways. Taoists try to train themselves to ignore their own conscience mind so they can better feel and follow the flow of power. This can be likened to other religions where followers try to ignore their own wishes and impulses in favor of their god’s will.

Three approaches to Taoism

To try and help their bodies be more in tune with the flow of power through them, Taoists usually involved with philosophical, vitalizing, and religious Taoism.

Philosophical Taoism’s goal is to better align ourselves with the Tao. Through this school, Taoists learn to use their Tao most effectively, rather than expending it on useless ways such as friction and conflict.

To the Taoists, genuine creation comes from the unconscious mind. In order for the unconscious to come forward, the conscience mind must be put aside. Philosophical Taoism helps train the mind to do that.

Vitalizing Taoism

This school is aimed at increasing the flow of Tao through us. Working with philosophical and vitalizing Taoism increases the flow of power and teaches us to use it much more efficiently.

Through breathing exercises, the Taoists try to absorb ch’i from the atmosphere. They also experimented to see if more energy could be ingested.

Finally, they turned inward to explore the mind. The Taoists believed that ch’i pored into yogis when their minds were clear of self seeking. They employed many of the techniques of raja yoga to help still their minds.

Religious Taoism

Unlike the other two branches, this one has a full fledged church. Worldly problems like disease, dry seasons and ghosts had to be dealt with and the other two branches of Taoism did not address them. The church is meant to give power to the common man. The texts of the church are filled with rituals that have effects.

The church honors three patrons, one of them being Lao Tzu, the original writer of Tao to Ching.

Comparison

Like is other religions, there is a focus on the natural world. They also reject competition and follows a code of nonviolence.

As mentioned before, the Taoists try to put their own thoughts and self-seeking aside so they can be better in tune with the Tao. This can be likened to other religions in their practices to be closer to god. By practicing philosophical and vitalizing Taoism, the adept can better follow the flow of Tao.

The importance of abandoning self-seeking behavior is taught in this religion just as it is in Buddhism, though the goals are different.

Conclusions

Though Islam is the only one of these faiths with a traditional deity, the practices each religion and the fundamental teachings of each are relatively similar. Buddhists try to ignore their impulsive emotions and their desires, thus becoming selfless compassionate people. Through prayer and the other pillars of Islam, Muslims feel a closeness to God and develop a brotherhood for all those who worship Allah. They learn the suffering of others through fasting during Ramadan and make the pilgrimage to Mecca, abandoning symbols of status and becoming entirely equal with all the other pilgrims.

Almost Done

Taoists believe that a still mind is the highest a person can reach and practice the same mediation techniques as the Buddhists. Both faiths highly regard the ability to control our thoughts and become more in control of our mental states. By achieving this state (and practicing other vitalizing/philosophical Tao techniques) we are able to become more in tune with the flow of Tao in the natural world. Much like how Muslims view the will of God grater than their own, they work to try and understand his will and thus be guided by it. Taoists see the flow of Tao as a power greater than them and work to be better guided by the Tao and to conserve the Tao they have within them.