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This idea may seem odd, or far-fetched to a degree, but with
further elaboration, I’m sure you will understand my point. The Judeo-Christian
Bible and all of the shared and unshared beliefs that stem from it, try to
define how one should live, what comes after life, and how we all got here
in the first place. In terms of intertextuality
and honing in on substantial spiritual answers, one must juxtapose the
Judeo-Christian traditions with those of the East Asians cultures. In Buddhism,
for example, it is a commonly held belief that Heaven and Hell do exist. This is a Christian belief. In
Buddhism, however, death on earth may lead to life in Hell. Death in Hell may
lead back to Earth, or up to heaven. This is all part of what Buddhists call
the karmic cycle. When one is in
Heaven or Hell, karma is paid off or settled. If you have good karma, you go to
heaven, die, and pay off bad karma in hell, return to the Earth realm to
generate more good or bad karma, or in some rare cases, lifted up to a Pure Land governed
by a bodhisattva. This “angel”, if you will, governs its own paradise that one
has prayed to be admitted to throughout their lifetime. In Christianity you lead a "good" life, and hope to be raptured, or lifted up to Heaven to reside with God and Jesus. Similar. Yet, Different.
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If one
truly looks at these concepts and compares them to Western theology, we can
find similarities and differences
that, in my mind, help clarify our own personal
beliefs. Christians believe that if you lead a “proper” or “good” life, as
dictated by the New Testament and Jesus Christ, you will be raptured into
heaven and live in paradise with God and Jesus. A “good” Christian goes to
church constantly, is religious in the household, and observes the Ten
Commandments and other general rules and practices of the religion. Well, in
Buddhism, you follow the eight-fold, which is surprisingly similar. Why is this
important? It is important because a Christian in Iowa and a Buddhist in Japan
are both trying to ensure that they will reside in Heaven. For a Christian,
they believe they will reside with God and Jesus. For a Buddhist it is a little
more complicated. They can reside in Heaven, or pray enough to a certain bodhisattva
and enter a specific Pure Land. One could say that Jesus is like a bodhisattva, for he is divine and resides in a Heaven, except that he resides in one general heaven with “God.”
The point I
am trying to illustrate here is that all sacred religious texts deal with
similar issues; sometimes in very similar ways. In other cases, most religions
differ greatly on issues. We cannot,
however, ignore the commonalties that do
exist within these religions.
Another eye
opening example can be found between Judaism and Buddhism. Observant Jews do
not do “work” on the Sabbath. They have “Shabbat Clocks” and other gadgets of
the sort that turn on lights, turn off fans, operate microwaves, open doors,
and so on, during the Sabbath time. For Buddhism, an average westerner would
say, “all they do is sit around meditating.” This of course, is false. In the
Buddhist monastic tradition meditation is critical, but so is action. Monks are
dedicated to prayer, routine, and action. So too are the observant Jews, yet
they have their own way of being observant.
Both place heavy value on routine or the “right” way of life (as do
Christians and Hindus) and both do it in a different way.
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Intertextuality is essential to understanding all world religions, and developing a personal
approach to spirituality. I believe that in this modern age, with all the tools
that we posses, it is almost disgraceful to ignore the traditions and beliefs
around us. We must study every facet of the human belief system, in order to better understand what brings each one of us a sense of security and faith.
