Jainism And Buddhism : Concepts Of Karma, Samsara, And One Of Liberation

Jainism treats the issue of life and death in a very similar way. Followers believe that living a non-violent life and respecting the sacred life existing around people (according to the Jains, everything in the world, including the inanimate, has a soul) may release the human being from the vicious circle of re-incarnation. Jains also recognize the eternal nature of the human soul and believe it exists as enmeshed in the human’s or object’s body during a whole life. However, Jainism assumes that the soul parts from the body when it does to be re-incarnated into something (or somebody) else, which means Jains do not recognize the unity of soul and body. This is actually the principle of all three religions—they pose little value to the human life because all followers believe that the soul will still remain in the human world, but will only change its appearance once re-incarnated into some other being or object. (McKay et al., 2008)

The core belief of the two religions is ‘Karma’, which means ‘action’. Buddhism and Hinduism both originated in India, therefore, some of its core beliefs are similar, however, the way the two religions perceive their core beliefs are different. In Hinduism, Karma could be defined as a process of cause and effect. The actions of people have an effect on them somewhere in their life (Tambyah). According to this concept, the good deeds of a person will take him to a good future or vice versa. Karma has also a strong link with the moral actions and intentions of a person. In this regard, if a person does well with a wrong intention, he or she will definitely get wrong effects in the future due to their bad intentions. On the other hand, Karma in Buddhism is commonly known as a‘virtue’. Similar to

Karma is a belief that Buddhists, Hindus, and Christians believe in. Karma is simply “what goes around, comes around”. However, Buddhists and Hindus believe that karma occurs after reincarnation in the next life. Christians believe that karma can take place in the current life as well. Buddhism and Hinduism also believe in dharma, which are the ethics and duties.

Hinduism and Buddhism are among the oldest traditions in the world. Incidentally, both traditions have their roots in India. Since their beginning, both traditions have co-existed peacefully and even spread beyond India in similar patterns. Most people have scattered information about the traditions and make assumptions that they are similar. However, they also have clear distinguishing features. This paper intends to study the similarities and contrasts between the two traditions in various contexts. First, the traditions will be compared and contrasted based on how they began. The development processes of both religions will then be contrasted. The paper will then discuss the similarities and differences between the two religions based on the social and the political roles they played.

     Jainism earliest descriptions were thought of being a self centered search for personal salvation without having a personal God. Jains do not believe in one creator or God. Heinrich Zimmer, an expert on Indian Philosophy, states, ?Jainism is Tran theistic- it does not deny existence of God but that it goes beyond them.? (A 352) Others see it?s as a search for personal growth and a sense of higher personal ethics. Jainism is founded on the goal of overcoming the temporary cycle of earthly life in addition to be released from an endless cycle of existence. Human destiny was the center of Jain teaching. They were to rely on themselves to seek that which will save them from the domination of matter, this being moral elevation. Above all, Jainism is a religion of love and compassion, with an eternal universe. They have made significant contributions in logic, art, and architecture, grammar, mathematics, literature, philosophy, astronomy, and astrology.

Jains view karma as a physical substance accrued through harm to other life. Sikhs believe karma from a previous life affect the circumstances of your life now, much same way Hindus view karma.

Buddhism has many interesting aspects, but in this paper, I will be focusing on a passage from Essential Buddhism by Diane Morgan, about karma. In her book, karma is defined as both “action and fruits of action” (page 82). Karma is what Buddhist believes your life is shaped by whether it be good or bad Karma. Especially when it comes to reincarnation, since, with good karma you are believed to be reincarnated into better levels of life forms. For example an animal could become a human man. On the other hand, bad karma will downgrade your reincarnation to a less desired level. Karma seems to be independently driven as Morgan states in the passage that “There is no punishing god ... Any action good or bad, is a karmic “seed” that carries within

A third teaching of Jainism is that lying and exaggeration are damaging practices that are to be avoided. On another hand Jainism also teaches that “absolute truth” is impossible to express because everyone experiencing any given situation from a unique perspective. Other teachings condemn stealing, and confine acceptable sexual practices to those between a married couple, both of which try to curb improper desire, and stop the perpetuation of pain inflicted on others. These teachings, which emphasized acceptable societal practices are similar to the Dharma of Hinduism, which emphasized social obligations (Molloy, p196, 2010).

Jainism was founded by Mahavira, and it is a religion that is based on the worship of twenty-four liberated souls. These liberated souls are known as jinas, and these are perfected beings who have won against samara, or the cycle of death and rebirth to which the material world is attached to. Jinas are often displayed in seated yogic postures. Jain faith is based on moksha, or the release from rebirth by karma, and the goal of Jainism is to liberate the soul and practice non-violence. Jainism is only practiced in temples and is extremely prevalent in Gujarat and

Karma seems like a pretty simple concept; all actions have a reaction. However, karma may not catch up to you in this lifetime and instead effect you in future lives. According to both Hinduism and Buddhism, karma determines what happens after death; either rebirth or liberation. The only way to escape reincarnation is by achieving good karma. In Hinduism, karma is determined according to one 's actions whereas in Buddhism, karma depends solely on intention. Even though both Hinduism and Buddhism originated in India and their ultimate goal is to be freed from the cycle of rebirth, they view karma in two different ways.

Karma is the connotation of causality that past actions influence future events. This is the same for both Buddhism and Hinduism. Both also believe in an endless cycle of births known as endless cycle of births, known as samsara. and release from this cycle of rebirths.

Hinduism and Buddhism are both eastern traditions with much to say about the human condition as well as the reason human beings exist at all. In some ways they are different while also being similar in other ways. In this essay, those differences will be discussed and the similarities examined for their message. In conclusion, we will examine what these two faiths offer to the human beings of the twenty-first century.

In Buddhism, Karma has two forms; mental karma and deed karma (Encyclopedia of Religion 266). The two forms both abide by the belief that good or bad actions yield good or bad results. Mental karma is governed by what a person thinks. If a person thinks impure or malicious thoughts, they will build up bad karma during his life, and for pure thoughts, good karma is built up. Deed karma refers to the actions performed physically by a person. As with mental karma, deed karma is the culmination of good karma and bad karma resulting from one’s actions.

The Buddhist doctrine of karma ("deeds", "actions"), and the closely related doctrine of rebirth, are perhaps the best known, and often the least understood, of Buddhist doctrines. The matter is complicated by the fact that the other Indian religious traditions of Hinduism and Jainism have their own theories of Karma and Reincarnation. It is in fact the Hindu versions that are better known in the West. The Buddhist theory of karma and rebirth are quite distinct from their other Indian counterparts.

Jainism and Buddhism share some common ground and similarities in their beliefs and practices, and they also have features that make them unique and distinctively different from the other. Some of the central similarities of Jainism and Buddhism can be found in when and where their traditions originated, resemblances in their primary teachers, their religious goals, nonbelief in a creator, and their values of nonattachment and nonviolence. Some differences between Jainism and Buddhism are found in their karmic principles and the conception of the soul. There seems to be more parallels shared between Jainism and Buddhism than discrepancies.