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The Ten Commandments From Exodus: The Value Of Religion

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Of the seven billion people on the planet, eighty-four percent of them practice a religion. Religions began as faith systems to explain the unexplainable and have evolved into ways to provide unity, solace, strength, and hope. The two polytheistic religions with the most followers are Hinduism and Buddhism with 900 million and 535 million followers respectively. Judaism currently has 13 million people in practice. These religions affect everything from morals and beliefs to day-to-day life for the people practicing them. Judaism has its basic belief system clearly illustrated in The Ten Commandments from Exodus. They read, “1. I am The Lord your God 2. You shall have no other gods to rival me 3. You shall not misuse the name of The Lord your God 4. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy 5. Honor your father and your mother 6. You shall not kill 7. You shall not commit adultery 8. You shall not steal 9. You shall not give false evidence against your neighbor …show more content…

Nirvana is an eternal state of peace, free from suffering. One is reborn again and again until they reach Nirvana. Siddhartha Gautama searched for the end of suffering for years. He became The Enlightened One (or Buddha) when he discerned that desire was the cause of all suffering. To end suffering one must end all desire. The Nature of Suffering (Dukkha) from a Chinese Buddhist Canon Text describes all life as suffering. (Document 6). To achieve Nirvana, one must follow the Eightfold Path. This consists of adopting the Right Understanding, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration. In Zong Mi’s “On the Nature of Man” he says Buddha “encourage[s] the perfection of good deeds, punish[es] wicked ones, and reward[s] good ones”. (Document 5). Buddhists spend their lives following the Eightfold Path as closely as possible and trying to banish all their

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