Comparative Religion

Words: 1725
Pages: 7
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Stacy Annick
Comparative Religion
CRN 11412
Word Count: 1684

Briefly outline the stories of the lives of the Buddha and Jesus as they are remembered by their followers. What role do these life stories play in the religious practices of Buddhists and Christians today?

Introduction: A large percentage of Americans are raised Christian, myself included. From my personal experience sitting through church sermons, I was taught about Jesus. God was the main focus of their teachings though. Through the writing of this paper I hope to find out how much of the religions are actually based on those religious figures. Both of these men are known worldwide but, at least in my former church, seem to be becoming forgotten. Whether …show more content…
Buddha was a bodhisattva in the Tushita heaven. “A bodhisattva is defined as an individual who discovers the source of the Ultimate Truth better known as nirvana, but postpones his own enlightenment until he has guided all his fellow beings to this same source of fulfillment.” (Kumar) He chose to be born on earth after “looking down upon the sentient beings suffering in the throes of ignorance, felt a compassion, and in accordance with his bodhisattva status, decided to descent to the earth and spread the word of Dharma” (Kumar). He chose the family he would be born to, the time, and the place of his birth. His mother, Queen Maya, died 7 days after his …show more content…
The basis of the religion was already founded with Judaism but the life of Jesus separated Christians from Judaism and is therefore, in my opinion, the foundation of the Christian religion. Likewise, Buddha is the foundation of Buddhism. Although both religions are obviously founded by them due to the names, I do not believe that they have remained true to their founders. I admittedly knew little about the life of Buddha before taking this course though I thought that I had gained a great deal of knowledge throughout this class. Being raised a Christian who went to church three times a week, I thought I knew about Jesus. During the research I conducted for this paper, I realized just how little I truly knew. I became fascinated and caught myself reading material even after I was done with my research. I see why these historical religious figures have managed to retain the massive amounts of followers that they have. No matter if someone believes in these individual religions or not, they were both remarkable human beings who lives equally remarkable
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