Buddhism & Islam

Buddhism came about in India as a religion in 528 B.C. (Corless, 1989). This was more than 1,000 years before Islam was established as a religion. Over many centuries it spread through Asia--mainly to China, Japan, and Korea. Islam and Buddhism developed somewhat differently in their early history. Also, they have very different ideas about what is basic to religious experience. However, the historical development of each religion shows that they overlap in various ways. In particular, it is important to see that both religions have an individual and political-cultural component. This will be seen clearly later in the research.

The main elements of Buddhist thought are based on the Fourfold Truth. This dogma emphasizes the very personal or spiritual aspect of Buddhism. Despite the increase of the cultural aspect of the religion as Buddhism spread over the centuries, the spiritual emphasis was always present.

The Fourfold Truth can be put simply in four Sanskrit words: duhkha (suffering), samudaya (arising), nirodha (stopping) and marga (path) . . . .

The first part of the Fourfold Truth . . . means that the normal even

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immersion in oneself, lead to one's becoming aware, in the deepest ground of the soul, of the unnameable Groundlessness and Qualitylessness--nay more, to one's becoming one with it" (Herrigel, 1981, pp. 6-7). Tsunoda, et al. say that individual spiritualism of Buddhism was gradually given political status as well, especially in Japan. Over the course of centuries, Buddhism--in China, Korea, or Japan--found favor in cultures in which it could be protected or nourished by a political power. [F]orms of Buddhism were egalitarian in theory--that is, as outgrowths of the Mahayana teaching they stressed that all men had the potentialities for Buddahood--in the Japanese setting their activities were strongly conditioned by the aristocratic nature of court society . . . [T]here was a noticeable tendency to stress the hierarchic order of these forms of religious consciousness in the ascent to Truth (Tsunoda, et al., 1958, p. 114). It is at this point that Islam becomes relevant. The basis of all Islamic theology and philosophy is the Koran, also referred to by some sources as the Qur'an. This book is the basis of religious dogma. Islam assumes its superiority over other religions. It is generally accepted that "Islam reveres the pro
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Fourfold Truth, Afghanistan Hindu, Esposito Sufism, Islam Buddhism, Japan Buddhists, Islam Campbell, Zen Buddhism, Buddhism Korea's, Buddhism Islam, Zen Buddhist, fourfold truth, de wetering, van de wetering, campbell 1964, van de, islam buddhism, university press, zen buddhism, loeffler 1988, esposito 1988, fourfold truth, 1981 pp, de wetering 1973, islam campbell 1964, oxford university press,
Approximate Word count = 3178
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page)

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