Respond

Anne-Marie Nguyen

26 January 2017

RELS 3345. ONL

Dr. Joseph DeLeon

Sacred Reality

2. Buddhists are encouraged to order their lives to try to achieve Nirvana. Write an essay which describes how the sacred impacts human existence in at least two other major religions.

Christianity and Sikhism

Buddhists are encouraged to order their lives to try to achieve Nirvana. Buddhism is revolved around the achievement of Nirvana. To do so, Buddhists have moral precepts and beliefs which allow for that achievement. Many religions focus on that mentality of achieving their idea of “sacred reality.” “Sacred” is being distinctive or set apart from everything else in the world. To be distinctive implies difference; therefore, sacred reality is different. Each religion has aspects that make them different from each other, which in turn, helps them be sacred in their own way. Each tradition is different from each other, yet each religion also overlaps with each other when it comes to sacred reality; “a diversity that extends not only between traditions but to some extent within them” (Cunningham 28). Religious traditions emphasize the importance of the sacred which in turn suggests for their followers to live a life that leads to their “sacred reality.” The Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—have a lifestyle in which they follow guidelines to honor their superior being whose judgement will determine where they will go after death, while the Indian religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Janism, and Sikhism—believe that instead of having a superior being judge their actions, their actions while they were alive will determine where they will go after their death.

Christians believe that God will judge all of their actions and send them to a designated plane of existence after death—Heaven or Hell. Because of this Christians try to live a sacred and holy life. To do so, Christians follow the Ten Commandments, which were intended to “influence the people… to behave in the right way and to choose good rather than evil,” to help them achieve their desired plane of existence: Heaven (“Ten Commandments”). By following the Ten Commandments, Christians portray an obedience to God. Each commandment is a foundation to what Christianity believes is “good.” For example, the sixth commandment specifically states that one should not kill while the ninth commandment states that one should not lie. By following these commandments, Christians have a set of beliefs that not only help themselves, but other humans as well.

While Christianity states that God determines what will happen in one’s after life, Sikhism believes that the soul reincarnates and goes through different life forms until it is purified and can become one with God. What the soul reincarnates to is solely based on the actions, good and bad, of the life form (“Sikhism”). A life form can consist of either being a human or an animal. Through each reincarnation, the soul should become more purified to reach the sacred reality of becoming one with God. Because of this, Sikhs try to live out a life based on good decisions and try to limit making bad decisions.

Each religion has very different concepts of sacred reality, yet each religion still overlaps with one another. In this case, Christians strive to join God in Heaven, while Sikhs strive to join God through the purification of their soul to become one with God. Each believe in a superior being—God, yet each has a different way of getting to either Heaven or becoming one with God. Sacred reality is different in each religion, yet sacred reality has overlapping concepts with each religion.

Works Cited

Cunningham, L. & Kelsay, J. (2013). The Sacred Quest:  An Invitation to the Study of Religion 6th ed.). Boston, MA:  Pearson Education.

"Sikhism." The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide, edited by Helicon, 2016. Credo Reference, http://uiwtx.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/heliconhe/sikhism/0. Accessed 25 Jan 2017.

"Ten Commandments." The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide, edited by Helicon, 2016. Credo Reference, http://uiwtx.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/heliconhe/ten_commandments/0. Accessed 25 Jan 2017.

"World Religions." The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology, Nicholas Abercrombie, et al., Penguin, 2006. Credo Reference, http://uiwtx.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/penguinsoc/world_religions/0. Accessed 25 Jan 2017.