Comparison of Judaism and Buddhism Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Comparison of Judaism and Buddhism - Term Paper Example In this covenant, Abraham and his descendants were supposed to faithfully keep the commandments of God and to worship Him, while God would be their father and would protect them from all dangers and give them the victory of their enemies. In the Abrahamic covenant, the Israelites were supposed to lead morally upright lives through obedience to God. Judaism, therefore, was founded by Abraham, the father of the Jews people, and it is centered to obedience in YHWH, the God of Abraham and the God of all Jews. On the other hand, Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama in around 566 B.C.E. Gautama was a son of an Indian kind and he spent his adolescence life and his early adult life in a life of extravagance. When he was bored with luxuries of the world, Gautama wondered into the wilderness in search of enlightenment and understanding. In his meditations on sufferings while in the wilderness, Gautama had an insight into how to free from sufferings and to achieve salvation. Following this insight, Gautama was known as Buddha, meaning the enlightened one. According to Buddhism religion, morally right actions bring about happiness and long life, while immoral actions bring about unhappiness in the long run. Apart from their similarities in regard to their moral teachings, the other two main similarities between Judaism and Buddhism is in regard to their attitude towards future life, and their views on the proselytizing their religions. Both the Judaism and Buddhism religion do not emphasize on afterlife; also, both the Judaism religion and the Buddhism religion do not proselytize their religion or their moral teachings. Judaism, as we have already said emphasize on moral uprightness in obedience to God as a way of living out the Abrahamic covenant. The Holy book of the Jews, the Torah explains clearly the right conduct that the Jews should observe in keeping with the demands of the Abrahamic covenant. The moral teachings of Judaism emphasize the need for the people to treat each other in a humane and a morally right way.