Eastern and Western Religions

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the beliefs of some of the main religions of the world. It shows how the principal distinction between Eastern and Western religions is that the former are dominated by mystical and transcendent components meant to be experienced by individuals and the latter by rational, doctrinal sets of belief meant to be shared by individuals in a community of faith. It analyzes how the major Western religions dominate European and American culture whereas those of the East, which dominate Asia and Africa, are distinguished not only as modes of worship and belief but also as features of the societies in which they are practiced. It evaluates how Eastern and Western religions are not mutually exclusive, they just overlap or converge in multiple ways.

From the Paper:

"A peaceful habit of mind prepares one to enjoy material reality with an appropriate attitude, in the event material fortune disappears. In the Lama's formulation of the Four Noble Truths of sorrow as four factors of happiness, the key is to train the mind, or Sem, away from preoccupation with wealth and toward contentment. That is consistent with the noble truth about stopping the craving, and it points in the direction of the noble truth about good moral conduct. The Lama's view of education of the human psyche in compassion and generosity toward others in the context of humanity's social tendencies can be seen as a link to spiritual experience. Connection to and compassion for others may not guarantee a life without suffering; to this, Tibetan Buddhism responds that a prepared mind has taken the trouble to reflect on suffering as a natural part of Samsara, or the unending cycles of life (Lama and Cutler 140) "

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