Comparison Paper: All Religions are Ultimately the Same

Hannah Horrocks

World Religions 2300

Salt Lake Community College

December 5, 2016
 Over the several years that humans have roamed the earth, there has been a multitude of

religions brought up. After taking the World Religions course at Salt Lake Community College, I

have formed the opinion that all religions are ultimately the same; however, by same I mean,

they were all created for the same reason--- to end suffering. In this essay, I will compare eastern

and western religions to prove my point. The three religions I will focus on are Buddhism,

Christianity, and Islam. There are several religions that exist, but I choose these religions

because they are well known and more easily relatable to a larger audience.

To prove all religions are ultimately the same I must first explain the background

information about these three religions. Buddhism, the religion of awakening, was originally

founded in India around 450 BCE. To fully understand Buddhism, we must first learn about the

person who founded the religion. Siddhartha, or more commonly known as Buddha, was born

into the Kshatriya caste in India. He was all about love and compassion, so he went out trying to

find ways to accomplish this. India, at the time was being controlled by the strict caste system of

Hinduism wherein the people at the bottom of the caste were treated unfairly. Nobody wanted to

touch them because of their dirty jobs; therefore, they received the nickname untouchables.

Buddha strongly disagreed with this, he wanted to end all suffering and for everyone to be

treated fairly.

Does the story of The Buddha sound familiar? Jesus wanted the same things Buddha did,

but instead of forming Buddhism, it formed Christianity. Similar to the laws in India when

Buddha arose, the same issues were occurring in Israel during the rise of Jesus. The times before

Jesus were nicknamed the Dark Ages, because the Jewish religious leaders at the time had

cumbersome man-made laws. The Dark Ages, and the rise of Jesus connects to my thesis in the
way that all religions are ultimately the same and were all brought up for the goal of ending

suffering.

While continuing about religion ending suffering, the religion Islam is my next example.

It is a common misconception that Islam is an eastern religion since it is known to be popular in

the Middle East; however, Islam is considered a western religion because it came from Indonesia

and South East Asia, and it is also a monotheistic, the belief in one supreme God, religion. Islam

is a great example for the idea that religions were created to end human suffering. A man named

Muhammad was sick of the state of chaos the Arab tribes were living in. The time before

Muhammad also had a nickname like did the time before Jesus; the time before Muhammad was

called Jahiliyya or age of ignorance. During this time, there was gambling, prostitution, tribal

wars, and even blood money. Muhammad rose and wanted to unite the Arab tribes into a single

nation and he was successful. After he united all the people using the worship of God,

individuals started worshipping him and created a new religion, later known as Islam. Although

people began praising Muhammad, he never claimed to have created a new religion. Muhammad

helped cure human suffering through the teachings of religion.

The universal definition we came up with in class for religion is as follows: a community

that praises or follows an ultimate reality through symbols, creeds, codes etc. Just by going

off of that definition we can prove all religions are the same. To be more specific, all religions

have a set of laws or commandments to follow in order to better their relationship with their

deities or ultimate realities. To continue on with the religions used above, Buddhists follow the

4 noble truths. All this explains that suffering is a part of being human, but that there is a cure---

the eightfold path. The eightfold path is a serious of ways to help end your suffering; as in right

speech, right action, right mindfulness etc.

 Christianity is similar to Buddhism because they have commandments or laws to follow.

Depending on which branch of Christianity an individual follows, depicts the restrictions they

abide by. Some Christians follow the ten commandments, such as, you should not murder,

commit adultery, do not lie or steal etc. This is similar to the eightfold path in Buddhism, just

from a different perspective. Other Christians follow Jesuss teachings of loving God with all of

your mind, heart, and spirit, and love yourself. These teachings of Christianity helped people end

the overwhelmed community from the over the burdensome manmade laws from Judaism at the

time.

Islam also has a set of guiding principles similar to Buddhism and Christianity. The 5

pillars which are commanded by their God to fulfill during their lifetime. It consists of faith,

prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage. The first pillar, faith, is the belief of oneness of God and

the inevitability of the prophethood of Muhammad. The second and third pillars, prayer and

fasting, are to keep their close relationship with God. They must pray 5 times a day facing Mecca

and fast during Ramadan for a whole month, once a year. The fourth and fifth pillars I believe

were Islams way of ending suffering as did Buddhism and Christianity. For example, the fourth

pillar is charity, where the community must give at least 2% of their savings to the needy.

Charity can help end the suffering of hunger and financial stress. The fifth pillar is where all

members of Islam must complete a pilgrimage to Mecca, where Muslims are all united without

the division of social class. In giving back to the community and uniting in Mecca, Islam

matches the argument all religions are ultimately the same and were created to end human

suffering.

Throughout the semester I visited multiple religious meetings, including a Tibetan

Buddhist temple, The Cathedral of Madeline, and a Muslim Mosque. Through personal
experience I further cemented my belief that all religions are the same and they help end human

suffering. For the sake of this paper in connecting to what was previously talked about, I am

going to talk about my personal observations from the Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim

perspective.

When I went to the Tibetan Buddhist temple, I participated in the service Chenrezig Puja.

In relation to ending all suffering, coincidentally, this service was dedicated specifically for

people who are suffering. Chenrezig is a Tibetan Buddhist Bodhisattva who represents

compassion for all beings who are currently suffering while healing ourselves as well. Mark, the

monk who led the service, had all participants picture someone whom we know personally that is

suffering. He told us to imagine them breathing out their suffering in the form of black smoke

while we breath it in to heal them. Mark mentioned the people who have made it to the service

are capable of recognizing their suffering; therefore, are able to cure it by sending out their

energy.

After meditating and breathing in the smoke of the suffering, we recited a chant 21 times

in order to send good karma for the people who may be stuck in a certain realm. For example,

someone that may be trapped in the animal realm and experiencing stubbornness, the chant is

supposed to help them find their way out. The chant is as follows, OM MANI PADME HUM.

Om is this is a sacred sound found in most Indian religions, mani means the jewel which is

known to be the part of your mind that is spiritual, padme means the lotus flower which is

signifying the opening of your jewel mind, and hum is the sound for the spirit of enlightenment.

When everyone participated in the singing of this chant, it sounded mesmerizing.

While Buddhism has a specific service set aside specifically for individuals who are

suffering, Christianity may not be as clear cut. Similar to Buddhism having several different
branches of religion, Christianity does as well. For the Christianity site visit I decided to go to

the Cathedral of Madeline, not only for the sake of this project, but it is an outstandingly

beautiful building and everyone should get the chance to see it.

Upon arriving to the cathedral, the bells were ringing to signify the service was about to

begin. A person in a white robe walked down the aisle with a device that was peacefully blowing

smoke throughout the room. I later learned that this was the attempt of purifying the air and to

get everyone in the same state of mind. My cathedral visit had occurred right after the

presidential election, so a lot of people were shocked and in the mindset of chaos. One man went

up to the stand and told everyone to remain calm, because America has survived worse times. He

continued to tell the members if they feel lost or worried the church has services in which they

can rely on and God already has a plan on what is going to happen. I noticed in this moment this

is what religion is for. In order to tranquil the chaos, people need to know there is someone or

something to rely on for help.

After the mans talk about the election there was a series of songs. At one point, they

passed around a basket asking for donations. Similar to Islam where giving to Charity is a

commandment from God, for the Catholics it is not necessarily a commandment, but a nice

gesture, and being kind and helpful to others is a teaching from Jesus. The donations go back to

the catholic community. They even mentioned some of the donations will go to asking Christmas

gift bags consisting of socks, gloves etc. for the homeless. Calming the chaos of the election,

and asking for donations for charity is a clear way of proving Christianity also is a religion to end

suffering.

Lastly, I attended the Khadeeja Masjid, which is a religious meeting place for Muslims.

When I first arrived, I noticed the building was on an angle. I learned the reason for the strange
architecture was so the members knew which way Mecca was. Muslims pray facing Mecca in

order for their prayer to go directly towards God. Women enter through a different entrance than

the men, because it is not required for women to attend; however, the Imam jokingly said it is

because men cannot focus with women in the room. Since the women are separate, we watched

the Imam talk through a video camera.

When I first arrived, I walked upstairs and began to take off my shoes. A woman came

walking up to me, introduced herself, and told me to let her know if I had any questions. I

immediately felt welcome. I found a spot on the floor and waited for the service to start. As

members were showing up, they would wash their hands in the wash room, pray and find a seat.

The Imam welcomed all the students for being there and began the service. He explained how

strict they follow the Quran including having to brush their teeth with a piece of wood, also

known as the Miswak. The Imam told us not only does the Miswak have a natural ingredient to

whiten your teeth, but it is bio-degradable and healthy for the environment. Not only can this

commandment from the Quran help them with tooth decay, but it also helps the earth in the sense

less plastic is being thrown away for each Muslim. Islam not only helps with human suffering,

but also keeps the earth from suffering from human kind.

As a final thought, let us think about a world without religion. The first thing that would

be in jeopardy is the charity given within a community. No one would be commanded to give

anymore, so would people give back to the community while remain selfless? There would not

be an answer for human suffering, and nobody would have a goal to look forward to in the

afterlife. Since all religions are ultimately the same, (having commandments and creeds to abide

by) complete chaos would occur. Religion acts as a guideline for individuals to follow according

to their spiritual beliefs. Without it, humans would simultaneously suffer. Whether you believe in
multiple Gods and The Buddha, God and Jesus, or Allah and Muhammad, you are all

worshipping a deity and curing human suffering. They all have rules to abide by in order to

maintain order and was originally created during dark times when the people needed hope.