Which Eastern Religion Makes Most Sense?

[FerventGodSeeker]

Which Eastern religion makes the most sense to you, and why?

A. Buddhism
B. Hinduism
C. Taoism
D. Other (please specify)
E. They all make a great deal of sense.
F. None of them make sense.

 

[ayani]

as far as faiths in which i could see myself spiritually at home / comfortable worshipping in...

i'd have to say Hinduism. its diversity of thought and allowances for paths to God impresses me. there are approaches to God that are intellectual, vocational, devotional, contemplative, etc. there are beautiful hymns and prayers that, for me, express very well the nature of God and the heart of what it is to worship.

another eastern faith which i feel close to is Sikhism. it seems alot of folks over-look Sikhism, and that is a shame. i have read some translations of the poems and verses found within the Guru Granth Sahib (and in english, no less!) and i find them beautiful, startlingly so. i admire the strong sense of community and faith within Sikh communities, their belief in the equality of men and women, and their approaches to God.

 

[michel]

Which Eastern religion makes the most sense to you, and why?

A. Buddhism
B. Hinduism
C. Taoism
D. Other (please specify)
E. They all make a great deal of sense.
F. None of them make sense.

A) depends what you mean by 'makes sense'? I voted E because I think I know what you mean. I don't think any region makes sense.

 

[FerventGodSeeker]

as far as faiths in which i could see myself spiritually at home / comfortable worshipping in...

i'd have to say Hinduism. its diversity of thought and allowances for paths to God impresses me. there are approaches to God that are intellectual, vocational, devotional, contemplative, etc. there are beautiful hymns and prayers that, for me, express very well the nature of God and the heart of what it is to worship.

another eastern faith which i feel close to is Sikhism. it seems alot of folks over-look Sikhism, and that is a shame. i have read some translations of the poems and verses found within the Guru Granth Sahib (and in english, no less!) and i find them beautiful, startlingly so. i admire the strong sense of community and faith within Sikh communities, their belief in the equality of men and women, and their approaches to God.

I've heard that Sikhism is an off-shoot of Hinduism, is that true?

 

[ayani]

I've heard that Sikhism is an off-shoot of Hinduism, is that true?

yes and no...

Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, sought to bring to rise a faith which transended the differences between Islam and Hinduism. the Sikh scriptures contain a number of poems from Muslim poets who were in turn influenced by Hindu Bhakti worship (loving devotional worship to God).

Sikhism believes is One God and is monotheistic rather than henotheistic as Hinduism is often described. Sikhs also believe in reincarnation, and practices such as meditation on God's name and singing religious texts can be understood as both /either stemming from Hindu and / or Sufic practices.

 

[Booko]

I've heard that Sikhism is an off-shoot of Hinduism, is that true?

It's what happened with Islam met Hinduism.

That's the short version, anyway.

 

[James the Persian]

I've heard that Sikhism is an off-shoot of Hinduism, is that true?

Only if you consider Buddhism to be one also. If you ask a Hindu that question you're likely to be answered in the afirmative, if you ask a Sikh (or a Buddhist), you're likely to annoy them.

My only question for this thread is, how far west does east begin? Where's the cutoff point for considering a religion eastern? I mean, Persia's (Iran) pretty far east so would you consider Zoroastrianism (and it's my understanding that the religion almost certainly developed still further east in Asia proper) eastern or western?

James

 

[FerventGodSeeker]

My only question for this thread is, how far west does east begin? Where's the cutoff point for considering a religion eastern? I mean, Persia's (Iran) pretty far east so would you consider Zoroastrianism (and it's my understanding that the religion almost certainly developed still further east in Asia proper) eastern or western?

James

You must always cause trouble, mustn't you, James... just kidding.
I leave it open your discretion, my friend


P.S. for Everyone: I'm so sorry! I made a typo on the poll, "Hinduism" is written as "Hindusim"...apologies!

 

[Booko]

But on to the OP -- they all make sense, each in their own unique way.

And they have quite a few things in common as well.

I've found useful things in each of these religions, and put them into practice as much as I can in life.

From Hinduism, I take the cyclical view of history, the idea that people have different approaches to life and to God and that this is not just "ok" but downright necessary for life to work.

From Buddhism, I take the Four Noble Truths, most especially the one that instructs us that attachment is the source of suffering. Whenever I am upset or angry, that's a sure sign there's an ego attachment somewhere. The solution to the anger is not to vent it, but to remove the ego. Where there is no attachment, there is no anger.

(If I had to phrase this in a Christian context, I'd say that "acting out of our own will instead of God's will results in sin, and that creates suffering")

From Taoism, I take the idea symbolized by the Tao itself. Creation is an ever moving mix of opposites. The way is to put these opposites into balance as much as we can. Also, "around is better than through"

Taoism and Buddhism have helped me mellow considerably in life.

I couldn't find that in the Christianity I was raised with, though it's there also. It's just that, raised in an environment where so much emphasis was put on "sin" and "hellfire" especially the part where we were pointing fingers elsewhere instead of looking how to improve ourselves, it was too negative and so not constructive. Had I run across the Christian mystics earlier, I may have had different results. But my denomination was not exactly what you'd call mystical.

 

[Milind2469]

Thank you for a good subject, very close to my heart.
I'll say Hinduism because it's not one man-one book-one dress code- one prayer type of religion. It is in fact a phylosophy differently studied by many and influenced by many. It's very flexible. Even God's worship is kept as optional for those who opt for it. Of course, tens of thousands of years of existance has made it impure in many aspects, so one has to refer to older, purer books to explore it rather than asking any person who may have been practising a specific path in Hinduism.
Sikhism, Jainism, buddhism are off-shoots of Hinduism, but now they are proud to call them as separate religions.
They came into existance because of the contemporary manmade impurities in Hinduism.
They all have many similarities to Hinduism (their founders were Hindus) but there were solutions to those impurities by those founders as a result of their enlightenment.
Buddhism- Jainism started due to very strong violence happening at that time (futile wars among kings).
On the contrary, Sikhism started due to extra mildness in Hinduism which had resulted in onslaught by cruel Islamic warlords at that time.

Not that these characteristics should make Hinduism great, it's teaching should. But this is not place to explore it.

 

[Ulver]

Buddhism, Hinduism, & Taoism all make a great deal of sense to me (though I admit I haven't studied Tao much). The way concepts/ideas within it are articulated and visualised often seems to work better for me then within most of the "traditional" western religions. However, just like those, I feel Buddhism and Hinduism have in some ways been altered (as all religions seem to) and therefore perfection cannot be found in it (if it even ever was in it). The major difference with the west and the east is that eastern traditions seem more open to interpretation were people accept differences, while in the west it's constant religious civil wars and mud slinging. I also agree with Booko about how the mystic traditions in the west are far more revealing in the same way some of the eastern traditions are. Of course we can see how these mystic paths have had for centuries struggle against the Orthodox and Conservative. What an interesting world it would be if Gnostic Christianity or Sufism had become the dominate strains of Christianity and Islam.

 

[James the Persian]

I also agree with Booko about how the mystic traditions in the west are far more revealing in the same way some of the eastern traditions are. Of course we can see how these mystic paths have had for centuries struggle against the Orthodox and Conservative. What an interesting world it would be if Gnostic Christianity or Sufism had become the dominate strains of Christianity and Islam.

I presume that you mean orthodox rather than Orthodox. The Orthodox faith is really rather mystical and has a set of practices known as Hesychasm which could fairly be considered to be a Christian equivalent (not saying that it's the same, but there are certain similarities) to eastern practices such as yoga. That's one of the reasons I tend to think of Orthodox Christianity as neither eastern nor western but rather somewhere between the two (and it's one of the reasons I asked how far west the east began).

James

 

[Engyo]

As a practicing Buddhist I am somewhat biased here, so I am not sure that my input would be valid. I am also not exactly sure what sense of "making sense" we are discussing.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Some might suggest that asking which Eastern religion makes the most sense demonstrates a Western bias: if you see a sensible Buddha on the road, kill him.

 

[lilithu]

Only if you consider Buddhism to be one also. If you ask a Hindu that question you're likely to be answered in the afirmative, if you ask a Sikh (or a Buddhist), you're likely to annoy them.

To follow up on what you wrote James (not a criticism), Buddhism is not an offshoot of Hinduism. Buddhism did arise in part as a reaction to certain teachings in the Vedic traditions that became what we now call Hinduism. But the Vedic traditions were in turn influenced by the critiques of Buddhism and Jainism (which arose around the same time as Buddhism). And so the Hinduism that we know today has incorporated many of the same elements.

It's like evolution. They came from a common anscestor but each have continued to change in reaction to an environment that is partly created by them.

As Booko said, Sikhi arose in reaction to parts of both Hinduism and Islam. And while I would call it an "Eastern" religion, it is very much a mix of the Vedic traditions and the Abrahamic traditions. The Sikh concept of God is more personal and interactive than the traditional Hindu Brahman.

I took the OP question to mean, do any of these traditions make sense TO ME, since that's the only question that I can answer anyway. And yes, all of them do, along with Jainism and Sikhi...

 

[Real Sorceror]

I voted "all", though really I understand Hinduism the best.

 

[Djamila]

I think Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are probably the Eastern religions I can most relate to. It's like different stories with the same characters, it's easier to recognize.

Of the rest, I would probably feel a greater affinity to Sikhism, from what I know of it. Hinduim and Zoroastrianism are both so far removed from what I believe that I'm not entirely comfortable with them in terms of sharing those beliefs.

 

[Booko]

As a practicing Buddhist I am somewhat biased here, so I am not sure that my input would be valid. I am also not exactly sure what sense of "making sense" we are discussing.

It would be interesting...how much more valid does it need to be?

 

[SoliDeoGloria]

I think Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are probably the Eastern religions I can most relate to. It's like different stories with the same characters, it's easier to recognize.

Very nice!!!:clap

How ironic it is to see that most people in the western hemisphere seem to forget that Christianity ,very much, has it's roots in and is still very much an "eastern religion". I was afraid that I was going to have to affirm that fact until I saw your post. Well done Djamila.

Sincerely,
SoliDeoGloria

 

[Hacker]

The idea of Karma and reincarnation makes a lot more sense to me than just repenting and the concept of hell. I've always been more drawn to the Eastern ideas.