In the study of world religions it is imperative that we strive to overcome the organic ethnocentrism through which we experience a skewed reality (despite our best intentions). Just as linguistic relativity alters our perception of the world, religious practices outside of our cultural experience can be difficult to observe without judgement. It is my intention to compare the religious systems of the Eastern and Western world empirically, though there seems to exist the deepest chasm between Eastern and Western religious philosophy.
The difference between Eastern and Western philosophy will be best composed systematically. It is my hope that the more Eros expelled from my studies the less evidence of ethnocentrism will be found within my work. I will inspect these inverse belief systems by concentrating on four elements of religion; divinity, life value, the journey, and the goal.
However, before examining these elements it is important to designate my parameters for the East and West. If a line is drawn vertically, using the western most border of India, everything to the West of that line is well, the West. Everything east of that line is what we will be referring to as the East. One more preamble; a brief description of the various religions to be discussed as a proper comparative narrative cannot be fully developed without a basic comprehension of the material offered up for contemplation and comparison.
A myriad of spiritual beliefs are practiced throughout the East. Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Shintoism coexist. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity will be representing Western religious philosophy.
"Buddhism has long been celebrated as a religion of peace and non-violence. The Buddha looks at the external causes of conflict as consequences derived from a general orientation common to all living beings: avoiding harm and obtaining happiness" (Theresa Der-lan Yeh, THE WAY TO PEACE: A BUDDHIST PERSPECTIVE). Buddhism began with Buddha aka Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha was a young prince who experienced a transformative event provoking a drastic change of lifestyle. During an extended period of meditation he achieved enlightenment and went on to teach others how to follow his path.
"Unlike most other religions, Hinduism has no single founder, no single scripture, and no commonly agreed set of teachings" (BBC, World Religions). The Hindu life revolves around breaking the cycle of Samsara, believing that with the right amount of proper conduct a man might be released from suffering and obtain enlightenment. While an outside observe might deduce that Hindus worship multiple gods, with a closer look we gain an understanding that these many avatars are different manifestations of the same universal, divine being.
This practice of Shintoism originated in Japan. The Shinto focus on opening communication with the Kami, spirits who are believed to intervene on behalf of the people. Taoism, practiced in China focuses on balance between all things. Taoists are not in agreement with their Buddhist and Hindu counterparts who see the world as an illusion from which to break free. "Taoism is about the Tao. This is usually translated as the Way. But it's hard to say exactly what this means. The Tao is the ultimate creative principle of the universe. All things are unified and connected in the Tao" (BBC, World Religions).
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are Abrahamic in origin. People of the book, followers are sometimes called, as each religion utilizes The Old Testament as a spiritual text (aka The Koran or Torah). The Jewish people are awaiting a promised Messiah, Christians believe that the promised Messiah has already come to Earth in the form of Jesus Christ, and Muslims believe that a great prophet named Mohammad communicated with Allah (God) and therefore follow his tenants.
Now we are ready to tackle the aforementioned first element of religion; divinity. What it is to be divine? To be divine is to be supremely good, to be a supreme being, a god, a deity. In Western religious philosophy divinity is seemingly singular. Where as in the East divinity and sacredness flows through many elements of mankind and the Universe alike.
Now it is classical enough to state that East vs. West is synonymous with Polytheism vs. Monotheism (albeit the triune Christian God raises eyebrows within the monotheist community). Judaism, Islam, and Christianity worship one God. Islam's Allah is merely the Arabic word for God. So without dissecting the idiosyncrasies of the Holy Trinity, Mohamad, or the saints we'll say that Western Religion is monotheistic.
Divinity in Eastern philosophy is far more fluid. "The number of deities in Eastern religions vary more than Western religions. Followers of Hinduism worship many deities and avatars which with further exploration are really thousands of avatars for Brahma. Followers of Shint focus on spirits called Kami, which can be animals, objects, or nature" ("Eastern Versus Western Religion - Religion as a Social Institution."). Polytheism is not the only belief system found throughout the East. Buddhism and Taoism do not worship a supreme being or deities. These atheistic people simply follow "the way", a divine path.
The second element of religion on which to concentrate in contrasting Eastern and Western philosophy is life value. In Eastern religions the sacredness of life is not limited to mankind. We can observe this easily in Hinduism. Ahisma is practiced by Hindus and it upholds acting with nonviolence towards all living things. This Hindu proverb illustrates this well, "The Lord lives in the heart of every creature. He turns them round and round upon the wheel of Maya. Take refuge utterly in Him. By his grace you will find supreme peace, and the state which is beyond all change." Similarly, the first precept (of five) in Buddhism instructs the follower to undertake the training to avoid taking the life of any living thing.
Dissimilarly Western religions historically practiced the sacrifice of animals in an act of reverence towards God. Muslims participating in the Hajj (or pilgrimage to Mecca) are obligated sacrifice a goat or lamb. In the story of Moses the Hebrew are instructed to spread the blood of a lamb about their doors to save them from God's wrath against Pharaoh. In fact goats and lambs don't fair to well in the bible but it is all wrapped up in the symbolism of a savior who would come as a lion amongst lambs, who would spill innocent blood to cover the sins of man.
Despite Islam, Judaism and Christian tenants stating that killing is not the way to go, the religions of the West have historically participated in great crusades, notably by the Catholic Church against Islam, hence the whole Istanbul, Constantinople debacle. Even today those practicing extremist Islam still believe that killing infidels honor Allah, and bonus, if you kill yourself in the process you get a one way ticket to paradise. In summation life value between the East and West are quite different. The East, valuing harmony in nature aren't all that impassioned to spill blood in the name of their faith.
Moving on to the concept of the philosophical journey. Islam, Judaism, and Christianity follow a linear path in life, a beginning, middle, and end. Contrary to this, those practicing within the realm of Eastern religious philosophy travel on a cyclical journey. Taoists are really all about that Tao. They are made of the Tao and simultaneously belong to and follow it. Taoism has very little concern for death because it is a meaningless event as one drifts through variations of existence through the Tao.
Hindus honor a cosmic law; dharma (also present in Buddhism). Hindus also recognize karma, which is important. A man's actions in his life or past existences can either propel him towards freedom from this cycle or propel him into his next life as a donkey. We will discuss this farther when we move onto the goals of Eastern and Western religions. The key take away is that Western religions follow a linear path with a clear destination. Eastern religions follow a cyclical path.
Finally we arrive to what I would consider the most through provoking element of religion itself, the goal. While the specific goal coveted by each religion may seem contradistinctive if we reflect for some time without predisposed ideologies, ignoring the multitude of differences I've just cast upon you we can see this profound communion between mankind.
I know I said I'd stay as straightforward and informative as possible but this is a conclusion and as such entitles me the chance to write with passion. Examining all of these elements across many creeds we can recognize that humanity harbors this intimate, innate, unshakable feeling that there is something more, something better, and something beautiful of which we are to be a part.
All creeds yearn for a personal betterment, through deeds, faith, enlightenment, or balance. Imagine a large mountain, Christians, Muslims, Jews, Taos, Buddhists, Hindus, and Shinto alike (among enumerable others) are all striving and climbing to reach this great precipice that somehow promises relief from the profound disassociation between mortality and immortality. However, the mountain is so tremendous that the Muslim cannot see the Hindu. The Christian cannot see the Shinto. The Buddhist cannot see the Jew.
All of this non-seeing leaves room for human tendencies of judgement and rejection of foreign ideologies. It is my hope that someday, despite our elemental and basic inversions we mankind will awaken to understand that we are all striving for the same betterment.
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