The Islamic and Buddhist faiths are vastly different. So distant from each other, it is hard to draw parallels between the two religions. The Islamic religion is exactly that; a monotheistic religion that believes in heaven, hell, and earth. However, the Buddhist religion is almost not a religion. The Buddhist faith rejects the idea of an afterlife and also rejects the idea of deity. Instead Buddhism focuses on reaching nirvana. The Islamic religion is a monotheistic religion that stems from the Judeo-Christian origins and believes in Allah, a supreme being that must be worshiped by his followers; Buddhism is a system of beliefs focuses on reaching a state of enlightenment known as nirvana, Buddhism rejects the idea of deity and an afterlife. These two religions run on completely different belief systems and stem from vastly different origins.
A man from India named Siddhartha Gautama was the original Buddha who in turn founded Buddhism. As Indian legend has it, at his birth a prophecy was made that the young prince was either going to be a religious leader or the next king. Siddhartha Gautama’s father wanted him to follow his footsteps as becoming the next king. In an attempt to make his will come true, the king sheltered the young prince from all hardship, disease, and suffering. At age 29 Siddhartha Gautama who was born a prince and brought up in luxury, abandoned his life as a prince and began to search for an answer to human suffering. After nearly seven years of meditation and searching for an answer, the original Buddha finally achieved enlightenment at age 35 in the year 525 B.C. For the next 45 years of his life, the original Buddha spent his time
establishing a religion now known as Buddhism. The former prince died his teaching were passed on orally until first century B.C when Buddha’s teaching were written down for the first time. Right now there are about 300 million Buddhists worldwide although an exact number is impossible because Buddhism...