Buddhist and Muslim Views

Question 1

Muslim Symbols

Answer 1

> the Subhah is a set of 99 beads each representing one of the Beautiful names of Allah, remind themselves of God’s greatness and the awe and respect they have from such as Supreme Being

Question 2

How do Muslims use symbolism and imagery to describe God or express ideas about God?

Answer 2

> through the Subhah each name describes God as revealed in the Qur’an
an example of one of God’s Beautiful names is ‘The Wise’ or ‘The Creator’
Muslims use the beads daily to worship God’s greatness

Question 3

What do Buddhists believe about God?

Answer 3

> there is no belief in a personal god or Ultimate Being so Buddhists don’t focus on the worship of God but rather on searching for true happiness and peace
follow the teachings of Buddha but do not worship him as a god but as an enlightened human who taught people how to break free from the 3 poisons of life; greed, ignorance and hatred

Question 4

How do Muslims use symbols or symbolism in worship?

Answer 4

> before worship, muslims will perform symbolic washing or ‘wadu’ to show they must be pure and clean when approaching Allah
praying itself has symbolic actions of standing then kneeling then putting your forehead to the ground as a way to show submission to Allah

Question 5

What does Buddhism teach about life after death?

Answer 5

> do not believe people have souls
believe in ‘Anatta’ which means no ‘permanent-self’ or ‘no-soul’
all that is left when a person dies is their karma which is re-born into another being
believe in re-birth of a person’s karma
people’s karmas will continue to be re-born in other beings until they learn to break free from this cycle of birth, death and re-birth which is called ‘samsara’
when a person learns to let go of greed, hatred and ignorance a person can become enlightened and reach Nirvana
they can break free from samsara and reach Nirvana by following the teachings of Gotama Buddha

Question 6

What happens at a Buddhist funeral?

Answer 6

1. Ceremonies vary greatly depending in which country they take place and they usually follow local customs
2. Ceremonies are usually very colourful and the occasion is not usually solemn since death is seen more of a time for celebration than mourning, death brings a person closer to Nirvana
3. The corpse is washed and placed in a coffin and covered with flowers
4. The coffin is taken to the nearest Buddhist Temple or Shrine and offerings of flowers and food are made
5. There may be prayers and chanting
6. Corpses are usually cremated and the ashes are then scattered into a river or the sea