Comparative Study of Two Indian or Two Chinese Religions Essay

Comparative Study of Two Indian or Two Chinese Religions - Essay Example Hinduism supporters comprise of about fourteen percent while Buddhism followers total to six percent of the global population (Underwood, p 1). Therefore, Buddhism is a derivative of Hinduism. In reality, Buddhism started in order to criticize the offensive fundamentals of the Hindu civilization, taking in the cruelty, in the caste routine (Samad). This essay will analyze the spiritual as well as cultural similarities and dissimilarities involving Hinduism along with Buddhism. Buddhism and Hinduism are dominant beliefs in the world, and they started in ancient India. In that case, they have an assortment of similarities in their beliefs. First, the two religions are alike in the way they both developed in the subcontinent of India. Secondly, they equally believe that there are lower and higher worlds and that there exists divinities on diverse planes. In addition, both religions highlight the deceptive natural world and function of karma in the birth and death phases. The term karma means the sum of all of person’s actions. Further, Buddhism and Hinduism recognize the function of desire in the suffering of a human being. While Buddha supposed that avoiding desire would stop suffering, Hindu believed that desirable actions leads to suffering and that acting without focus reduces the anguish. Next, there is accentuating on compassion as well as peacefulness towards living creatures in both Buddhism and Hinduism. In addition, the two religions have faith that a refutation of the world’s life is a qualification for the religious life. Besides, they both possess their version of practice and rites, which assist in the achievement of internal peace. Next, Buddhism as well as Hinduism trusts in the worthiness of particular spiritual performances comprising mediation and profound concentration (Underwood, p 7-8). Likewise, they both are strict lacto-vegetarians. This is because; Hindus believe that life is holy, while Buddhists consider it not right to ta ke away a life. In addition, they all believe in Dharma, which signifies sacred duty. Lastly, both religions have an objective to attain. Their aim is to flee from the continuous reincarnation cycle (Social Studies School Service, 136). Hinduism varies from Buddhism in various ways. Firstly, Hinduism has no principal figure, while Buddhism is on the foundation of the holy text, the ‘Tripitaka’, a compilation of teachings from a male named Buddha. Therefore, Buddha initiated Buddhism, while there was no founder of Hinduism. Hinduism develops on the caste system, which is a routine formed by the Aryans, and states that individuals should do the work they were born to do. These jobs are such as merchants, farmers, soldiers and many others. Whereas, if someone’s father happens to be a farmer, so they are. On the contrary, Buddhists did not commit on the caste way since they believed in equality to all persons. They believe that every person must work hard to reduce t he life’s stress (Social Studies School Service, 135). Hindus have faith in the supremacy along with efficacy of the Vedas, while Buddhists do not obey the Vedas or any scripture of Hinduism. Hinduism trust in one supreme God; the ‘Brahman’, plus various minor gods like the Shiva, Vishnu, and individual’s soul. On the contrary, Buddhists do not admit their belief in any supreme God or souls. However, they believe that persons are accountable for their actions (Social Studies School Service, 136; Underwood, p 8). Further, Buddhists are arranged into a monastic order, while Hindus do not contain a formal and regular system of arrangement. Buddhists regard stopping human anguish as their main objective in life. On the other hand,

The Democratic Republic of Congo Research Paper

The Democratic Republic of Congo - Research Paper Example This paper is a critical evaluation of the country’s history, specifically, of the armed conflict which occurred between 1998 and 2003, as well as of the two most recent general elections that have been conducted in the country. The Second Congo War (1998-2003) The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is a country which has had a share of civil conflicts, most importantly, the Second Congo War. This is a war that started in August 1998 and ended in 2003, and at which more than 5 million people lost their lives (Prunier, 2008). It is believed that a significant number of these victims died as a result of hunger and malnutrition as well as of diseases such as malaria and diarrhea among others. Some sources term this war as the African World War based on the fact that the fighting was not exclusively among the Congo people. It may be important to state that other countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Angola, Sudan, Chad and Namibia were actively involved in this conflict, hen ce the reason why some refer it to as the African World War in comparison to WW1 and WW2 whereby different countries formed coalitions to support each other (Prunier, 2008). The root causes of this war were largely based on the events of the first Congo war (Turner, 2007). Zaire, as the country was previously called, was under the authoritarian rule of Mobutu Seseseko for the period between 1965 and 1997, and this had motivated the formation of rebel groups with the intent of overthrowing Mobutu. During this period, too, Rwanda, a neighboring country, experienced a genocide which resulted in the fleeing of members of the Hutu community into the then Zaire, who resided in refugee camps. These people were the prime targets of violence orchestrated by the Tutsis and after fleeing into Zaire, they formed rebel groups, especially Interahamwe, which continued to level attacks on Tutsis in Rwanda. Later, the Zairian forces joined hands with these militia groups to attack Tutsis in Zaire, a nd this compelled the Rwandan government to provide military aid to the antigovernment forces in Zaire in order to remove Mobutu from power, after which someone friendly to them would be installed as president so as to be able to crush the rebel groups (Prunier, 2008). This person happened to be Laurent Kabila, who had been in the forefront for a long time in the fight to remove Mobutu from power. On the other hand, Uganda was interested in the vast resources present in the country and therefore, they also wanted Mobutu to be out of the picture and to achieve this, they joined rebel forces and other politicians in a military campaign to overthrow the then government whose popularity, in the region, was dwindling day after day (Clark, 2002). In May 1997, Mobutu lost the battle and fled the country, after which Laurent Kabila declared himself as president and changed the country’s name from Zaire to DRC. However, after the successful removal of Mobutu from power, the Rwandan an d Ugandan forces remained in the country, which made it difficult for Kabila to exercise authority as president. This was made worse by the fact that Kabila’s government was full of Tutsis, whom he had appointed to senior positions such as the chief of staff, his personal secretary, and minister for foreign affairs among others. Due to internal pressure and his suspicion that the Rwandan gover