Examining Buddhism from an Islamic Perspective

Buddhism was founded by Siddharata Gautama who was called Buddha which means the scholar. He lived from 560 BC to 480 BC. He was raised near the borders of Nepal as a prince and enjoyed a great deal of luxury. He got married when he was 19. When he became 26, he abandoned his wife and became detached from all the luxuries to live a harsh and difficult life. In doing so, he worked on disciplining himself. After his death, his followed gathered in a large convention in 483 BC. They attempted to remove differences among them and record the teachings of Buddha. They delegated this responsibility to three monks.

1. Kashyapa – dealt with intellectual issues.
2. Popali – dealt with self discipline.
3. Ananda – recorded the sayings of Buddha.

In the beginning, Buddha was objecting and opposing Hinduism. His teachings call attention to humans. He preaches a detachment from luxury., calling for love, forgiveness and good deeds.

After the death of Buddha, Buddhism became an idolatrous religion. Its follower exaggerated the belief in Buddha until they gave him the status of god.

The Buddhists believe that Buddha is the son of Allah and he is the salvation to humanity from its problems and its pain. They believe that he will carry their sins for them. They believe that Buddha was born as a result of the Holy Spirit coming to the virgin Maya. There are many similarities between the Buddhist belief in Buddha and the Christian belief in Jesus (AS).

Buddhists believe that Buddha was made known as the son of god as soon as he was born. They believe that when he was a baby he said to his mother that he is the greatest of all mankind. They say that once Buddha entered the temple and the idol prostrated to him. They believe that he will come back to this world to restore peace and blessings in it. They believe that Buddha is the only great creature who is eternal. According to them, he is the one who will hold people accountable. They believed that Buddha established a religious kingdom on earth. Some researchers say that Buddha denied and rejected faith in god.but he used to believe in reincarnation. According to Buddha all people are equal.

1. Buddhists must abide by 8 elements to discipline themselves and overcome their desires.
2. Straight forwardness. 
3. To rid oneself of lust and desire before doing anything
4. Good thinking
5. Enlightenment
6. Correct and straight forward belief, i.e. doing only the things you feel comfortable with
7. Compatibility and congruence among the tongue, the behavior and the heart. 
8. Correct life based upon abandoning desires. Life must be based on knowledge and truth

According to them sins are caused by three things.

1. Indulgence in desires
2. Bad intentions
3. Lack of thinking and understanding

Buddhists are divided into two groups, i.e. the religious and the civil. The religious adhere to all

teachings of Buddha whereas the civil are selective in what they take and leave of his teachings. 

There are two sects of Buddhists. Those in the north i.e. China, Nepal, Tibet, Japan and Sumatra believe in Buddha as a god. While those in the south, i.e. Burma, Sri Lanka and Thailand.believe that Buddha was a teacher who reached a higher level of charity and purity.

There are three sections in the book of Buddhism 

Collection of laws written by Buddha

The sermons Buddha made

The Basis and foundation of their religion.

Buddhism is a very old with some similarities and borrowing from Hinduism and Confucianism. It is widespread in Asia, with some 6 million followers. One of their largest temple is in Nepal.It is  based on religious philosophy which was adopted as a religious code.