Do you consider yourself happy? How would you define such an abstract concept? Is it based on religious beliefs, is it a result of one's "good" morale, or is it an innate feeling experienced by all of humanity regardless of faith or effort? In an attempt to define happiness, Samuel S. Franklin (2009) created the first book to bring together psychological, philosophical, and physiological theory in support of Aristotle's concept of happiness. The book, titled 'The Psychology of Happiness', discusses the discovery of human potentials and the mistaken idea that fulfillment is selfish. The book reaches the conclusion that happiness is not defined by a "good" feeling, but rather by fulfilling the full potential of humanity. (Franklin, 2009). I believe most humans would agree that they enjoy being happy but asking them to describe what that means will look widely different the more humans you ask. Therefore, if we'd like to create a universal definition, we must first understand the varying cultural or religious definitions in order to create a synopsis. In this comparative analysis, I discuss two widely known religions, Buddhism and Christianity, in an attempt to discover a universal concept of a "good life".

The Buddhist religion can be difficult to concisely define. As time elapses, the religion branches into many subdivisions, most of which retain the core beliefs of Buddhism. Within these core beliefs is the concept of 'enlightenment' or 'nirvana'; which means living life without suffering. Buddhism teaches that nirvana can be achieved by overcoming clinginess (Johnson, J. A., 2022). When analyzing the history of Buddhist beliefs, A search of 'Buddhism' on Britannica Academic reveals that the Buddha himself, Siddhartha Gautama, was a prince born between 6th-4th century BCE in northern India. Upon his birth, he was prophesized to help others overcome suffering. His father feared Siddhartha would live the life of a beggar (which was typical for a sage at that time), so he kept Siddhartha in the palace. Buddha escaped in his 30's and had his first encounters with suffering as he saw ill men near death and old men incapable of walking (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). He then saw monk, whom had nothing yet radiated happiness; Siddhartha wanted that, so he denounced his privileged life and went on a quest to find enlightenment (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). On his quest, Buddha nearly starved to death but ultimately settled on a "Middle Way" and was able to reach nirvana. He spent the next forty years preaching before his death (around the age of eighty).

In addition to overcoming clinginess, Buddha believed cravings must be eliminated by understanding and overcoming traits such as greed, hatred, and ignorance (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). Reaching nirvana in this lifetime enables one to live in peace, which creates happiness for Buddhists. In order to achieve happiness, the cause of suffering must be overcome by eliminating cravings and overcoming clinginess. This pursuit of happiness starkly contrasts the beliefs of early Christianity, which focused more on acceptance during life and happiness in the afterlife.

Fully understanding Christianity is a difficult journey to embark on due to factors such as the simple (albeit strewn out) passage of time, globalization, and scientific advancements during the course of this universally popular religion. Because of these contextual changes, the original faith of Christianity can be hard to find; it is important to emphasize 'original' because the contemporary view on Christianity is diverse and radically different than the limited historical accounts. The belief that one’s following of Jesus Christ will affect quality of their respective afterlife is a consistent belief within the religion, though. The Synoptic Gospels provide the historical account of Jesus Christ:

Jesus Of Nazzareth was born sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE to a Jewish couple, Joseph and Mary. Mary was a virgin at the time of her conception; and Joseph was only legally the father of Jesus, as Mary is said to have conceived by the Holy Spirit. There is no evidence of Jesus's childhood or early life. There is evidence, although, of his early adulthood; in which he may have been a healer, preacher, or exorcist. Despite the differing titles, it is agreed upon that Jesus gained considerable attention as a young adult and was viewed amongst some Jews as the Messiah. In his mid-30s, Jesus had a short public career (about one year) before his journey to observe Passover in Jerusalem. There was eschatological significance infused in Jesus's triumphant arrival, but he was ultimately arrested, tried, and executed. Jesus's disciples claimed that Jesus had risen from the dead and appeared to them. They subsequently converted others to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, which were to love everyone, even the enemy, and to have faith in God and the kingdom to come (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.).

       Following Jesus Christ meant Christians were expected to have faith that they would achieve happiness in the afterlife if they agreed to be kind, loving, and understanding to every human on earth; this promise led to the creation of Christianity.

Christianity and Buddhism show radical differences from one another (such as heaven and hell/reincarnation, monotheistic/polytheistic views, and sin/karma [MindEdge, 3.09 & 5.08]), almost making them opposite; so why, then, do they seem to be following almost identical paths throughout history? The timeline of early Buddhism, and the timeline of early Christianity are nearly identical. Both Siddhartha’s and Jesus’s birth years are described as being between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, both Siddhartha and Jesus left their homelife to pursue a personal life in adulthood (not typical for the time periods), and both religions mention the age of 30 as significant for the development of the respective religions. We can even see similarities between some Buddhist sects and Christian beliefs.

Approximately 1,800 years after the death of the Buddha, a 12th century monk by the name of Dharmakara vowed rebirth in the Pure Land to all of those who called upon his name (Britannica Academic, n.d.). His teachings led to the school of Tendai in China, which taught traditional Buddhist beliefs. These teachings travelled to Japan and became widely popular. During the 13th Century, a Japanese priest by the name of Honen taught the Buddhist values to the people of his land. Like Dharmakara, Honen believed Buddhahood could be achieved by learning, doing good-deeds, and meditating. Unlike Dharmakara, though, Honen believed man must also worship the deity Amida to achieve Buddhahood (Britannica Academic, n.d.). Furthermore, Honen asserted that man should worship Amida and Amida alone, to be promised rebirth into the Pure Land (Britannica Academic, n.d.). His teachings resulted in the abandonment of traditional, polytheistic Buddhist views in favor of views more monotheistic in nature, like the beliefs held in Christianity and Judaism.

In Christianity, the Bible is considered a sacred text. In the biblical story of Genesis, A man by the name of Abraham makes a covenant with God where he is promised a region of land for himself and his offspring in return for following God’s command (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). Abraham follows God’s commands and makes it to the land of Canaan. Here, Abraham must sacrifice his son Isaac. Hesitating with the moral dilemma, Abraham ultimately decided to follow through with the act (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). At the last moment, God substituted the child with a ram, sparing his life (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). The sacrifice of Abraham’s son was said to be foreshadowing Jesus’ sacrificial death, and the region of land reserved for Abraham’s offspring continues to be known as the Promised Land (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.). The Pure Land and the Promised Land are just some similarities seen within these two religions.

Once we understand the history of various religions, we begin to understand that they are not so different after all. They even share a basic guiding philosophy: a good life is promised if you strive to be a good person. Buddhism seeks to understand emotions and feelings by investigating the cause of suffering and working hard to overcome cravings. Christianity aims to understand the plights of humanity by striving to be Christ-like, loving thy neighbors, and having faith in the Lord. Buddhism believes a peaceful life will be cultivated in this lifetime, and action unto others will determine quality of life in the next. Christianity believes the most peaceful life is the one in Heaven and their admittance will be granted based on their actions onto others during their lifetime. Both Buddhism and Christianity base this concept of ‘happiness’ on their treatment towards others.

This comparative analysis gives us hope for a global community that strives on peace and coexistence. The root of unrest is the lack of civility, but it can become difficult to recognize similarities when there are vast amounts of perspectives, beliefs, and religions. I believe that understanding life, our place in it, and how we affect others is the key to achieving a good life, which, I’d argue, is the very definition of happiness.

References 

Encyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.). Abraham. Britannica Academic. Retrieved December 06, 2022, from https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/levels/collegiate/article/Abraham/3379

Encyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.). Christianity. Britannica Academic. Retrieved November 13, 2022, from https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/levels/collegiate/article/Christianity/105945  

Encyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.). Jesus. Britannica Academic. Retrieved November 19, 2022, from https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/levels/collegiate/article/Jesus/106456    

Encyclopedia Britannica. (n.d.). Pure Land Buddhism. Britannica Academic. Retrieved November 14, 2022, from https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/levels/collegiate/article/Pure-Land-Buddhism/61945

Franklin, S. S. (2009). The psychology of happiness: A good human life. Cambridge University Press, 2012. https://doi-org.ezproxy.snhu.edu/10.1017/CBO9780511819285

Johnson, J. A. (2022). Buddhism. Salem Press Encyclopedia. https://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=86179268&site=eds-live&scope=site

MindEdge (2022) Part 3.09 and 5.08. In PHL-230. Religions of the World.