Page 111 - Islam and Buddhism

Buddhism's Erroneous Beliefs

Attachment to this world is most people's major weakness. They

believe in a perverse idea like reincarnation chiefly because they want
never to give up earthly temptations. Therefore, only if someone has
an accurate conception of the real nature of this worldly life can he
radically alter his behavior so as to live morally.
Anyone aware of the real nature of the life of this world knows

that he has been created to serve the Lord, his Protector and Helper,
Who has created both him and the universe. Also, he knows that God
will hold him responsible for all his thoughts, words and deeds, and
that he must give an accounting to God after his death. The Lord re-
veals the reason for the creation of the life of this world in the Qur'an
(67: 2): "He Who created death and life to test which of you is best in

action. He is the Almighty, the Ever-Forgiving."
As this verse states, God has created human beings and placed
them in this one life temporarily, as a test. Here, He tries us with the
things that happen to us, and causes our lives to continue in order to
separate believers from the unbelievers, to purify them of their sins,
and to guide them to the moral values that lead to Paradise. In other

words, this world is only a place of training, where we can win God's
pleasure.
In the Qur'an, verse 2: 21, God reveals that He has created human
beings to serve Him: "Mankind! Worship your Lord, Who created
you and those before you, so that you may do your duty."
God has clearly indicated the limits that human beings may not

transgress, and the kinds of behavior that will win His approval and
the kinds that will not. On the basis of their behavior in the world,
people will receive reward or punishment in the eternal life to come.
This means that every moment we live brings us closer to either Hell
or Paradise. God reminds His servants of this reality and warns them

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