Page 98 - Islam and Buddhism

Islam and Buddhism

amount of good and evil they have done while on earth. When the

prescribed time has been completed, they will return to earth again.
Heaven and Hell are no more than temporary states of existence in
which the individuals receive their reward for the acts they have
committed while on earth. 5
Buddhism teaches that there is a kind of Paradise and Hell, as a
reward and punishment for what a person has done. But because this

belief does not stem from a revealed religion, it contains many contra-
dictions and illogicalities. Above all, and contrary to what God has re-
vealed in the Qur'an, Buddhism believes that Paradise and Hell are
only transitory.
Again, one of this belief's most illogical aspects is the idea that all
systems in the world operate, in effect, by themselves. According to

Buddhism, just as the existence of the universe and human beings is
uncontrolled, so is the cycle of death and re-birth. There is no room in
this belief for a Creator Who has brought into existence the world and
the life upon it, together with Paradise and Hell, and rewards human

beings for what they have done. However, accepting the existence of
Paradise and Hell as places where reward and punishment are given,
but not explaining how these realms were created, is an extremely il-
logical, unacceptable claim.
But who deals out the rewards and punishments? Moreover,
how were these realms created? The philosophy of karma claims no

account of how Paradise and Hell could have come into being with-
out a Creator. This superstitious belief has been passed down from
generation to generation, without ever being questioned or logically
explained. Buddhism has no logical explanation for the existence of
the universe or how it functions, nor of the origin of the flawless cre-

ative art evident in all living things. For this reason, Buddhism can

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