James, Jonathan, Daniel, Michael

The Conversation:James: i am from a Buddhism perspective  
Michael: I am from a Hindu perspective
Daniel: I am from a Thaoist perspective
Jonathan: I am from a Shintoism perspective
First Question: Who is God?[James] I dont believe in supernatural reality aka i dont believe in Gods. I have no God.
[Michael] There are three Gods in Hinduism. There is Brahma: the creator of reality, Vishnu or Krishna: is the preserver of all of the creations and lastly Shiva: the destroyer.
[Jonathan] I have 8 different types of Gods. Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Inari, Kotoamatsukami, Izanagi, Izanami, Susanoo and Sarutahiko. All the 8 Gods in my religion have a different perspectives and different specialties.
[Michael] Why don’t you have any Gods james!?
[James] Well i have no Gods because i don't believe in any supernatural being that has the power to control and create. I believe that an enlightened one or some may call that person a Buddha to help us find our path and ways and not rely on these non-existant beings.
[James] Michael why do you believe there are Gods HUH?
[Daniel] We got no gods in our religion we only believe in the Tao, which is a formless eternal principle that governs the universe, or the Path, or Way that the universe  (nature) follows. In short “The Way Life Is” We think that the God of ( Western religions) Judaism, Christianity , and Islam unintelligible.
[Michael] It answers the basic questions of life. Who created the world and how it was formed.
[James] I see... I guess everyone has different points of view so i can't really question your answer.
[Michael] Gods really make our life more simpler. It gives us a sense of safety, it answers our basic questions.
[James] Not really... for us we don't need supernatural beings to give us a sense of safety. We have each other and our relationships and also we learn about nature that gives us insight to what the world really is and this for us gives a much more better sense of “safety”. We know nature is there and it is existent but for supernatural beings you don't even know if they exist or not. What do you say about this MICHAEL?!
[Michael] Interesting point James. But having Gods give us the sense that there is someone taking care of us. That if we please the God they will please us. Causing us to do more good than harm.
[Daniel] Respect Nature people! Respecting nature gives you good stuff. :D  
[James] I do respect nature mannn. I’m down with nature.
[Jonathan] Nature in Shintoism is very important to our religion since we have a thing called Kami which is a nature worship.
[Daniel] Good stuff guys!
Second Question: What is the meaning of life?
[Michael] In Hinduism, the meaning of life is tied up with Karma. If you do good, it will be repayed. If you harm others, you will be harmed. What goes around comes around.
[James] In Buddhism, the meaning of life is to reach enlightenment and to do this you have to experience the one time cycle. You learn-work-find oneself being enlightened than passing this to his disciples. After this the cycle ends and another cycle for another person continues.
[Daniel] Life in Taoism you just live out your life the way you want to.
[Jonathan] In my religion we want to live and not die because in our perspective death is like pollution to the Earth. Life for us is like a creative process. Our life is basically formed by nature.
[Michael] I really like the way your religion works Jonathan! Especially the creative process.



Third Question: Why does mankind exist?[Michael] Hinduism states that humans are the highest of all creation. Souls can take many births in lower forms to get the eligibility to be born as human. Life can form lower than human beings, such as insects, plants and animals to name a few.
[James] I don't really have a dominant say of why mankind exists like Michael. We are just here and thats it.
[Daniel] We just exist. Way of life man.
[Jonathan] We see mankind as a good spirit and that the bad things happen by evil spirits. Which is why God created us.





Forth Question: What happens when we die?
[Michael] In Hinduism, depending on how you lived your life you can either reincarnate as a human or as another living creature. If a person has reached Nirvana he or she can break this cycle and not be reincarnated. But simply, if a person lives a life where he serves he will be reincarnated as a human. However, if a person lives a life to harm he will be reincarnated as a lower creature such as beetles.
[James] For us after we reach the stage of enlightenment and we pass away its the end for us. We do not get reincarnated for another cycle of life. We actually oppose the idea of reincarnation. We think that it is wrong for a being to live for eternity without rest. I believe that after we die we reach a stage of completeness and that we can rest in peace without an endless cycle.
[Daniel] We just die. Wu Wei man Wu Wei. Just have to die its the way of nature.  
[Michael] Daniel! I want your answers to be more specific.
[Jonathan] When people who believe in my religion past away we have to do 20 procedures before we can bury them. When we die we get cremated and be put into the urn as kept in the house to keep the bad spirits away.
[James] Daniel please tell me more about your perspective of what happens when we die. I am very interested. YEAH amen Michael amen.
[Michael] James! when will you reach enlightenment? Seems like you have a long way to go.
[James] WELLL if you must know... you reach a stage of enlightnement when you pass all the Noble truths. It is then when you reach enlightenment.
[Michael] This was a pleasant conversation. Namaste.