state the practices of Sufis which are similar to Hinduism and Buddhism
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Answer:
Global civilization and universal responsibility both depend on meaningful dialogue among world religions, such as Buddhism and Islam. Such dialogue can occur on the level of religious leaders, as well as on the level of the general public. Moreover, it can occur on the level of generalizations, as well as the level of well-documented specific detail.
The leaders and followers of Buddhism and Islam, however, have been largely unaware, in the past, of each others’ beliefs. This situation is slowly changing at present, but requires greater effort. In this context, the Internet is becoming an increasingly valuable medium for spreading information and dialoguing, particularly among the public, and even more particularly among young people. Users of the Internet, however, are faced with the formidable task of sifting through the mass of often conflicting information available, in order to locate reliable, unbiased sources. In meeting this challenge, outlines of similarities between Sufism and Buddhism go in the right direction concerning generalities, but need to be supplemented with detailed analyses of specific cases, in order to avoid misunderstanding.
For example, Buddhist and Islamic civilizations in Central Asia have been in contact with each other for over a millennium, and during that period, Sufism has developed and spread within the Islamic world. The fact that both Sufism and Buddhism deal with similar issues concerning the limitations of ordinary human existence, however, does not lead to the conclusion that either of the two necessarily influenced the other in formulating its resolution of this issue. This does not discount, however, the possibility that certain ideas may have been borrowed from one religion to another. But, assertions of such borrowing need to be delineated with precision and specificity in order to be credible. After all, both Sufism and Buddhism have long histories, wide geographic ranges, and great diversities of schools and masters, each with its own individual assertions.
For example, Abu Yazid Bistami (804-874 CE) introduced into Sufism the concepts of fana and khud’a from the influence of his teacher, Abu ‘Ali al-Sindi. Fana means cessation of existence – the total destruction of the individual ego in becoming one with Allah; khud’a means deceit or trick, as the description of the material world. In Hindu and Muslim Mysticism, R. C. Zaehner has argued convincingly that al-Sindi, known to have been a convert from another religion, most probably derived the former concept from the Chandogya Upanishad and the latter from the Svetashvetara Upanishad, as interpreted by the Advaita Vedanta founder, Shankara (788-820 CE). All forms of Buddhism deal with the similar topic of nirvana – release from recurring rebirth – and many Mahayana schools assert that the world of appearances is similar, although not equivalent, to maya, illusion. Nevertheless, it is hardly likely that any of their formulations played a role in the development of Sufi thought.
On the other hand, we can find examples of literary borrowings from Buddhism into Sufism. For instance, the Buddhist image of a group of blind men each describing an elephant differently, based on each touching a separate part of the animal, found its way into Sufism in the writings of the Persian scholar Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111 CE). Advocating philosophical skepticism, al-Ghazali used the image to illustrate how Islamic theologians possess only partial truth, while Buddha used it in The Sutta of the Non-Buddhist Sects (Pali: Tittha Sutta) to demonstrate the futility of the non-Buddhist philosophers debating their views with each other.
Answer:
Explanation:
All forms of Buddhism deal with the similar topic of nirvana – release from recurring rebirth – and many Mahayana schools assert that the world of appearances is similar, although not equivalent, to maya, illusion. Nevertheless, it is hardly likely that any of their formulations played a role in the development of Sufi thought.