There
are aspects among all religions which the human race seems to share. These are
discovered throughout the sacred texts each religion no matter how different
they seem.
A
major characteristic which all religions seem to share is the human
relationship with eternity. The human conceptualization of something both
unchanging and timeless extends across all major religions regardless of
dogmatic and doctrinal differences. These connecting features are displayed in
the following scriptural quotations:
Judaism:
The voice said, “Cry!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass,
and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass
withereth, the flower fadeth, because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it;
surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word
of our God shall stand for ever.” — (Isaiah 40:6 - 8)
Islam:
"He is the First and the Last, the Ascendant and the Intimate, and He is,
of all things, Knowing. [ﯴ ﯵ ﯶ ﯷ ﯸ ﯹﯺ ﯻ ﯼ ﯽ ﯾ]" —(Qur'an 57:3)
Christianity:
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and
the last." — (Revelation 22:13)
Hinduism:
"The great and unborn Self is undecaying, immortal, undying, without fear,
and without end." —(Brihardaranyaka Upanishad, 4. 4. 25)
Buddhism:
"Coming empty-handed, going empty-handed – that is human. When you are
born, where do you come from? When you die, where do you go? Life is like a
floating cloud which appears. Death is like a floating cloud which disappears.
The floating cloud itself originally does not exist. Life and death, coming and
going, are also like that. But there is one thing which always remains clear.
It is pure and clear, not depending on life and death. Then what is the one
pure and clear thing?" —(Cambridge Zen Center publication, "The Human
Route")
Confucianism:
"The exemplary person is not deceived by that which is transitory, but
rather focuses on the ultimate." —(I Ching, Hexagram 54).
Taoism:
"Without sound and without form, (the Tao) depends on nothing and does not
change." —(Tao te Ching, 25)
As
you can see, there is a common (connecting) theme behind all scriptural texts
shown here regarding eternity; one which creates an interlinking basis between
all humanity and religions.
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