A Study Compares and Analyzes the Relationship between Karma and Samsara in Theravada Buddhism and Roman Catholicism

Abstract

This research aims to 1) study the relationship between karma and samsara in Theravada Buddhism, 2) study the relationship between sin and the journey to eternal life in Roman Catholicism, and 3) compare and analyze the relationship between karma and samsara in Theravada Buddhism with the relationship between sin and the journey to eternal life in Roman Catholicism. It is a descriptive, analytical, and integrated research study. The findings show that: 1) In Buddhism, karma, or intention, is divided into three types: bodily actions, verbal actions, and mental actions. Alternatively, good karma results in happiness, bad karma results in suffering, and neutral karma leads to Nirvana. Death occurs due to the end of one's lifespan, the exhaustion of karma, the exhaustion of both, or karmic cutoff. This is based on the belief in "samsara," the endless cycle of birth and death in various realms as long as one has not extinguished defilements. 2) Regarding the relationship between karma and samsara in Christianity, sin is viewed as a state where the soul is separated from God. There are two types: original sin and sins chosen by humans. Death has three dimensions: spiritual death from sin, physical death, and death from judgment. However, there is no belief in samsara. 3) Comparing samsara in Theravada Buddhism and Catholic Christianity, Buddhism views samsara as a natural law, with the only path being self-cultivation to escape this cycle. Christianity, on the other hand, rejects the concept of samsara and emphasizes the importance of a "one life, one chance" in this world, encouraging the soul to live according to God's precepts and accept God's love so that after death and final judgment, the soul will enter heaven and not be separated from Him into eternal hell.