Belief Systems: A Catastrophic Topic

Bella Hill 2/4/14 History 2nd period

A civilization needs a belief system, or there would mostly be a series of chaotic events. Belief systems shape societies into who they are. For instance, according to Frey, in Buddhism, people are taught, Do not work at a job that causes harm to people or living creatures (159). This states that Buddhists were raised and instructed to refuse to take a job that harms anything with a life. A Buddhist believes that all living things should be treated well and equal, for life is precious. If religions and civilizations were always taught that it is okay to be violent, destructive, and rude, then those rules would influence the societys behavior. This would mainspring a lot of pandemonium because if the public continued to be raised in that way, then it would be a tradition to be disrespectful, and the results would be catastrophic.

Scenario Response
In order to better understand the importance of belief systems within a civilization and how they can influence the actions and decisions of a people, please consider the following moral dilemma:

Life Saving Medicine

In Europe, a woman was near death from a special kind of cancer. There was one drug that the doctors thought might save her. It was a form of radium that a druggist in the same town had recently discovered. The drug was expensive to make, but the druggist was charging ten times what the drug originally cost him to produce. He paid $400 for the radium and charged $4,000 for a small dose of the drug. The sick woman's husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money and tried every legal means, but he could only get together about $2,000, which is half of what it cost. He

told the druggist that his wife was dying, and asked him to sell it cheaper or let him pay later. But the druggist said, "No, I discovered the drug and I'm going to make money from it." So, having tried every legal means, Heinz gets desperate and considers breaking into the man's store to steal the drug for his wife.

Buddhist In this scenario, a Buddhist would probably explain to Heinz how if the wife was dying, it was the wifes time to die or reincarnate. Frey states that Buddhists say, Suffering is present in all things, and nothing lasts forever (159). This states that a Buddhist would most likely elucidate how everything happens for a reason. Frey also makes the claim, Do not kill, steal, or lie (159). According to the eight-fold path, a person is supposed to have right mindfulness. And to have right mindfulness, one is supposed to follow the rules of the Eightfold Path. Frey also states that a Buddhist believes it is important to, Promote good actions and prevent evil actions (159). This says to not do anything bad. Stealing is shunned in Buddhism, so this is considered as an evil action. In conclusion, Heinz should not steal the medicine, but should let his wife die peacefully because the Buddhist belief is to not steal. Hindu Although a Buddhist wouldnt steal the medicine due to their rule of not stealing, if Heinz confronted a Hindu, the Hindu would explain to take the medicine because karma would pay Heinz well by saving a life. Frey states, They (the Hindus) taught that all people, including the untouchables, should be treated equally (149). Upon analogies, this means that one should treat people the way that person wants to be treated. And because the Hindus believe in karma, a belief where if you do something well in this world, the universe will reward you with something good back, a Hindu would also tell Heinz to take the medicine so it could help another person. This is so Heinz could move up to a higher caste in the next life, and the universe would reward Heinz. It is better to take the medicine and save a life than not take it and let

someone die. Also, in Hinduism, dharma is very important. Dharma means duty and if someone does not do his or her duty, that person will be punished. For example, if an officer doesnt protect others and punish bad people, the karma of that officer wont be good. And in this story, Heinz is supposed to be a caring husband. His job is to keep his wife healthy and living. A Hindu would probably clarify how life is precious, and it is worth taking the medicine. In conclusion, a Hindu would tell Heinz to take the medicine because if Heinz wants good karma by saving his wife, he should take the medicine for the wife. Confucianism In Confucianism, one of the main and important rules is, as Frey states, Do not do to others what you would not want done to you (208). If Heinz would want the wife to take medicine to survive, Heinz should do so for the wife. If a Confucian came up to Heinz and Heinz asked for advice, the Confucian would explain how not getting the medicine would be harming the wife. And according to, The Wisdom of Confucius, Of all that Heaven produces and nourishes, there is none so great as man. This states that people are extremely important and that nothing is more important that a persons life. So, Heinz should get the medicine according to a Confucian to save the wifes life. This is a lot like Hinduism because in Hinduism the people value a humans life, and the concept of life in general. In conclusion, a Confucian would tell Heinz to take the medicine and save the wifes life because the life of a person is esteemed greatly, and the Confucian would also say that its considered the right thing to do. In conclusion, belief systems are important because it influences communities. The society of Bellatopia would want to be known for compassion, success, and creativity. These values can be related to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism in many different ways. For example, Confucians believe that one should not do to others as they would not want done to them. This means that Confucians believe in fairness. In Bellas civilization, compassion is a very big and important value, and being compassionate is like being fair. In Hinduism, creativity is used because of all the gods and goddesses in Hindu beliefs, and one would need a lot of creativity to come up with all of those gods and

goddesses. And last but not least, success can be related to Buddhism because success is when one completes a task or accomplishes an aim. In Buddhism, a rule is to not kill, lie, or steal, and to not do those things, one would have to succeed in not killing, lying, or stealing.