Three Main Religions, One Society; a Culture to Rule all Cultures.
I landed in Malaysia around seven PM on Sunday the 10th (which would be 6 AM in Corydon, IA), local time. I began work directly the next morning, and from that moment on, I have witnessed so many differences from my culture that I haven’t encountered in my whole life.
I entered my host family’s home that night and encountered something that I had never seen before; an altar with a Buddhist (the fat guy that we see at Chinese restaurants in America) sitting in a wooden framework, in-scents lit, with water in short-glasses, as well as three fruit sitting on a plate, and other objects I presumed to be offerings.
After a few days of getting comfortable with my host family, I asked what the altar was for, what the objects inside were meant symbolize, and who the guy with the Afro in the back in the small Polaroid picture was. She (SK) explained it to me very thoroughly; it was an altar that they pray at every morning for their religious beliefs. They are Buddhists!
Buddhists believe that what comes around, goes around, and are the ‘creators’ of the term everyone knows as “Karma”. They pray to their ‘spiritual leaders’. Buddhists do not have ‘gods’. While in prayer, they beg for forgiveness for any unkind gestures they have committed, and in return they will be granted everlasting life through reincarnation. They use this ideology to find oneself and bring enlightenment (Nirvana) into their lives, so when they are reincarnated, they are born into a more happy, rich, and nutritious lifestyle. Differing from other religions, Buddhism has no sin; they believe the root cause of human-suffering is behind ignorance. It was a branch of Hinduism; the individual that is named “Buddha”, Siddhartha Gautama, founded the religion by finding his path to Enlightenment , and teaching others how to do so; the community he created then became a faith and it spread throughout Asia. It is the 4th largest religion in the world. The local Chinese are mainly Buddhist. Buddhism believes in freedom; a personal freedom. Everyone has their own Enlightenment. Buddha founded the four noble truths after spending 49 days meditating next to a fig tree in Bodh Gaya, India; which is still there to this day! The first of four truths is: Dukkha; the underlying truth that every human is suffering due to the wants and needs a person can’t have.
The second is: Samudaya; the understanding that suffering stems from wants and needs and originates in the mind only.
The third is: Nirodha; the stopping of the Dukkah, where you release yourself from suffering, and don’t have to be in the miserable place of mind that holds you back from Nirvana.
The fourth is: Magga; the truth that there is a pathway to doing this process.
Doing all of these will lead you to the right 8’s, or the eightfold path, where you break the cycle of being miserable by having a right: freedom, narrative, medium, format, timing, metaphor, mind space, and wonk.
And to be honest, with a place that looks like this, how could one not be at peace and serenity.
While I was in the Buddhist temple, I heard a loud voice echoing throughout the city of Georgetown. Confused, I looked around outside while on the outreach of the Buddhist temple, and pinpointed the direction of the noise. It was coming from a mosque. It is the Ramadan weekend here in Penang, and I had the pleasure of seeing the holiday up-close. Islam is the second largest religion, behind Christianity.
In the United States, Islam is deemed the worst religion to exist, because all it does is promote hate’ through the Quran, their bible. A lot of Muslims are disappointed in Americans, because they believe only what they see on a screen and an article based off of lying statistics. In general research, you can see that a vast majority doesn’t approve, and the number of radicals are going down, due to foreign force and death. Islam is based on the belief of one God, Allah, and that Muhammad was a messenger for the faith. In a way, Allah is equal to the God of Christianity, and Muhammad is like Jesus, except he isn’t God’s son (just a prophet). Ramadan is a Muslim holiday, where they do not eat between sunrise and sundown and do not partake in relations with partners or sinful speech and gestures. At the end of Ramadan, they throw parties and eat with friends and family, and then go visit the graves of family members or close friends for remembrance. Also, I have learned some customs of the religion. In Islam, they do no eat pork, because they see it as a dirty animal and it is just not right to put in one’s body; they also don’t touch dogs. Another thing is that you don’t gesture at a Muslim with the left hand, because it is deemed the ‘sin’ hand, used for relations with partners, wiping their bottoms, etc., but the right hand is used to eat and drink.
Hundred and hundreds of Muslims walked the streets this weekend to go to the mosques surrounding the area; while in prayer, they face the east to face Mecca, the holiest city to them. So remember, when meeting a Muslim, shake with your right hand, and don’t mention pork! Also, stores/restaurants have to signify if they sell pork or not, and in the stores, they have a store inside a store to sell the pork products away from the other goods.
Eid Al-Fitr is celebrated at end of Ramadan, and since Malaysia is high on religious equality, they take off any holiday they deem important. Even a few Christian holidays, such as Christmas and Good Friday. A Muslim can be identifiable by the head-wear, Hijab, because in some places of Malaysia, they ban women from wearing clothes that are unveiling. Also, some women who aren’t even Muslim wear the Hijab; it’s a preference of style for some.
So while I was in the Buddhist Temple, the voice I was hearing was from a mosque and a man was shouting prayers on speaker. How it was echoing, and the strength of the voice, reminded me of Martin LK Jr.’s tone he used during his speeches; powerful, none-the-less.
The last religion I have encountered is the oldest known religion on the planet, dated back 6,000 years ago, is Hinduism. There isn’t a leader in Hinduism, like Christ to Christianity, or Buddha to Buddhism. Hindu has a resemblance to Buddhism, because Buddhism stems from Hinduism, as Buddha used to be a Hindu prince before he found his way to Nirvana. The Hindus believe there is one main ‘spirit’ or ‘soul’, Brahma, who has several manifestations of itself that aren’t gods. Many people call Hinduism a polytheistic religion, but it isn’t. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the protector, and Shiva is the destroyer, and the list goes on to what Brahma can become, and the followers know that to whichever god or goddess they pray to, they are praying to Brahma. They also have a group of prayers called the Vedas, which isn’t a book, but more of a list. These hymns, poems, and thoughts were memorized and not until 500–400 BC were they written down for future practice. They use these as basic followings for the religion.
The Hindus have four main principles in their faith.
The first is ‘Dharma’, which is maintaining your faith, moral rights, and behavior. The second is ‘Artha’; the pursuit of wealth and economic prosperity. The third is ‘Kama’, which is the desires of humankind, whether it be affection, love, relations with partners; this principle shouldn’t affect the others, as it is unhealthy. The fourth is ‘Moksha’, the liberation from suffering.
There are several differences between Hinduism and Buddhism; Buddhism is more philosophical beliefs; Hinduism is more of becoming one with the universe, while Buddhism is detaching oneself from the universe; Buddhism has no gods, but Hinduism has one large soul that takes the form of several deities.
Yoga, one of the most highly practiced and iconic workouts, was created by the Hindus as a way to train the mind, body, and soul to be peaceful.
I have met several Hindus, by recognizing the women by the colored dot on their forehead. It is called Bindi; it is commonly worn by Hindu, but others can wear it as well. Also, they have an ash-like substance, Vibhuti, rubbed between their eyebrows. This is because the space between the eyebrows represents intuition, so they want their thoughts to be taken towards spirituality.
Overall, Malaysia is a cultural mixing pot, bringing in religions, people of color, and ways of life from around the world to live in one area. The religions are treated equal by the government, and neither religion speaks or acts differently towards each other. It is harmony; truly, a culture to rule all cultures.
Lane M. K.
P.S., there are several Christian churches on the island, and I plan on attending the service on Sundays. :)
