In my Religion 110 class, we have been asked to research a moral dilemma topic from a religious standpoint, and research how varying religions would handle the situation. The religions in which I will compare consist of Buddhism, Hinduism, and my personal religion, Christianity. The dilemma that I chose states, “You thought you were in love. You got married, had three children, but you find that you no longer love your spouse. You begin seeing someone else, someone that makes you happy. Isn’t that the most important thing?”
I will begin with Buddhism. Buddhism offers timeless wisdom for dealing with life’s real problems. Buddhism teaches Karma, which is the law that a person’s thoughts and deeds are followed eventually by deserved pleasure or pain. My interpretation of Karma is that everyone is responsible for his/her own actions and its consequences, if you do bad things in your present life, they will carry over to the next life. Marriage in the Buddhist culture is very liberal, and regarded as a personal and individual concern, not a religious duty. Therefore, I believe that if one is entirely unhappy with his/her spouse, then that person would be free to do as they please, whether it is to get a divorce or not. Though this action might carry over to the next life, a person chooses his Karma; they know that there might be consequences to suffer one day. Buddha gave us teachings about what a man and wife can expect from a marriage.
The husband can expect the following qualities from his wife:
• Love
• Attentiveness
• Family obligations
• Faithfulness
• Child-care
• Thrift
• Provision of meals
• ...