Your instructor will assign and send you a peer’s paper from the Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity: First Draft assignment. Your job is to critically read the assignment and make corrections/comments using Track Changes in Microsoft Word. Assess the paper on the following content: Does the paper provide sufficient evidence for its hypothesis or claim? Does the flow of the paper and sentence structure make sense? Should it be organized in a different way? Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required. Faith Diversity Kendall Salcido Grand Canyon University January 10, 2016 Abstract In this paper, the author will report the differences in personal worldviews of Christian and Buddhist followers. It will describe how healthcare employees can alter their care of patients with differing spiritual beliefs of their own. The reader will find that Buddhism is a philosophical way of life in addition to a religion. The teachings emphasis peace, acts of service and kindness, and most importantly, meditation in order for one to connect to his or hers own self. In addition, the reader will understand the Buddhist peoples’ views on sickness and healing of both the body and mind. The reader will find that Christianity is the belief in one God as being the creator of all things and all things, including healing, are possible through Him. It will be understood that most Christian will believe and rely on the power of prayer and fellowship in order to overcome health battles. Faith Diversity Caring for the ill has never been thought of as a small feat or for the faint hearted. Many health care employees find a calling to the profession through their own personal belief in a higher power. When difficulties of their job arise, they find strength from knowing God is using them as a vessel to shine through and provide the sick with hope, healing and faith. What happens when those ones are called upon to give that same dedication and caring to one with opposing views? How can this special group of professionals better understand the diversity amongst all faiths, cultures and people? God commanded of His people to show the blessing of him without discrimination (Kilner, 1992). The purpose of this paper is to highlight the differences between the worldview of those who follow a Christian faith and those who follow the teachings of Buddhist religion. Prime Reality and the World Around Us Those who practice a Christian faith believe that prime reality is God. For someone to identify themselves as a Christian is saying they are followers of Christ. They share the faith that the almighty God created the world and He did so with great love and intent. They carry the belief that He controls the world around us whether it is positive, negative or indifferent; it is His will that all things happen under (Kilner, 1992). On the contrary, Buddhist people do not believe that the world was created or is ruled by a God. “Buddhism denies the existence of one God or other creators; the world and all existences are believed to have originated from many causes that are governed by natural law” (Paonil & Sringernyuang, 2002). Buddha is not one who is worshiped or idolized by those who follow his teachings. He did not claim to be a God or even a superior to others. That notion would go against the belief of equality and positivity that he practiced. Those who practice the Buddhist life style will pay resects to the image or bowing to a statue of him as a reminder to themselves to strive for a higher level of peace and love from within. This would be a way to simply show gratitude (Paonil & Sringernyuang, 2002). Buddhism is a religion that believes in the power of positive thinking, karma, and getting out of life from what is put into it. Buddhist people have a wonderful tolerance of the world around them, which includes the teachings of other religions. Their taught to live a more fulfilling life by an eight fold path of suggestion. The environment is of great value and it is believe that in order to protect it they must protect themselves. Nature is considered and friend and should be cherished. That friendship is believed to be the catalysts to change thought process from the attitude of dominating nature, into the attitude of working with nature. It’s viewed by Buddhist that humans are a piece of all existence not the control of all existence. Meditation is a key piece of this belief with mindfulness and clear comprehension at the core of it. Peace is the goal of meditation, which encourages them to be mindful of every step in life. It enables man to be aware of the effects of his or her actions, some of which can be extremely harmful to the environment (Paonil & Sringernyuang, 2002). A Human Being and After Death Most Christians believe that humans are created in the image of God. He initially intended them to have no flaws and be the perfect creation. Humans were given free will to act as they chose with consequences that coincide with that. Most Christians view death slightly different. Some believe that the human spirit continues on all of eternity and after death we are called to be with our Heavenly Father in Heaven with all those who have passed before us (Dover & Pfeiffer, 2006). Buddhist people believe that humanity is a state of being and that it is only temporary. The differences between a human or a simple object like a rock or boulder, is that man has the ability to grow in wisdom, compassion and awareness. The human body is made up of five key components: The physical body, consciousness, volition, perception and emotions (Stone, 2007). They follow the belief that humans were created from evolution but the details seem to be vague. Buddhists believe that living holds great value, but does not put great emphasis on prolonging life if one is ill. They place two main components on maintaining life; having an alert mind and not being in excessive pain. They want the body to always be in most natural state as possible, so they will try to avoid analgesics and unnecessary medications. The importance of why we are physically here holds little value to them due to their main emphasis on the importance of escaping. The dying process holds a great deal of significance. They view this time as a very important transition. One of the key principles of their belief system is the belief in reincarnation after death. A reincarnated life will be based upon previous good deeds, positivity and interconnectedness with the soul (Stone, 2007). Healthcare workers need to take great care in dealing with this. It is believed that the spirit remains with the person hours after death. It is important for healthcare workers to be mindful of any meditating or rituals that take place during this time. It is also important to avoid moving of transporting the body in the hours after death, as there is a large emphasis on the importance of being still, calm and quiet in the atmosphere. This allows for a peaceful transition of the spirit and religious rites to take place. The Knowledge of anything and knowing right and wrong Buddhist people do not oppose advancements in knowledge and mankind. They believe the more advancement that take place, they closer they are to Buddha. They refer to Buddha as the Teacher. He is the one who shows the path to salvation. Although they may not pursue higher levels of knowledge they encourage and can appreciate modern technology and science. They are encouraged to not believe in something due to the mere reports or hearsay but when they have their own knowledge that they are wholesome and good (Harvey, 2013). Christians, on the other hand, hold the belief that humans’ ability to learn and grow intellectually is a gift that God has chosen to give to us. It is also important for us to continue to learn and teach one another, as this is one key principle of Jesus Christ, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”, Matthew 28:19,20. The Buddhist people practice five key principles to maintain a life of good and positive choices. They are to refrain from the act of killing and they do not take which is not given to you. They also refrain from lying or using false or harmful speech and refrain from consuming drugs or drinks that can cloud their mind. Christian teachings mostly follow ten basic principles laid out in the bible referred to as the Ten Commandments. Many of these principles in both faiths are similar in treating each other and themselves with respect and kindness. In healthcare, if these are followed and differences in religion and spirituality are respected, patient outcomes will greatly improve. Thorough education would be vital to patients that follow Buddhist teachings. Full knowledge of any medications, diagnosis, prognosis and plan of care will play a large part in their treatment plan. Patience must be used when decisions need to be made, as these patients could need a longer amount of time to fully meditate and self educate on the best option for them. It is important for nursing staff to place dietary restrictions as requested by Buddhist patients. This will be individually based, as not all Buddhist people follow the same diet. The Meaning of Human History Buddhist people believe that man is the highest fruit on the tree of life with evolution. They believe that much of the knowledge that was gained early on in human existence is simply survival (Harvey, 2013). They have yet to discover how man can live to their absolute fullest potential. They feel that man has failed to understand the true existence which has lead him to a false identity of self-seeking, bloating and pretending to be what he is not able to be. Just in looking at the short history of humanity over the past few decades, they see through higher suicide attempts, mental health hospitalizations and sales of sleeping pills, in relation to modern material growth is enough testimony for them to form the conclusion that man must go beyond worldly pleasures in order to seek true happiness. Christians believe in word of God as an explanation of the history of humans. The bible goes into extensive detail as to how Humans were created and Gods intention for them. In addition, it is documented that God sacrificed His only son, Jesus Christ for mankind to be forgiven of sins. Critical Components Although many religions share important components of the health and healing process, the priorities to each component will vary. Some of the components that are shared between Christian and Buddhist teachings are having a calm healing environment, modern technology and knowledge, competent staff caring for them. Those patients who identify with the Buddhist religion will need an extra strong emphasis on time for meditation, and peace. They prefer the same sex caregiver, a private room and plenty of uninterrupted time. Their belief is that meditation and connectivity with their inner being is better advantage for healing than modern medicine. Therefore, their rituals and meditations will need to be respected and uninterrupted. Sharing a room with another patient could interfere with their ability to fully connect with their inner being. These patients should be provided a private room. Christians will appreciate an emphasis on prayer, visitors, chaplain availability and access to a chapel. These patients might find a roommate not as invasive, as discussion about God and His promises can bring them hope. They could ask the health care employees caring for them to join them in prayer (Edelman & Mandel, 2014). If that is something that they are comfortable with, it would be highly appreciated. Important Aspect of Healthcare from opposing views When patients are cared for by healthcare workers whose faith differs from their own, the most important aspect of the relationship is showing respect for their beliefs. They should make every attempt to carry out wishes of the patient during their stay that would affect their spiritual or cultural needs (Edelman & Mandel, 2014). It is appropriate for staff to educate patients on their healthcare and treatment options but if decisions are made based on religious reasons, the conversation should not be continued in an attempt to change patients’ minds on their care. It would not be appropriate for the healthcare employee to share personal beliefs or thoughts on the patients’ faith. Summary As a Christian healthcare provider myself, I have come to the conclusion that although we many all have differing worldviews, the majority of the population want similar things. I now know that while caring for a patient that practices Buddhism, it is important to offer them plenty of education regarding their care, allow time for decision making and most importantly, provide a peaceful environment that they can maintain sufficient meditation and inner peace. As a Christian, these are all things I can completely relate to. I, however, do believe in God and the power of prayer. That can be used an effective comparison as to how some Buddhist people believe in the power or peace and interconnectedness.
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