Hinduism Vs Buddhism

Hinduism and Buddhism are two of the oldest and most influential religions around the world. There are currently over one billion Hindus and 488 million Buddhists still celebrating their religion today. Hinduism and Buddhism are very similar religions for many reasons, some of the reasons being their beliefs and origins. Both religions originated in India and are based on similar cultural backgrounds and traditions. Based upon observations and review, these religions appear to be more similar to one another than different, because of their rituals, origins, beliefs, and many more.

Buddhism is also a very old religion that originated in the year 500 BC. Buddhism was founded by a man named Siddhartha Gautama through his teachings and wisdom.
Rituals are done to show respect and praise to their gods. Most rituals are performed everyday as much as possible to show that the gods are always part of their life. Many similar beliefs tie into both religions such as the final goal to reach the Nirvana. Nirvana has different names in both religions, but means the same thing. Nirvana is a state reached in life after much prayer, worship, hard work, and many good things achieved. It can take many generations for an individual to reach Nirvana but when one does, all desires, suffering, and evil goes away in life. Buddhist’s rituals are very tranquil and calm. Most of the rituals are characterized by meditation and calming on the mind. Many rituals change, depending on their location similar to the beliefs. Some of the most common rituals include chants, meditation, and different acts of worship. During their rituals, different verses are chanted from the Sutra, which is a collection of truths and observations about the religion. Buddhists also worship through meditation to calm their mind and focus on their beliefs just as Siddhartha Gautama did. Buddhists also go to stupas for their rituals, which are sacred holy places of prayer and
The first category is Vedic rituals, which are rituals taken from the Vedas and are focused on sacrifice and purity. The Vedas is the most ancient Hindu scripture, containing hymns, philosophy, and guidance. The Vedic rituals are performed in temples and individual homes. The other form of Hindu rituals is asceticism, rituals that reject the Vedas and focuses on self-denial and prayer. Rituals are an important part of the everyday lives of Buddhists and Hindus. “Meditation is in truth higher than thought. The earth seems to rest in silent meditation; and the waters and the mountains and the sky and the heavens seem all to be in meditation. Whenever a man attains greatness on this earth, he has his reward according to his meditation…” This is a small quote from the Hindu Upanishad which is a collection of writings from the core of the Indian philosophy. This quote is saying that meditation is a crucial part of the religion and reaching the nirvana. When an individual is meditation, the whole world seems to be at peace and calm so that they can focus on their prayer and worship. Both religions have many different forms of rituals, but all have the same focus of person spiritual