Top-Rated Free Essay
Preview

Comparing Hinduism and Buddhism

Good Essays
1250 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparing Hinduism and Buddhism
There are many religions in the world and they each have thousands of followers. Even though they all have something that they believe in; each religion varies. Buddhism and Hinduism have both have a form of rebirth, but they have different opinions on the caste system and the idea of having a god or gods. In both Hinduism and Buddhism they have a form of rebirth apart of their religion. In this rebirthing/ reincarnation process the followers are trying to achieve perfect harmony and to get out of the process altogether. In Hinduism the people cannot fulfill everything thing they need to in the religion like get to the top of the caste system and live the perfect life. So when they die their soul is immediately transported into another living being while it is being born. When people are living they do not know that their souls have moved up in the caste system since their last body, so they know that they have to continue to live right so their soul can move up again. The Caste System is the social system Hindus follow to follow their rules of Hinduism. When a soul is ‘transported’ into a new body the owner does not know any details from its past life. Their soul completes this cycle by getting into the top of the caste system and it reaches Moksha. Moksha is when your soul is finally released into the universe. While in Buddhism you can fulfill the purpose of the religion in one lifetime, the purpose is to achieve Nirvana. Nirvana is being able to and capable of being completely content with your life, mainly not having any desires in this life. You can only achieve Nirvana if you follow the Eight Fold Path and the Four Noble Truths. Those are both the rules put in place to help guide the people in achieving Nirvana. In Buddhism if you do not achieve Nirvana in one life then your soul is placed in another body until your new body achieves it. Most of the time people achieve Nirvana in their life time and their soul is released into the universe for eternity. In Hinduism and Buddhism the believers follow a system that helps them achieve the purpose of each religion. In Hinduism a large part of that religion is the caste system. The caste system has four classes, and each class has a specific ranking. Purusha is a god who is highly looked upon in Hinduism; he was so greatly respected the based the Caste System on his body parts The basic outline of the caste system is this, the Brahmins, which symbolize Purusha’s mouth, and they can talk to the gods. Then Kshatriyas, which were his arms, were the warriors. The Vaisyas, his two thighs, were the merchants and artisans who provide money for the priests and warriors. The last level and bottom level is the Sudras, his two feet, they labors and farmers who were the foundation of the social order. In this system everyone has a specific thing to do in their caste; this brings the concept of Dharma into the religion. Dharma is like the job you have a life, and you were only to do your Dharma even if you were horrible at it. It is better to do your Dharma poorly than to do another person’s Dharma well. In Buddhism there was absolutely no caste system, or even a form of it. In Buddhism the believers followed two sets of rules. The first set is called the Eight Fold Path; this is the key to achieving Nirvana. All eight of these ‘rules’ are focused on keeping one’s mind focused on reaching complete happiness and harmony in life. These rules were created by Siddhartha Gautama- the Buddha. He was the first person to achieve Nirvana. He created the eight fold path when he reached Nirvana, so other people could also reach it. The other set of rules the followers believe and follow are the Four Noble Truths. They tell us how people have a sinful nature and how we can stop our sinful nature and achieve Nirvana. Siddhartha Gautama created these truths for the followers to understand everything about this life and to know how to make this life better. He was a ruler who fully grasped Buddhism and made many statues and buildings for it. In Buddhism there is no caste system because everyone is treated equal and they all are trying to reach Nirvana, they all are a part the same of group or class. In Hinduism the followers are polytheistic, but in Buddhism they don’t really worship any god or goddesses. Hinduism have many gods each having a different meaning. They have this because they believe there is a different god for every aspect of life. They also believed that there are some gods that help people and some gods that harm people. They believe in many gods not only from their religion, but from many other religions also. They do this because the main objective of their religion is not to please the gods. So they follow their religion and they also try to please many gods so they will not have a hard life. They integrate many gods into their religion because they believe that all the gods will help them in life. They brought Siddhartha Gautama into their religion and their god name for him is Buddha. It is in this way they enveloped Buddhism into Hinduism. They follow what he said to do along with what Hinduism says to do. Hindus have over four hundred god and goddess, and the followers don’t have to believe of follow all of them, only the ones who apply to their lives. In Buddhism there is not a god that they worship, this makes the religion more of a philosophy than a religion. They do not have a god or goddess because their main purpose in life is to achieve Nirvana. They do not need a god to help them do that; they can achieve it independently. They have no one who saves them or help them in life other than their selves. This aspect makes this religion different from every other religion in the world. The religions of Hinduism and Buddhism are very similar compared to Christianity. While those religions were being formed Christianity was being created also. In Christianity people believe that they have to completely summit their lives to the God named God. They believe that God sent his only son, Jesus, to the Earth to die on a cross for their sins. When they commit their lives to Jesus and God then when they die they are allowed to spend eternity in Heaven, and if they don’t then they spend eternity in Hell. Hinduism and Buddhism some of the first religions of their kind; they also were the first religions that spread across the globe. They both have a reincarnation process along with a certain way of living, but they have different ideas on how to have structure and if having a god is necessary. Learning about both of these religions or philosophies help people understand how religions have some of the same basic foundations and ideas but have different rules and regulations. Hinduism and Buddhism are great examples on comparing two religions; because they share the same concept of having their soul spend eternity in the universe, but they have different ways of achieving that goal.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Buddhism and Hinduism originate from the same area, India. Them two are extremely centered around nature, the things around them, however they both put stock in a few hells and sky, or higher and lower universes. They both have confidence in karma which is the influence a man's activities in this life will change his next life. Another point is that both religions concentrate on peace, and peacefulness towards every single living thing. They are merciful, which ties into their attention on nature. Buddhism and Hinduism likewise put stock in different otherworldly practices, for example, contemplation, fixation, and perspectives. Craving is the biggest reason for anguish in both of the religions. Another similarity is they both put stock in…

    • 206 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hinduism has a collection of many philosophies from other religions from India, Buddhism and Jainism is some of the religions which believe were combined in Hinduism. Hinduism is considering being timeless just because it has some similarities with religions that were already existed, so it was not possible to pin point when or who was founder of Hinduism. Hinduism’s teaching are based on the doctrines of samara and Karma, this pretty much stands for that one’s actions directly determines their life now and one’s future lives. They also believe in cycle of death and rebirth, so if one compile bad karma by doing evil actions and they will have hard future in their existing life and hard time in their future lives. Most of Hindus believed in cosmos and spiritual being, these being were treated like gods, goddesses or devas, there were different devas and their influence humans in different way.…

    • 1083 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hinduism and Buddhism are two of the most dominant and profound religions around the world. Both religions have similar foundations and philosophies that began in India before the Common Era. (Citation?) They are among the top five major religions in the world.(Citation?) Hinduism is the third highest ranked organized religion and has been around much older than Buddhism. Since Buddhism evolved from Hinduism, they are very similar, but they are two different faiths, with different sets of beliefs and interpretations on life and enlightenment(Citation?). They have survived for centuries and are still widely practiced around the globe.…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    As two of the world’s oldest and most established religions, Hinduism and Buddhism have their similarities, as well as differences. Both religions are practiced in Southeast Asia, starting in India and have influenced each other. Hinduism dates back to 5,000 years ago, while Buddhism was created three centuries ago. I will explore what the two religions share and what separates the two from one another covering the origins, number of followers, the texts used, and the belief system followed.…

    • 1688 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hinduism was established by the Aryans. Disciples are the polytheistic meaning that they believe in many gods. Hindu religion admits the caste system while Buddhism religion was founded by only one person known as Siddhartha Gandhi. Instead of Caste System, Buddhism center on the human. Hinduism and Buddhism share the same faith and teach disciples on the practice of positive behavior. They believe on reincarnation which states that the soul of dead people come back again to life in another person. Disciples of these religions are vegetarians and considered animals as…

    • 588 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How each religion achieves this is seen differently. The term moksha, meaning freedom or liberation, in Hinduism is the release “from the limitations of being an individual (Molloy 85).” Moksha can be obtained by accepting one’s limitations and overcoming certain restrictions. When one achieves moksha, it results in the end of rebirth, individuality is gone, and only Brahman remains. Alternatively, Buddhism achieves liberation through nirvana; the existence beyond worldly boundaries. When Jains finally liberate themselves from rebirth, their spirits go to live in the highest realm, thought to be at the very top of the universe (Molloy 187). The Sikhs believe that freedom from reincarnation can be achieved, but the process might take many lifetimes to accomplish. Although Hinduism, Theravada Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism have diverse ways of obtaining spiritual freedom, they all believe in the release from reincarnation and the achievement of salvation.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Possibly Hinduism, and in turn, Buddhism have their origins in the Vedic age. Even though Buddhism is an offshoot of the Hindu religion, not much is the same between these great world religions. For example, Hindus worship many deities, and Buddhists worship one deity, the Buddha, or his teachings. The writings’ of both religions are similar in that they both talk about their teachings.…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Buddhism and Hinduism both became popular in Ancient India during the Mauryan Empire, probably due to the idea that one could achieve perfection and escape their worldly troubles. Buddhism and Hinduism both have a state enlightenment and a belief in nonviolence, but Hinduism has many gods and a rigid caste system, while Buddhism is more free, rejecting the caste system and the idea of gods.…

    • 549 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hinduism vs. Buddhism

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages

    While Buddhism and Hinduism are very similar, they also have many differences. Buddhism does not believe in any specific god while Hinduism believes in thousands of different gods. The Hindus pray to natural sources like the sun while Buddhists only pray to Buddha. Buddhism rejects the Hindu caste system. Gautama believed that people from any social class can reach enlightenment. These religions have different means of reaching their ultimate goal. Buddhists believe in following the four noble truths and the 8-fold path while Hindus believed in doing good dharma to receive good karma. Even though these religions were different, they co-existed to from a peaceful civilization in India.…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The differences between the Eastern and Western religions are that the Eastern religious believe in recarnation. Hinduism beleive that if you do good in your current life, you will have good karma and when you are reincarnated you will move up in the caste system. Buddhism has a similar concept, they believe that a seris of reincarnation would lead a faithful follower to higher levels toward the ultimate goal, nirvana, or a divine essence. The Western religions dont belive in recarnation. They believe that they live one life and when they die, they go to heaven. In Judaism the people beileve that they are God's chosen people and that they aotamically go to heaven. In christianty the people believe that they have to believe that God sent a savior , Jesus, as a messaih to get into heaven.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Religions like Hinduism and Buddhism are dictates the ways of life in India. The have strict rules of living that must be followed. In Hinduism there is a set of rules people follow called karma, dharma, and reincarnation. In Document A it states that , “In this kind of Hinduism, people believed in reincarnation - that people could reborn into other bodies after they died.”.…

    • 310 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Question of Origin is answered by the Hinduism Worldview as “everything has always been in existence and is a part of god” (Weider & Gutierrez, 2011). A part of the worldview is that the universe and god is one in the same thing. Hinduism believes that itself has always existed, that it did not have a creator. God is viewed "as an infinite, impersonal force" (Weider & Gutierrez, 2011).…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Buddhism: believes the main goal after death is to reach “nirvana” a state of clarification, and that there is no individual identity once deceased…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Moksha And Nirvana

    • 1055 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Moksha and Nirvana Both Hindu and Buddhist beliefs of reincarnation end with the ultimate goal of ending that cycle. Moksha is a final resting place that is attained by living a good life through the five caste levels. Moksha is basically the ending of the cycle of birth and rebirth while the soul lives on. Nirvana is the highest level of enlightenment a Buddhist can receive. Adhering to the various phases of the Noble eight Fold Path to eliminate suffering, one will reach the final phase, nirvana. Nirvana is also the end of the cycle of birth and rebirth but you become "extinct." The idea of nirvana is difficult for any American to fully understand or even try to explain. We are a society that has maybe too much emphasis on the present day and material possessions and this makes it so hard to understand that this goal is compared to a flame flickering out. Nirvana is the ultimate goal of the Buddhist and it is perfect liberation, freedom, peace, and tranquility (Rahula, p.43). It is also the end of the thoughts of lust, anger, and delusion. In contrast to Hinduism, one does not have to wait until death to reach this goal. Nirvana can be realized in the present life based on ones intuitive knowledge. It is realized by understanding the teaching of Siddhartha Guatama and practicing it carefully, consistently and completely through the Noble Eight Fold Path. The Noble Eight Fold Path is Right Understanding, Thought, Speech, Action, Livelihood, Effort, Mindfulness, and Concentration (Rahula, p.45). Nirvana has to be realized by people within themselves. You are not blessed with nirvana but you bless yourself with nirvana. When Buddhists achieve nirvana it does not mean they are entering into a heaven but simply breaking the cycle of incarnation by becoming enlightened on what it really is. Thinking as an American you could say nirvana is nothing because you cannot see, hear, smell, taste, or touch it with your senses. You have to realize it with your mind.…

    • 1055 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Christianity and Buddhism both share different beliefs about their afterlives. Buddha accepted the Hindu reincarnation and karma. Also Buddha taught his people that the goal of the religious life is to escape the cycle of death and rebirth. Buddha believed that what keeps people bound to life is their desire for something left in the world such as . If one success to letting everything go without any regrets, then he reaches Nirvana, no longer have to come back to earth in another reincarnation. On contrary, Christianity believes that once someone dies, the person either…

    • 923 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays