Hinduism and Buddhism

Hinduism and Buddhism Compared and Contrasted
Hinduism and Buddhism are ancient religions that have millions of followers today. They both started in ancient India. Although they are different religions, Hinduism and Buddhism share many similarities with regard to their beliefs, and their practices.
Hinduism began around 3,000 years ago near the Indus River of northwestern India. This religion has no original founder and no single holy text. Brahmins were the first Hindu teachers. They passed down the teachings of Hinduism through oral stories. This continued until approximately 1,500 B.C., when these stories were written down in a text known as the Rig-Veda by a group of people called the Arayans. Around the 1st century B.C. two more important Hindu scriptures emerged.
These Hindu scriptures were two epic poems called the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which tell stories of warfare, religion and kings. (Messina, Colleen. p. 1) The Ramayana, Mahabharata, and another Hindu scripture called the Upanishads contain the core beliefs of Hinduism. (Messina, Colleen. p. 4)
Hinduism is a peaceful religion. It stresses non-violence and believes in dharma, reincarnation, karma, and the belief in Brahman. The belief in Brahman is one central belief in Hinduism that believes that Brahman is the universal spirit behind everything and the force behind all of the Hindu deities. Every Hindu has a favorite deity, and temples to worship these deities cover the landscape of India. (Messina, Colleen. p.4) Of the many Hindu Gods, the three most important Gods are called the Hindu Trinity. The Hindu Trinity is composed of the holy trinity, which has three parts. They are the Hindu Gods; Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu. Brahma created the universe. Shiva’s job is to constantly keep destroying one life cycle to create another life cycle. The other part of the Holy Trinity is Vishnu who keeps order in the universe. (Messina, Colleen. What is Hinduism? p. 5) Hindus also believe in reincarnation, which is the belief that we are born many times and that the soul does not stay in one place. Hindus believe that the soul first enters something simple, not human, like a bug. The soul would evolve over time, entering more and more complex things, like a cat, until the soul finally enters a human. During this stage, the law of Karma takes affect. Karma will affect the person’s fate in his or her next rebirth. For example, if a person has good karma and makes good choices than that would lead to good things in his or her next lifetime. However, if a person has bad karma and does unkind acts then that will leave to hardship in his or her next lifetime. (Messina, Colleen. What is Hinduism? p. 6) In addition, karma also affects a person’s position in the caste system. The caste system is a system of social groups in which people are born into and can rarely be changed. Caste systems were based on an ancient Hindu text called the Bhagavad-Gita, and this social structure influences India to this day. Hindus believe that if they earn good karma they will be reborn into a higher caste. These castes are grouped by order from highest to lowest: Brahmins (priest and scholars), Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors), Vaisyas (merchants and farmers), and Sudras (servants and laborers). The dalits or “untouchables” were not considered part of the caste and performed the most menial jobs. The higher up a person is in a caste then the more pure and therefore closer the person is to achieving moksha, the union with Brahman, then someone from a lower caste. (Messina, Colleen. The History of Hinduism, p 1) Hindus also believe in Dharma, which are the religious and moral duties that a person has to fulfill during his or her lifetime. A person’s dharma would depend on the person’s age, class, occupation, and gender. Everyone has dharma. Dharma is important because it is important for Hindus to fulfill ones purpose and most importantly achieve the main goal of life, moksha, which is the union with Brahman. Moksha is when a soul escapes the cycles of rebirth. The soul can do this in three ways, which are: by making good karma, meditation, or by devotion to God. (Messina, Colleen. What is Hinduism? p. 7)
Hindus also practice a code of ethics, ahimsa, and bhakti. Ahimsa stresses non-violence and Hindus believe that all people and things are features of Brahman and have to be respected. Many Hindus try to follow ahimsa. (Esler, Ellis. World History. p. 77) In addition, Hindus follow a written down code of ethics. This code of ethics is a list of the five things that people should do and five ways which people should exercise restraint. Being pure in body, mind and speech are things people should do and are called niyamas. Lying and stealing are things people shouldn’t do and are called yamas. Hindus also practice bhakti, which requires a Hindu to surrender and devote to a particular Hindu God. Hinduism is not a religion of force and accepts and is tolerant to the many spiritual paths to achieve a person’s spiritual potential. Throughout history, Hinduism has never had massive conversions. (Messina, Colleen. p. 2, p. 3) Hinduism also has many holidays. Some of these holidays are Divali (the festival of lights), Holi (the spring harvest festival) and Janmashtami (Krishna’s birthday). (Messina, Colleen. p.7) Buddhism began about 2,500 years ago when a young prince called Siddhartha Gautama left his kingdom to find enlightenment. His discovery of enlightenment led to Buddhism. Siddhartha was born in a country called today as Nepal. Before Siddhartha was born his mother, Queen Maya, had a dream when she was pregnant. A wise man explained that the dream meant that the child would become a holy man. The king was not pleased with this revelation, wanting his son to follow in his footsteps and become the next king. When Siddhartha was born, he was raised in luxury and isolation inside the castle. Siddhartha’s father finally allowed the prince to leave the palace for the first time, when Siddhartha married and had a son. It was then that Siddhartha got his first glimpse of suffering. (Messina, Colleen. p. 11) This deeply troubled him and he began to wonder what was life’s purpose. Siddhartha realized that he wanted to find his inner peace and left behind all material items, his wife and his son. Siddhartha then meditated under a tree for six years. There he achieved enlightenment and had a deep understanding for life. After his enlightenment, he came to be called the Buddha, which means the “The Awakened One”. The Buddha traveled around India preaching his teachings, garnering followers, and formed a community of mocks called the Sangha.
Buddha taught the Noble Eightfold Path, which are the steps to achieve enlightenment. He also taught the Four Noble Truths which are: all life is full with suffering, suffering is caused by wrong deeds and worldly things, the cure for suffering is letting go of desire, and stopping wrong desire by following the eight rules. (Messina, Colleen. p. 12) The Buddha’s teachings were called the Sutras and they were passed down by word of mouth for over 200 years. These teachings would later be written down on palm trees after he died in the first century A.D. (Messina, Colleen. p. 8)
Buddhism stresses non-violence, believes in the cycle of rebirth, and strives for Nirvana. Nirvana is the final goal for a Buddhist and it is the union with the universe and the release from the cycle of birth. In order to achieve Nirvana a Buddhist first has to understand and follow the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Next, a person has to have a moral life, meditate, avoid saying wrong words and actions, and chant. This will all help a Buddhist achieve enlightenment. In addition, Buddhists believe that bringing presents to the temple and bowing to the Buddha will also help bring enlightenment. Buddhism is polytheistic and the key parts of Buddhism are compassion and peace. Buddhists are gentle and kind to all living things and thus practice vegetarianism. In addition, Buddhism is a peaceful religion and the Buddha never forced anyone to study his teachings. (Messina, Colleen. What is Buddhism? p. 13) Also, Buddhism does not have a caste system, believing that anybody regardless of birth can reach nirvana. (Esler, Ellis. World History. pg. 80)
Monasteries and temples are also important to Buddhism. Buddhist boys and girls can spend some time in the Sangha, a community of monks. A boy can be a monk and a girl can be a nun. Buddhists also celebrate many festivals to remember the Buddha’s life, enlightenment, and death. An important festival is called Wesak and celebrates Buddha’s enlightenment. (Messina, Colleen. What is Buddhism? p. 13)
Buddhism and Hinduism are similar in that they both stress non-violence and believe in the cycle of rebirth. They are both very peaceful religions and both religions are never forced on anyone. In addition, they believe in more than one God and emerged in ancient India. Both religions require their followers to live a moral life.
Buddhism and Hinduism are different because Buddhism does not believe in the caste system. In addition, Buddhism has an original founder, while Hinduism does not. Furthermore, Buddhism urges people to seek enlightenment through meditation and does not focus as much on the formal rituals and Gods as Hinduism does.
Hinduism and Buddhism are very old and influential religions. Many people still follow these religions worldwide. Although they are completely different religions as outlined above, these two religions share many similarities in terms of their customs, and practices.