Hinduism Vs Buddhism Research Paper

Like all early societies, religious beliefs in Gods and Goddesses were fairly common, India was no different. Early religions in India composed of Brahmanism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. However, only two of those religions really blew up and shaped India into the country that it is today. Hinduism and Buddhism both are heavy factors in early Indian lifestyle and government. However, both came from different backgrounds and have different teachings to reach their goals. Buddhism grew into what it is now all because of a man named Siddhartha Gautama. Gautama was born into royalty and lived in a palace until he was 29 years old. One day he ventured outside and discovered old age, illness, and death. Seeing these things made him change his life completely be leaving the palace and looking for an end to human suffering. He finds his answer when meditating under a tree by the Ganges discovering Enlightenment. After this he traveled around northern India teaching others how to experience enlightenment for themselves. He was called the “Buddha” meaning the enlightened one by his followers called Buddhists. His
teachings called the Four Noble Truths say that humans are suffering because we all have a desire. The cure for this is Nirvana, but you must require treatment first. Meaning you need to follow the “Eightfold Path.” You need to understand the Buddha’s teachings, you need to have the correct morality, and you need to maintain your concentration. Once you do that then you will able achieve enlightenment and attain nirvana, which is according to connections “a state of infinite tranquility.” Hinduism unlike Buddhism did not have a founder.
Hinduism was a modified version of the Brahmanism. Hinduism was not a very strict religion, allowing you to be very flexible with its beliefs by accepting new Gods, and concepts from other religions. Out of all Gods in the Hinduism religion Brahman was the most important because he was, according to connections “there supreme creator and universal being.” The goal of Hinduism was like the one Buddhism. Except that the goal for them was Moksha which was like Nirvana except you liberate yourself from your Atman with Brahman. The process to achieve Moksha was that you need to fulfill ones Dharma. Hinduism unlike Buddhism thought that good karma came along with performing the tasks of your particular cast. If you fulfilled ones Dharma, bhakti to Gods, and mediated you would be able to secure eternal
peace. Despite coming both from India both Hinduism and Buddhism don’t have a lot in common. Only the belief of karma and how it affects your reincarnation in the next life and the view of the cosmos are shared, as well as the need to meditate for long periods of time. To reach salvation in Hinduism is basically how well you perform your caste in life while Buddhism it’s about following Buddha’s teachings.