Comparing Hinduism and Buddhism
Hinduism and Buddhism have different similarities and are in some ways connected to each other. Some of the practices of the two religions are similar in various ways and there are several examples to show this.
Hinduism first started in India around 1500 BC. The word Hindu comes from the Sanskrit word sindhu, or river. The Hindu community define themselves as "those who believe in the Vedas", or also "those who follow the way, or dharma, of the four classes and the stages of life. The four classes being the varnas and the stages of life being the ashramas.
Like Hinduism, Buddhism also started in India. It is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who is called the Buddha or the Enlightened One. Buddhism started a monastic movement in the Brahman tradition.
It is generally agreed that the Buddha was born in 563 BC in Kapilavastu to the ruler of a small kingdom. He grew up with luxuries and had a sheltered life. When he was 29 he came to realize that hi life up to this point had been so empty. He let go any earthly attachments and soon set out to find peace and enlightenment trying to steer away from the cycles of rebirths. He started practicing Yoga and "adopted a life of radical asceticism." He soon gave up this way of thinking and focused on "a middle path between the life of indulgence and that of self-denial." After a time of great inner struggle, he began to wander to different places and preach and organized a monastic community know as the sangha.
The Buddha started the movement for all different peoples and denied that a person's spiritual worth is a matter of birth. The Buddha left no written word. His ideas have been put into writings though...
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...under the Gupta Empire. In the 16th century in Bengal, a sect of erotic mysticism was founded. This celebrated the union of Krishna and Radha in a Tantric theology heavily influenced by Tantric Buddhism.
In the 19th century many reforms have taken place to bring traditional Hinduism to reconcile with the social reforms and political ideals of the day. Leaders of these reforms are greats such as Mohandas Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo Ghose. Bhimrau Ramji Ambedkar even revived the myth of the Brahmans who fell from their caste and the tradition that Buddhism and Hinduism were once one in order to "enable Untouchables to gain self-respect by 'reconverting' to Buddhism."
Today both religions are still greatly worshiped and have millions of followers. Buddhism and Hinduism are connected in many ways and still continue to flourish after many, many centuries.
His father was warned by the “Brahman soothsayer” the young boy would leave his home to live among the seekers in the forest, therefore his father kept him distracted in the palace. Once he realized that luxury, commodity, and wealth did not guarantee happiness, he sought the key to human happiness. After six years of meditation he found the “middle path” though enlightenment. He continued to teach Buddhism enlightenment. These teaching principles can be found in book Dhamma (Document
Oxtoby, Willard G. World Religions: Eastern Traditions. Oxford University Press; 4 edition. March 11, 2014
...m were started from nothing but grew into two of the largest religions in the world. The reasons why Buddhism succeeded in spreading to other countries and people are different from the reasons Christianity spread. Buddhism spread because it adapted to what the people wanted and needed. When the numbers began to dwindle, a new form of Buddhism was there, adapted into what would attract new people, and succeeding at it.
Into the world, many religions were born; out of all of them Buddhism and Hinduism are both one of the oldest surviving religion. Hinduism is very polytheistic, it is believed to have been established around 1500 B.C but it has no founder or an origin, while Buddhism on the other hand was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, who ordinarily allotted as the Buddha, which implies the “Awakened or “illuminated one”. Both religions come from the Indian roots.
Hinduism, as well as Buddism, both came into existence in India. Both religions are similar in many ways. The religions both believe in reincarnation and that the specific purpose of their teachings is to escape this cycle.
Buddhism and Hinduism share vast similarities. One being both the practice of meditation. Hinduism has “no single founder” (Hinduism, Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition), no central authority, and no widely known creed. However, Hinduism does have a caste system that they run on. Hindus believe that everyone has their place in the world and they cannot overstep their roles and responsibilities outlined in their caste. Hindus also follow the “Veda as the most sacred scriptures.”(Hinduism, Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition). Due to this commonality it has helped Hindus and Buddhists come to recognize each other and remain cordial to one another. Which is pivotal since both religions are practiced so close to one another (at least geographically speaking). The “caste system” (Hinduism." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition...
Buddhism is one of the oldest religions in the world, which began in India. The origin of Buddhism is traced back to the experience of single man, Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha. Born around 563 B.C.E., legend follows that Siddhartha was the son of a prince in a kingdom near the border of what is now India and Nepal. As such, he was sheltered from the world and lived a life of luxury and comfort. (Molloy 124) However, at age 29 Siddhartha left the royal grounds and witnessed the suffering of ordinary life for the first time. What he saw deeply affected him and caused him to question everything in his materialistic life. Siddhartha made the decision to give up his possessions and embark on a search for enlightenment, an event known as the Great Going Forth. (Molloy 125)
Siddhartha Gautama is famously known as Gautama Buddha and was the founder of the idea of Buddhism. The Buddha was known to possess supernatural powers and abilities. He was born in the holy land of Nepal and his journey began in India when he decided to travel and teach himself about life. In the midst of his journey, he discovered Buddhism after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death and existence. Buddhism became a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama and since then Buddhism has been popular throughout many civilizations. Buddhism is now one of the most ancient religions in the world, where people follow Buddha, which stand for “awakened one,” and Buddhism which has gained popularity because of the teachings of the Buddha.
Buddhism originated from India, and was founded by Prince Siddharta Gautama, who later came to be known as Buddha, or the enlightened one. Born of a princely caste, he later renounced his comfortable life in search for nirvana. In order to do that, he joined a band of ascetic, who was a group of Hindu priests. In his teaching, the Buddha taught his followers to follow "the middle way", that is, not the way of extreme asceticism. He attained full understanding of the nature of being by meditation and after his success, decided to impart his knowledge to those who follow him .
November 19, 1997 By Jordan Bruins Buddhism/Hinduism Comparison Report Hinduism is the oldest known religion and is very rich with literally hundreds of gods, symbolistic rituals and beliefs. It is believed to have been established around 1500 B.C. but no one person founded Hinduism as it evolved over a long period of time. Buddhism on the other hand has a definite founder, Siddhartha Gautama who is otherwise known as the Buddha or Enlightened One who lived from 565 to 483 B.C. Both these religions originated in India. Siddhartha Gautama was a Hindu who found Hindu theology lacking and after years of searching for truth created a religion now known as Buddhism. Because of these basic similarities, the two religions have much in common, but in the same light they differ immensely. The concept of a god or gods in Buddhism is almost void and therefore in the eyes of some not even a religion. Hindus have many gods governing different aspects of Hindu life. The three main gods in Hinduism are Vishnu who is the sustainer, Brahma is the creator and Shiva the destroyer. Collectively referred to as Trimuti. Most Hindu gods are associated with animals and therefore Hindus feel that being a vegetarian is vital. Cows are sacred in Hinduism and are worshipped as the divine mother, making eating beef taboo. Buddhism involves meditation and prayer. In Buddhism, one must understand the four noble truths and a...
One of the most important elements of these religions is their history. The Hindu religion disputably began around 2500 years before the Common Era (B.C.E.) in India. It was geographically based along the Indus River, which was called “Hindu” by the Persians who had migrated there. They also called the land Hindustan and it’s inhabitants, Hindus. After that, the religion that followed was called Hinduism. Today, almost 800 million people practice the Hindu religion (Spodek, 261)
known in Northeast India in the 6th century BC. Looking back to the earliest roots,
Hinduism is the 3rd most popular religion in the world followed by Buddhism, together they are followed by 22 percent of the world’s population. These two religions are alike in many ways, and are tied together by Asia, where they have deep roots in its culture and history. Although Hinduism and Buddhism are similar in many ways, very important and large differences separate the two. No one and nothing can ever truly prove either religion is better than the other because that is up to personal beliefs and opinions, but many more people around the world prefer Buddhism over Hinduism because of its beliefs and practices.
Hinduism has been a religion for a long time, the Buddha was a Hindu before seeing how terrible the world was, he then found the religion Buddhism. Since the creator of Buddhism was Hinduism as a child, it is only expected for the two religions to be similar. While the two religions are similar they are also quite different as seen by their creation stories. The creation stories are these religions way of explaining how the world started. With most religions the creation story gives the most basic beliefs of the religion as this is where their religion supposedly starts its life. The two stories this paper focuses on is no different, and since they technically have the same origin, it can be obvious as to how they would be similar. However, in the case of the idea of social order and moral decline, they can be different too.