In modern times, both Hinduism and Buddhism are practiced by millions of people all around the world. Although Hinduism and Buddhism are practiced in different ways, they both share mutual ideas. For example, in both religions, they believe in the idea of Karma. According to Brodd et. al (2016) “Karma is the law of actions and their consequences.” (p.139). In each religion, Karma has a different meaning. In Buddhism, “karma is the law of actions and their consequences” (Brodd et. al, 2016, p.147). In Hinduism, “karma determines the nature of one’s incarnations in samsara” (Brodd et. al, 2016, p.147). Samsara is another important concept shared by both Hinduism and Buddhism. The concept of Samsara is defined as “The continuing cycle of birth, …show more content…
When it comes to Gods, the Buddha did not have a lot to say about them and highly discouraged the devotion to them. (Brodd 2016). Rather than spending all of their time and effort worshipping God’s in hope of reaching nirvana, Buddhists spend their time meditating, reading the teachings of the Buddha, and reflecting to reach nirvana (Brodd 2016). There are two major types of Buddhism that Buddhists follow. The first one is Theravada Buddhism which is defined as “the way of the elders” (Brodd et al. , 2016 , p.157). Theravada followers pursue nirvana through a more individual approach; they live by the Buddha’s last words “work out your salvation through diligence.” (Brodd et al, 2016, p.157). Theravada followers pursue a monastic, Buddha like lifestyle by using meditation to reach nirvana. (Brodd 2016). Another way to break samsara and reach nirvana is through Mahayana Buddhism. In Mahayana Buddhism, they dig deeper into the teachings of the Buddha (Brodd 2016). Mahayana Buddhists analyzes and elaborates the Dharma, which “refers to Buddhist teaching and Buddhism as a religion.”( Brodd et al., 2016, p.157). In Buddhism, Gods and supernatural beings do not play a role in a Buddhist’s path to escape samsara and reach the ultimate nirvana. Hinduism, on the other hand has a different path to …show more content…
From a monistic point of view, there is only one ultimate power and in Hinduism this would be Brahman (Brodd 2016). In a dualistic point of view, they understand divine reality as God, a personal being separate from the rest of reality; they believe devotion to God is possible (Brodd 2016). Dualists also believe in the worship of deities such as Shiva, who is known as the destroyer ( Pscchaida 9/19/16). In order to reach moksha for a dualistic hindu, the journey is associated with their God whether its Vishnu, Shiva, or any other God of their choice (Brodd 2016). For any Hindu regardless if they are monistic or dualistic, they may follow one of the three paths called “margas or yogas, each one has its own set of practices that are tailored to certain personality traits or life decisions” (Brodd et al., 2016 p.99). The first one, Karma marga, is “designed for those who are engaged in the activities of family and career, which emphasizes ritual and ethic work” (Brodd et al., 2016, p.99). The second marga, Bhakti marga, is “ for the vast majority of Hindus who regularly worship in temples and in their homes, is devotion to a deity” ( Brodd, et al., 2016, p.99) Most Hindu’s worship more than one deity depending on their personal preference , during festivals one may spend more time focusing on the deity that is celebrated during the festival (Brodd 2016). The third type of marga
Buddhism was originated in India in the fifth century B.C.E by Siddhartha Gautama. In today estimation there are about three hundred and seventy six million followers, which is the sixth most practiced religion in the world. The founder of this religion was born a Kshatriya, which was the military or ruling class in the caste system. The caste system is a Hindu tradition. Buddhist does not believe in this system. Instead Buddhist believes in the four noble truths. The four noble truths teaches that everyone suffers, selfish desires causes suffering, suffering can be overcome by destroying selfish desires, and if man follows the Eightfold Path, he will destroy selfish desires and end all suffering. Buddhist also believes in Nirvana which is a release from selfishness and pain. Karma is also part of the Buddhist belief. Karma is interpreted in many ways around the world. But in the Buddhist religion Karma refers to the good and bad actions a person does in his or her life. The good actions will bring about good things in the future. Unlike the good actions, if...
Karma is the moral law of cause and effect (Bowker 2006, 60-1). This law is one of the many bases of the Hindu faith, Buddhist faith,
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 and Buddhism, worship multiple deities and they follow the same path to achieve the Nirvana state which is a place where all the enlightened are. The Buddha’s teaching help is regularly summarized in the four respectable Truths, which type those premises of the 1st sermon he conveyed then afterward achieving enlightenment, and the eightfold Path, which gives a fundamental aide to how to live in the world. . Over
By understanding the concepts and terminology of religious traditions it is important to understand other people 's religious experience and expression. To begin with, both Buddhism and Judaism are two different forms of religion with some similarities. Buddhist’s believe they are reborn from a previous life until they reach nirvana, which is the extinction of all desire and release from suffering. In comparison to Judaism, they believe that they are made in the likeness of God and come into the world with the capacity to choose for good or evil. Judaism follows in practicing the Ten Commandments and find happiness in other humans. Buddhist has the same opportunity in his or her life and can find fulfillment in thinking and following in the correct path. Lastly, as Buddhists do not worship a God who created and sustains the world, this makes Buddhism a non-theistic
Hindus believe that when a soul expires, it acquires rebirth in a new body. This cycle is called samsara. To be set free from the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth one must discover their true nature in order to be with the Brahman in Nirvana. In figure G a picture of a Cambodian statue of the A.D. 900 of Brahma meditating is presented. Nirvana is a state where pain, worry and the outer world do not exist. When a person in Hindu religion has bad Karma, they must take rebirth multiple times. The sacred source of all existence is divided among three gods. Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver, and Shiva is the destroyer. All three contribute to a person’s life and death and afterlife. In figure H a picture of a Vishnu sculpture is shown, and in figure I a picture of a sculpture of Shiva is
In both Hindu and Buddhist philosophies, they follow and focus on similar yet different concepts of liberating themselves from ‘Samsara’ and the suffering that comes with it. Samsara in both Hindu and Buddhist philosophies is the endless cycle of death and rebirth. So, the end goal is to work towards the enlightenment from this cycle. Though the two concepts are similar in that the goal is the same, the two have distinctive and important differences on how they view this “release” from the rebirth-death cycle; they both follow different paths to reach that end goal which, in basic terms, is to live a happy life.
(Pew Research Center 1) Hinduism unlike Christianity or Muslim, is deemed to be the oldest surviving religion. Having a collective number of sacred texts, it differs from any other faiths. Being a polytheistic religion the views of Hinduism followers are diverse from what monotheistic religions would consider to be the norm. Again, this religion consists of a different approach to the notion of afterlife. Companions of the belief system, consider Moksha to be their form of heaven. Moksha is when an individual is liberated from the ongoing cycle of death and rebirth. This is known as the Hinduism form of hell called Samsara. Karma is the impression that what an individual does throughout their life cycle will depict a positive outcome, or
The idea of samsara is roughly that of reincarnation. All souls are trapped in a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The goal of each of these souls is to escape the cycle of samsara and obtain moksha. Moksha is a reincarnation with a god. In recent Hinduism the moksha that you obtain is with the god of your choice, or whomever you worshipped as your patron deity. The terms of dharma and karma are the tools that we must use in order to obtain moksha and escape samsara.
Although Buddhism and Christianity show several parallels, their three key differences are that Buddhists do not believe in one divine being, and have different views about both the purpose of life and the concept of afterlife. Buddhists do not believe in a Supreme Being, God or Creator, though many Buddhists today worship the Buddha - the central figure of Buddhism - and his teachings. They view him as someone with a universal spirit, an essence that can be attained by everyone rather than only a higher deity that rules over the world (Brown). Especially in Mahayana Buddhism, the concept of the Buddha nature is fundamental (“Pure Land”).... ...
Man has always found pleasure in expressing himself by creating art. Through the centuries, man’s art has left behind clues and insight that enables the generations of today to understand their ancestors. In particular, historians and artist alike can see what certain Asian sculptures reflect of the culture and religious beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism. Hinduism is the parent religion to Buddhism; much like Judaism is to Christianity. Despite Buddhism and Hinduism sharing similar philosophies and various idealisms, their respective sculptures also show their differences. There are two important characteristic of the sculptures of these religions. The first is motion versus rest, and second the subject matter. It is these two types of characteristics historians and artist can help use to decipher Hindu and Buddhist sculptures.
In the western world, a dominant belief is that after life, a person’s soul is sent to a place of eternal bliss, heaven, or a place of eternal damnation, hell. To Buddhists, this concept is not the norm. Buddhists believe that a person is reincarnated into another life form, either human or animal. What life form a person is reincarnated as is determined by the person’s karma. The concept of karma not only affects reincarnation, but also what path a person’s life takes. While much of the concept of karma is believable and comprehensible by a person of any denomination, some aspects are dependant upon a belief in reincarnation and that a person will eventually be punished for his sins or rewarded for his good deeds, whether in this life or the next. At the same time, in order to believe in how reincarnation works, a person must understand the idea of karma.
Unlike Hindus, Buddhist follow Buddha’s four noble truths. The four noble truths provide a pathway to enlightenment; they teach what causes suffering in life and how to stop it. The noble truths are very simple and easy to understand. The first truth is that all existence will suffer no matter what, the second truth is the understanding of craving, the third truth is the cessation of suffering, and the final truth is following the noble eightfold path. Practicing Buddhism isn’t complex or difficult, unlike Hinduism. As long as one gives love and acceptance to everyone and everything, is mindful, practices Ahimsa, and detaches themselves from materialistic items one can be a successful Buddhist. Unlike the simplicity of Buddhism, Hinduism is very strict and complex. It is male oriented and difficult to follow through. To practice Hinduism one must follow the four stages of life. The first stage is being a student and study the Vedas. The second stage is being a house holder; support a student and have a family. The third stage is being a Hermit; withdraw from family for many months and prepare to become an ascetic. Finally, the last stage of life is becoming an ascetic. These stages are only allowed to be done by men and an extremely small percent of
Karma, also known as Karman is a basic concept common to Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The doctrine of Karma states that one's state in this life is a result of actions both physical and mental in past carnations, and action in this life can determine one's destiny in future incarnations. Karma is a natural, impersonal law of moral cause and effect and has no connection with the idea of a supreme power that decrees punishment of forgiveness of sins. Karmic law is universally applicable, and only those who have attained liberation from rebirth, called mukti (or moksha) or nirvana, can be transcend it. (The Columbia Encyclopedia)
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.