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Contrast Hinduism and Buddhism
Contrast Hinduism and Buddhism
Contrast Hinduism and Buddhism
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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...
Hinduism and Buddhism There are many religions that are practiced around the world, especially in Asia where there are eight different religions being practiced. In the country of India, Buddhism and Hinduism are the main religions that are practiced today. Buddhism and Hinduism were both founded in Asia, but they were founded by two different people and practiced in two different ways and languages. Buddhism is a living tradition that is passed down from teacher to student as a set of instruction and techniques for sanity and brilliance in the inner self and the world. Hinduism is more based on the thoughts and attitude about one’s everyday life, and reflects in his actions.
The Question of Origin: Hinduism believes everything has been in existence and is a part of numerous gods. In (Foundation of Indian Psychology Vol.2 Pg.116) the text Hinduism is a treasury of spiritual laws discovered by different people in different times of life. Over the centuries the Hindus beliefs are not literally interpreted by the scriptures and there ethics are derived from them.
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.
Upon reading about the historical and religious background of Ancient India, one can clearly assume that the country was strongly influenced by three main religious teachings: Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. These three sects in religious thinking have many similarities as all recognize the life-cycle and the need of liberation, they worship one central deity that used to be a human who gained enlightenment and they all recognize the existence of the eternal soul and after-death re-incarnation. However, they also share a lot of differences that mark the underlying principles of practicing them. I will identify the scope of differences and similarities in these ancient religions in an attempt to understand why each attracted followers, why each was shaped a certain way and how they preserved the interest of followers on into the modern times as well.
Buddhism What is the meaning of Buddhism? Buddhism is a philosophy of life, it was started by Siddhartha Gotma, who is more commonly known as Buddha. Buddha isn’t god to them however he is well respected for passing down knowledge of how to find true happiness. The major aim of Buddhists in life is to find enlightenment (true happiness).Buddhist monks live by a strict moral code, in which they are given food, they live a life structured around the teachings of Buddha.
Hinduism is made of many different religions and does not have one origin or single founder. The religion of Hinduism is very old, “300-100 B.C.E.--- The first trace of temple worship. Hindu people worship at the shrine, where Hindus make offerings to a murti. A murti is a statue of a god or goddess” (McMillan). In addition, other religions are based off Hinduism, “5000-10000 B.C.---Hinduism can be traced back to 5000-10000 B.C. Hinduism is a very old religion, many religions are based off of Hinduism, like Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism” (McMillan).
Hinduism is easily the oldest major world religion that is still in use today. It has not only survived countless attacks but has also thrived and has changed little to none in the last 2500-3000 years. "The Aryans are said to have entered India through the fabled Khyber Pass, around 1500 BC. They intermingled with the local populace, and assimilated themselves into the social framework. The Aryans did not have a script, but they developed a rich tradition. They composed the hymns of the four vedas, the great philosophic poems that are at the heart of Hindu thought" (The Aryans and the Vedic Age, 2004, par. 2).
Religion allows people to live better lives. It always affects the people or society in one way or another. One of the religions is Hinduism. According to (Hindu Online 2010) “Hinduism is one of the oldest religion and spiritual tradition in the world, Hinduism is often compared with a giant banyan tree in its shade a thousand faiths bloom. Hinduism has never been a creed with a set of beliefs, but rather a culture and way of life.” However, the demand for a clear, unambiguous definition of religion has become ever more insistent with the rise of more fundamentalist voices in many religious traditions. When I think about it I never have really given any thought to what
Buddhism, like most other religions, originated in a particular place at a particular time, and its roots are in forms and ideas that were part of the environment in which it developed. The most important of these areas at the time of the Buddha was the valley of the Ganges river which flows from west to east across most of northern India. It was here that the great religions of India first arose and flourished. Only later did they spread to the south. In the time of the Buddha, about 500 B.C.E., this area was undergoing a period of vigorous religious development.
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.
Many people practice religion to gain comfort in knowing that there are spiritual beings much greater than themselves that will provide them with comfort, peace, and the reward of a tranquil afterlife if they abide by certain moral conducts and righteous beliefs. Participants of certain religions are required to perform prayer, different rituals and worship one or many gods. Among all of the many religions practiced in the world, Hinduism, originating in India and Judaism, originating in Canaan, are considered to be two of the oldest ones still in mainstream. Between the two, there are several similarities as well as differences. Hinduism and Judaism are both popular religions that are being followed by many individuals today, but Hinduism takes the lead with an abundance of around 750 million followers, compared to Judaism’s 20 million.
Hinduism is a very complicated religion from an outsiders prospective. When I think about it I never have really given any thought to what Hinduism is, so what is this religion, what do they believe in, what are the social and cultural influences and what is the desire for liberation from earthly existence?
Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion and was originated in the Indian subcontinent. Is rare that a big religion like Hinduism don’t have a single founder, religious organization, specific theological system and don’t even a system of morality, but it is a religion that has evolved over thousands of years. Hinduism has a diverse body of cultural and philosophical practices. Hinduism consists of belief and tradition. The most recognized belief and traditions of the Hinduism are Karma, Dharma, Samsara and Moshka. Hindu people don’t believe in violence, but they do believe in prayers, honesty, truth, austerity, celibacy and penance. The Hindu scriptures are collectively referred to as the Shashtras. The Hindu scriptures were initially passed on orally from generation to generation until finally ancient scholars wrote them down; mainly in the Sanskrit language that was the prevailing language of the time. Some of the Hindu scriptures are the Shruti and Smritis. The Shruti primarily refers to the Vedas which represent eternal truths revealed to ancient sages but some other Hindu individuals associated the Vedas with a God or a powerful person. The Smritis are all of the other text different than the Shruti. The most know of the Smritis are the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Although the Hindus worship a large pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, they believe in the one Supreme Power that manifests itself in various forms.
Unlike, for example, Abrahamic religions, which started from common unified idea and later acquired new branches, Hinduism from its beginning consisted of different beliefs, more or less unified, but at the same time different in some aspects; hence, we don’t know the exact creation period and name(s) of creator(s). During centuries, the borders between these beliefs were becoming more and more blurry, and now we have 4 main branches of Hinduism: Vaishnavism (Vishnu), Shaivism (Shiva), Shaktism (Devi) and Smartism – and these list does not include regional versions of those. In the contrary, we know, by whom and thus when Buddhism had appeared and developed – Gautama Buddha lived in 6-5th centuries B.C.. Talking about the structure of Buddhism – it consists of only 2 parts, Theravada and Mahayana, which do not intersect one another, but are still connected. Lesser fragmentation and from-the-scratch creation format implies that Buddhism is more exact and less blurry in its definitions, whereas in Hinduism finding exact answer may be complicated - even though all 4 branches of Hinduism are open for dialog and exchange of ideas for finding the compromise solution, they still bear the burden of excessive amount of old
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.