Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shinto

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Hinduism, Buddhism and Shinto, while vast in differences there is much to learn about these three religions similarities as well. Some facts and history of Hinduism include, Hinduism (being the oldest of the three) is dated back in pre-history before 10000 BC even believed to predate the Indus River Valley Civilization! The Vedas (the holy text of Hinduism) is the foundation for Indian culture and also the basic belief system of Hinduism. The basic belief structure of Hinduism is as follows, the three doctrines; Samsara (1) which means “successive rebirths” indicating the belief in reincarnation started by ATMA or the spark of life given by the god Brahma. This cycle continues until the soul collects enough good Karma (2) to break from the cycle of samsara and achieve Moksha (3) which is when the soul can finally reunite with Brahma after its final life. Hinduism is also the only religion you can NOT convert to. Therefore Hinduism believes in the cycle of reincarnation as its afterlife belief. Buddhism developed much later is highly influenced by Hinduism. The story of how Buddha became enlightened tells that Buddha was actually a Hindu prince by the name of Siddhartha. Unlike Hinduism ANYONE can become enlightened and reach Nirvana in Buddhism whereas in Hinduism traditionally only those of the Brahman cast could achieve moksha. Also in Buddhism there is no actual god originally Buddha is a state of enlightenment anyone can become the Buddha. Only later did Buddhism split into Mahayana Buddhism (which made Buddha into a deity) and Hinayana Buddhism (which stick to the traditional belief that Buddha was not divine just simply a teacher). Buddhism has a type of day to day guide to reaching enlightenment called the 8-fold path this ...

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...look on death and moving on to the next life. I believe that we should not fear death but embrace it as closing a chapter and starting a new phase.

Works Cited

1.) "Hinduism Facts | Facts about Hindu Religion." Hinduism Facts Facts about Hindu Religion. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. http://hinduismfacts.org/hindu-religion/ 2.) "Buddhist View on Death and Rebirth." Buddhist View on Death and Rebirth. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. http://www.urbandharma.org/udharma5/viewdeath.html 3.) Bernard, Rosemarie. "Shinto and Ecology: Practice and Orientations to Nature." Shinto. Earth Ethics 10, No.1 (Fall 1998), 2004. Web. 16 Apr. 2014 http://fore.research.yale.edu/religion/shinto/
4.) "Life After Death: Shinto." Life After Death Christianity Islam Buddhism Philosophy Science RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
http://lifeafterdeath.com/life-after-death-shinto/

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