The Seperation of Hinduism and Buddhism

The origins of Hinduism can be traced back to the Vedic traditions of the Indus Valley Civilization (Mittal and Thursby 23) where as Buddhism can be seen as originating from Hinduism, and yet they are seen as two completely different religions. Why? These religions do share some of the same practices, however there are also vast differences. The caste system is a major social institution of Hinduism, but Buddhism rejects the caste system. Buddhism opposes the idea of a soul, while Hinduism perceives the soul as being one with Brahman. Moksha and Nirvana are both the release from saṃsāra, but the pathways to attaining release are dissimilar.

One of the major Hindu beliefs that Buddhism rejects is the Caste System, or “jati” in Sanskrit (Esposito, Fasching, and Lewis 317). The caste system is the social structure of Hinduism. It starts with the Brahmins, who are the priests and scholars, followed by the Kshatriya or warrior class. Next is the Vaishya, merchant class, and lastly the Shudras, the lowest caste designated to perform the impure and foul jobs the upper castes would never do. (Esposito, Fasching, and Lewis 317) The rules of the caste system are specific. Inter-marriages between castes are heavily discouraged and one can never change their caste during their current lifetime. Each caste has its own cosmic duties to fulfill, and not doing so could be detrimental to the world or an individuals karma. These distinct duties are referred to as one’s Dharma. (Esposito, Fasching, and Lewis 317) The Laws of Manu state “Better to do one’s own dharma badly than another caste’s dharma well” (Esposito, Fasching, and Lewis 317). Through saṃsāra, the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, hopefully every soul will eventua...

... middle of paper ...

...s a diversion for the evils of the world that way Hinduism can remain pure. The Buddha is seen as a possible avatar of Vishnu, who was brought to lead the critical and condemning Hindu’s away from Hinduism. (Mittal and Thursby 81) This rejection is the major reason why Buddhism and Hinduism are two separate religions. The different beliefs and ideals certainly further the separation, but had Hindus accepted the Buddha’s teachings, the relationship between Buddhism and Hinduism might have been very different.

Works Cited

Bowker, John World Religions. London: Dk Publishing, 2006. 20-81. Print.

Esposito, John L., Darrell J. Fasching, and Todd Lewis. World Religions Today. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2009. 302-467. Print.

Mittal, Sushil, and Gene Thursby. Religions Of South Asia, An Introduction. London: Psychology Press, 2006. 15-128. Print.