Hinduism and Buddhism are the two major religions of India. Both religions have common beliefs They share many similarities such as reincarnation and that suffering is caused by attachment to things and people in the physical world. Both religions also practice meditation and other forms of yoga. Another similarity is that they both believe that there are many different paths to enlightenment. Some differences between Hindusim and Buddhism, are the founders of the religions and the sacred texts, also where they originate from. Hinduism is a religion that originated from India. The term Hindu itself comes from the Sanskrit name for the Indus river in India. Hinduism is a unique religion which has no single founder. Unlike many religions, Hinduism has no common …show more content…
Followers of Hinduism, known as Hindus believe that the soul passes through a cycle of lives and its next incarnation is always dependent on how the previous life was lived” (BBC). In the religion, Hinduism, reincarnation plays a big role for Hindus. Reincarnation is the belief that the soul lives on for many lifetimes. The soul is constantly reborn into different beings such as human and animal. Another major belief in Hinduism is Karma. Sacred Texts are a major part of Hinduism. The Vedas also known as the books of knowledge are the sacred texts in which Hindus follow. The Vedas are a collection of sacred teachings and hymns. There are four Vedas that make up the sacred texts for Hinduism, The Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda and Atharva Veda. The Rig Veda is considered the oldest of them all. They all include sacred text and sounds. Buddhism originated from a man known as Siddhartha Gautama. He was what is known as a Buddha. He was born in Lumbini, which is present day Nepal, during 5th century BCE. Buddhism is a religion not focused on having a God. The religion involves no God whatsoever. Instead focuses on a Buddha. Followers of Buddhism are considered
There are many similarities and differences between Judaism and Buddhism. While Judaism is more popular Buddhism they both have many followers throughout the world.
Both of these religions originated in India. Buddhists and Hindus believe that death is not final. They believe that a person comes back after he or she dies. This process is known as reincarnation, and it provides opportunities for people to enter the world multiple times in different forms. Buddhists and Hindus want to reenter the world as humans, and they want to improve their status through reincarnation.
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.
Hinduism greatly influenced Buddhism, especially at its beginning, and the two have always maintained a similar viewpoint. They are not exactly the same, but they exist within the same family. They have influenced many people’s views on what the purpose of life is for millenniums, and probably will continue to do so. Both Hinduism and Buddhism hold the basic idea that life is full of suffering, and enlightenment must be reached in order to break free from the horrific cycle of re-incarnation; however it is clear that the two do not agree on how re-incarnation works, how one should live their life in order to achieve this goal, or even the definition of true
Both these religions have basic beliefs that are relatively different from each other. Buddhists on one hand believe in karma, rebirth, dharma and moksa. Karma is "cause, effect and the law which equilibrates the two" . It is the consequences of every action, whether good or bad. This action-reaction may take effect anytime, may be in the current life or not. Rebirth is inter-connected with karma. If one did more good things than bad in his life, his karma will lead him to a life of better condition than the previous one. Dharma is the basic concept of the religion; that is the Buddhist teaching, also meaning the nature of existence. Lastly, moksa refers to the renunciation of the world, which is parallel to the Hindu belief in the importance of asceticism and meditation .
The concept of reincarnation is related to karma, karma deals with a system of rewards and punishment based on the actions of the individual (Oxtopy & Segal 266). Due to bad karma by the individual, it takes many lifetimes for the karma to be worked out; reincarnation also known as samsara in Hinduism is an ongoing cycle of death and rebirth. To be released from the cycle of samsara, to achieve moksha one must reach enlightenment (Oxtopy & Segal 266-267). In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna, an incarnation of the ultimate deity as a personal god in the Hindu religion, explains three ways to moksha: the way of action, the way of knowledge, and the way of devotion. The Gita also made it clear that one should strive for moksha in everyday of our life as long as we act without attachment (Oxtopy & Segal 274). Reincarnation a concept widely receive by Hindu’s around the world, there are evidence to support the truth of this concept.
Unlike most religions, Hinduism has no specific founder, scripture or set of teachings. Hinduism has over nine hundred million followers today. The history of Hinduism is that it was found in the Indus Valley and it is an oral religion. Hindu’s believe in the three gods named Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. Brahma is believed to be the creator of the world and creatures.
Hinduism is unlike many other religions in that it does not have a single founder or text, but is more like an umbrella in ways of life. In death and life for the Hindu, “The ultimate goal of the soul is liberation from the wheel of rebirth, through reabsorption into our identity with the Oversoul (Brahma)-- the essence of the universe, immaterial, uncreated, limitless, and timeless” (Leming & Dickinson, 2011, p. 134).
To begin with, it is essential that you understand exactly what reincarnation is. According to, Hindu scriptures a soul is a part of Supreme soul which dwells in everything that is alive. In fact, Hindus believe that the term death only applies to the body and not to the soul because the soul is immortal and the soul changes the body after death. They also believe that present conditions in a one's life are the results of good or bad karma in this life or in a past life. Yet, Hindus believe that the cycle of birth, death, and
Hinduism is a very unique religion; it is the oldest living religion and does not have a single founder unlike Buddhism. Hinduism
Some people believe that karma means action and reaction, this is not strictly true, karma actually means " `act', `action' or `activity' "(Fowler. 1997. p11). It can be said, however, that for every action there must be a reaction. Karma is not confined to physical actions, mental actions also count. So Hindus believe that everything a person does or thinks is an action and depending on whether the action is good or bad that person receives good or bad karma as a reaction. "So, if some are happy then they must have done good in the past; if others are suffering they must have done something bad." "This is not fatalism; the law of karma says that we alone - not God or the Devil - are responsible for our fate" (Prinja. 1998. p36). Karma returns to us through everything we do. If a person does something good, with the sole intention of bettering him or herself, they will receive bad karma. Good karma is only received when a person commits a good action without thinking of himself or herself. Most Hindus will spend their entire lives attempting to accrue more good than bad karma. In the case of someone who has accrued sufficiently high levels of bad karma, the said person's spirit may not return after reincarnation as a human. It is possible for a spirit to return as an animal " in order to reap the results of bad karma until it is used up sufficiently to allow reincarnation as a human being once more." (Fowler. 1999. p208). This karma builds up inside a person in the form of the jivatman or personality.
"In Hinduism, salvation is achieved through a spiritual oneness of the soul, atman, with the ultimate reality of the universe, Brahman. To achieve this goal, the soul must obtain moksha, or liberation from the samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. As a result of these basic teachings, Hindus believe in reincarnation, which is influenced by karma (material actions resulting from the consequences of previous actions), and dharma (fulfilling one's duty in life)"(Teachings and Beliefs, 2004, par. 1).
Hinduism is an ancient religion. It has no known founder. It has several holy books. The most important of these is the Vedas, a collection of hymns. Hinduism like buddism believes in reincarnation. The goal of this religion is also to escape the birth-death cycle. Through Hinduism the entire Indian social structure was formed by creating the caste system. The major difference between Buddism and Hinduism is that Hindus believe in a god. Brahman is the spirit that encompasses all living things. There are several lesser gods who are believed to be incarnates of Brahman.
Christians, for example, believe that souls that have lived by the words of their God will exist eternally in heaven as divine beings themselves. This conception of an afterlife is generally what we people who are residents of the Unitied States hold to be true. For American culture has its roots in Europe and European culture was and is still influenced by Christian faiths. Similar to Christianity, the Hinduism also eases the fear of death by presenting a life after death. Disimilarities present themselves in the two faiths concerning exactly what kind of afterlife is lived. Believers of the Hindu faith expect to be reincarnated after their demise, either as an animal or human being depending on the manner in which their lives were carried out.
Hindu mythology has been around for ages; it is the world’s oldest surviving religion. Hinduism was formed through diverse traditions in the year 2,000 B.C.E. There is no single person that gets the credit of developing Hindu Mythology because one person did not create it. Hinduism was originated in India, where it is the most practiced now. Hinduism has over a billion followers and about two-thirds of those people are in India. There are many temples open to worship gods and goddesses. “The needs of the gods would be met by the worshipers who have to prepare themselves through purification rites to draw near to their god” (Organ,193) Hinduism is not only the oldest religion but one of the biggest, with Islam then Christianity being above it.