Comparing Hinduism And Buddhism

Hinduism and Buddhism seem to be founded on very similar ideas. Namely the belief in karma and how a person should behave in their various lives to escape the constant suffering accompanied with death and rebirth. Both Hinduism and Buddhism base their belief system on the idea of karma. The idea of karma is that each person’s actions has a like impact on their lives. Another common belief between Hinduism and Buddhism is that people are continuously being born and dying until they have corrected their karma and fulfill their dharma, or duty. These two ideas go hand in hand for both religions. Therefore, a person’s karma is one life will determine whether they are an insect or a king in their next life. More importantly, their karma will

The readings on Hinduism emphasized how important it is to fulfill your dharma, which is your role in society. Whether it be a Brahmin, warrior, cattlemen, or any other caste, it is essential that those roles are strictly adhered to. If people stray from their castes, then they inhibit themselves from getting ahead in their karmic debt and disrupt the society and lives of the people around them. It is even mentioned that if it is an obviously immoral action, people can be excused from it inhibiting their karma. A harmful action is still good as long as it is don for the right reason, that is upholding your dharma. This belief is quite contrary to Buddhist and many other belief systems that only thinking or doing good things leads to desirable

They have a heavy emphasis on individual meditation and contemplation to realize the true essence of our lives and escape the cycle of death and rebirth. The two also hold importance in strictly controlling your actions to uphold your dharma, because following your duty, whether it be in your society or in your thoughts, is essential to reaching a higher state after death. Conversely, these belief systems have varying recommendations for how people should behave throughout their lives. Hinduism focuses on upholding your role in society, which is about the norm for Western culture, and restraining from sin. Meanwhile, Buddhism emphasizes how people should detach themselves from worldly things and focusing their thoughts and actions on avoiding both pleasure and pain. Buddhism and Hinduism share a lot of characteristics fundamentally but ultimately have different ideas on how people should act throughout their