Buddhism And Hinduism Essay

Buddhism and Hinduism come from the same region, India. Both of them are very focused on nature, the things around them, though they both believe in several hells and heavens, or higher and lower worlds. They both believe in karma which is the affect a person’s actions in this life will change his next life. Another point is that both religions focus on peace, and non violence towards all living things. They are compassionate, which ties into their focus on nature. Buddhism and Hinduism also believe in various spiritual practices such as meditation, concentration, and states of mind. Desire is the largest cause of suffering in both of the faiths. Another likeness is they both believe in reincarnation, and salvation. They believe the good deeds of a person are their work for salvation and their salvation will decide their next life, when they are reincarnated. Also, they both believe that there are many paths to enlightenment, such as overcoming your feelings and controlling over the six senses. Both religions are more philosophical then religious. Buddhists and Hindus both practice many forms of yoga and meditation

There were also a few similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism. For example, they both believed in reincarnation after death and karma, which means to keep people bound to the world through the cycle of life and death. Also they each had final goals. For example, in Buddhism the final goal was called nirvana and in Hinduism the final goal was called moksha. Each would happen after reincarnation was finished and the spirit and soul had a perfect understanding. Both Buddhism and Hinduism were helped spread by people. For example, Ashoka spread Hinduism by adopting it in a way after war, and missionaries helped spread Buddhism. Also, both religions promote non-violent beliefs toward all living things.

While Hinduism and Buddhism come from the same cultural backgrounds, they are extremely diverse in their beliefs on afterlife, deity, and rituals. Both religions believe in reincarnation, but it is where an individual goes after he or she gets off the endless cycle that differs. These religions also part when it comes to whom they do or do not worship. Every religion comes with rituals and Hinduism and Buddhism are no exceptions.

There are many shared similarities between the beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism, but there are some differences as well. Some differences would be the way members of each religion achieve their goal of liberation from reincarnation and also the way members of each religion view liberation from reincarnation. Although the idea of moksha and nirvana seem very similar, there are

Within Buddhism the key terms are reincarnation which is the process of being reincarnated or born again. Nirvana; transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. Samsara; the continual repetitive cycle of birth and death that arises from ordinary beings ' grasping and fixating on oneself and experiences.

Hindus believe in an eternal soul that carries on after death, known as an atman. Buddhist believe in a finite self, with no eternal soul lasting beyond the grave, known as an anatman.

Throughout the world, different nations have different beliefs or religion. Some religions evolve from others, and others are combination of other religions. Religion is a way of life, a lifestyle; it should dictate how you live your life. For instance, in India, Buddhism evolved from Hinduism, a religion were people believe in 300, 000 gods. Even though, Hinduism and Buddhism have different similarities such as believes in god, soul, and rituals, which in some ways connected to each other, both religions believe of what happens after life.

Buddhism began in the fourth and fifth centuries before Christ by Siddhartha Gautama. The teachings of Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama, are the major beliefs of Buddhism. Buddhism is a belief and religion based on an assortment of customs, principles, and practices. The name Buddha means the awakened one. Buddha’s teachings were of the termination of suffering, attaining nirvana, and absconding from the cycle of suffering and rebirth. Buddhism has spread all across Asia and throughout the world, now with between two hundred thirty million and five hundred million followers. Buddhism is largely based around the belief of Karma. Karma is the “action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation” (Dictionary.com) or “the cosmic principle according to which each person is rewarded or punished in one incarnation according to that person’s deeds in the previous incarnation.” (Dictionary.com) In simpler words, how you live your life now determines how you will come back when your current soul expires. Buddhists live their lives in hopes of achieving to be placed in the highest state known as Heaven. The after-life stems from Karma and leads into Rebirth. Rebirth is a course of action where humans proceed within multiple lifetimes in one or more of the six states of after-life. Each lifetime begins with birth and ends with death. Buddhists believe that we should not fear death because

Compare and Contrast various views of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism. These all share the same concept, Karma, Samsara and Reincarnation. And that the purpose of our existence is to reach enlightenment. Hinduism and Buddhism share similar concepts, but they differ in that Buddhism does not worship a God, instead they make offerings to various Buddhas. Buddhism schools recognize that in some point in time, some of the human lived human lives as Gautama Siddhartha, and others lived in other realms and realities. The Hinduism belief, is a collection of faith, it is one of the oldest religions and they have four Gods, Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahman(who is considered the supreme God force present within all living things). Taoism, believes that “simplicity” is the key to truth and freedom, meaning finding our own path, experiencing our own ideas and taking the time to figure things out in the natural way. Meaning not looking for outside forces to guide us through our life.

Hinduism believes that realizing the soul is the embodiment of Brahman is essential to being released from the cycle of rebirth, Samsara. Hindus understand that the soul, atman, is permanent and only inhabits a physical shell which dies and passes the soul on to the next mortal shell, which can be better or worse than the previous depending on karma. With that said, Hindus believe in rebirth until one realizes the ultimate divine at which point they would be free from the punarjanma, the transmigration of the soul, liberating their souls to achieve moksha. Buddhism, on the other hand, challenges Atman with the belief in Anatman, which is non-self. Buddhists believe that the world is constantly changing, nullifying the concept of the permanent soul, Atman. There is no reason the soul remains unchanged in a perpetually changing environment.

Buddhism becomes similar to Hinduism regarding the concept of rebirth. The “Four Truths” of Buddhism express

Buddhism accepted the basic Hindu doctrines of reincarnation, karma, and the goal to escape the cycle of death and rebirth.

Hindus believe in an everlasting soul (atman) that is reincarnated almost intact from birth to birth, and through spiritual practice Hindus seek release (moksha, also known as liberation) so that the soul can join with the Divine God, known as Brahmin.

Hinduism and Buddhism are both eastern traditions with much to say about the human condition as well as the reason human beings exist at all. In some ways they are different while also being similar in other ways. In this essay, those differences will be discussed and the similarities examined for their message. In conclusion, we will examine what these two faiths offer to the human beings of the twenty-first century.

In the western world, a dominant belief is that after life, a person’s soul is sent to a place of eternal bliss, heaven, or a place of eternal damnation, hell. To Buddhists, this concept is not the norm. Buddhists believe that a person is reincarnated into another life form, either human or animal. What life form a person is reincarnated as is determined by the person’s karma. The concept of karma not only affects reincarnation, but also what path a person’s life takes. While much of the concept of karma is believable and comprehensible by a person of any denomination, some aspects are dependant upon a belief in reincarnation and that a person will eventually be punished for his sins or rewarded