Buddhism: Similarities And Contrasting Differences

Religion is one of the oldest and most sacred traditions of the human species. Religion started off as a basic belief in an afterlife, and then further developed into tribal religions, which evolved into ancestral worship, then to polytheism, and lastly into monotheism. Monotheism in the form of Christianity is the largest religion of the modern world, and it has similar beliefs to other world religions such as Buddhism. Christianity and Buddhism are similar because both religions teach about the equality of people and that making good choices reflects the positive teachings of that religion. They are also similar in how they formed, as both broke off from another religion that was exclusive, and both became popular and spread easily

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

Also, Buddhism was a more peaceful and calm religion. Unlike in Buddhism, in Hinduism there was a caste system. It was a group from a social system. Hindus had gone by using a caste system, but it was rejected in the Buddhism community which resulted in many Buddhist being laborers and craftspeople. Hindus and Buddha both had different beliefs. For example, “Hindus saw religion as a way of liberating the soul from illusions, disappointments, and mistakes of everyday existence.” (World History Patterns of Interaction, 2005)

One of the most early religions are Judaism and Buddhism. Both Judaism and Buddhism have lots of differences beliefs and practices and only few similarities. Judaism was started in 2000 B.C.E, led by Abraham. Buddhism was started in 560 B.C.E, by Siddhartha Gautama. Both religions have different point of view. Buddhism don’t believe in deity and Judaism believe in deity. Buddhism are just followers of Gautama and Judaism believe in Yahweh (the God Abraham believed in). It is important to know all this because it tells us when the religions were started and how different they are from one another.

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.

So we can see that in one religion we have life set out the way it should be lived and in the other people are free to live the way that they see fit within their religion. The next main difference is the actual being of the dharma. In Hinduism Dharma is not only seen as the way in which people should live, but also as the god Vishnu or Rama. Here we see the term dharma as, “the preserver of dharma who takes worldly form (avatara) to combat threats to dharma,”(lecture, 9/16). It was also said that, “Rama, was a heroic king who, along with his spouse exemplifies dharma,”(lecture, 9/16). This is very different then that of the Buddhists, because they believe that, “what Buddha discovered, is that which makes him the awakened one,”(lecture, 9/23) So we see that it is somewhat of the reverse from Hinduism, because it is not represented or upheld through gods, but that which brought them their god to worship. So again we see clearly that these two religions are not as closely related as people may think.

Hindus believe the earth was created by the Gods in the beginning of time, whereas Buddhists believe the earth was created with man’s desire to produce many beings from his body and from his thoughts created the earth and everything in it. Buddha was born into a Hindu family, just as Christ was born into a Jewish family. Hinduism accepts the Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu and some people still argue that Buddhism is an offshoot of

There are more than seven billion people living across the world and about 19 major religions with about 270 subgroups. In many states and countries, there are two or more religions that are being practiced by its residents. Hinduism and Buddhism are two of the 19 major religions, that are widely practiced. Hinduism and Buddhism both have common origins, and share similar beliefs. Both Hinduism and Buddhism are religions that focus on the way to live and the different paths to gain enlightenment. There are certain differences that make them different in terms of individual life time and its major principles (Silf).

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

Hinduism and Buddhism have common origins in the Ganges culture of northern India around 500 BCE. We have to admit that they share a lot of similarities, but also involve tons of differences. For example, as Hinduism claims that Atman is Brahman, Buddhism reject the existence of Atman. Hindus think that the way to becoming enlightened is to union with God, but Buddhists pursue a throughout understanding of the universe by following the Noble Eightfold Path. Hinduism believes that Atman is changeless, while Buddhism tells people that everything is impermanent. Disagreement about permanence is a very apparent issue between Hinduism and Buddhism.

Hinduism and Buddhism are among the oldest traditions in the world. Incidentally, both traditions have their roots in India. Since their beginning, both traditions have co-existed peacefully and even spread beyond India in similar patterns. Most people have scattered information about the traditions and make assumptions that they are similar. However, they also have clear distinguishing features. This paper intends to study the similarities and contrasts between the two traditions in various contexts. First, the traditions will be compared and contrasted based on how they began. The development processes of both religions will then be contrasted. The paper will then discuss the similarities and differences between the two religions based on the social and the political roles they played.

Hinduism and Buddhism shared many similarities and differences in their origins and founders.Hinduism originated in early India, it evolved over time from the original Vedic religion of the Aryans. It had no exact founder. Buddhism also originated in Early India, Siddhartha Gautama was a king in the kshatriya system. Siddhartha Gautama was the founder of Buddhism, a person who believed being kind to everyone and respectful, he did not believe in violence and achieved nirvana. Both Hinduism and Buddhism came from the same place, showing how they had similar qualities. Since Hinduism did not have a founder it is showing how they did not have someone leading them,

Although Buddhism evolved from Hinduism it differs from Hinduism in god beliefs. According to Buddhists there is no God, but they reverence the Buddha and his teachings as though he were one.

Hinduism and Buddhism are similar because they both have moral responsibilities such as Dharma and the Eightfold Path. However, the ultimate goals of the two religious, Brahman or Nirvana, are completely different.

Hindus believe in the four stages of life, but the Buddha do not share that believe. Whereas the Buddhists believe in the concept of Bodhisattvas, or the enlightened existence, but the Hindus do not. Buddhists must believe that the Buddha, Sangha, and Dhamma are the three most important requirements on the eightfold path, or the principal teachings of the Buddha. Hinduism has many different paths of self realization. Both religions believe in karma and reincarnation, but their terms and conditions vary, different in as many ways as they are similar. Buddhists have no priests or rituals like the Hindus do. Also, in the Buddhist religion, any follower than achieve Nirvana, but in the Hindu religion, only the Brahmins, or priests, could achieve moksha, the Hindu equivalent of Nirvana. Another large difference is that Buddhists do not believe in the Caste System, a main factor in Hinduism. This is one of their largest differences. Hinduism does not know their original creator, unlike most other religions; they’ve lost any information about their founder over the many years, whereas the Buddhists know their creator, Buddha. Buddhism is a much younger religion than Hinduism. The two religions are very much different.