Comparing Buddhism And The Bhagavad

However, the second teaching “Bhagavad Gita” talks about is the three Gunas. Their names are Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. Sattva is known as pure happiness and knowledge. It helps us free from all sinful reactions that can later lead to happiness and knowledge. Rajas are known to be full of passion with intense desires. It helps us control our selfish desires. Tamas is known to be the darkness, and crudeness. They are the ones who are born with ignorance, and madness. Higher worlds are Sattva, middle worlds are rajas, and lower worlds are tamas. Each of the three Gunas tries to have higher power, and overpower one another. Our souls are known to be influenced by them. They are responsible for the behavior of all living things. The goal of the three Gunas is to create a bondage through desires. Understanding the three Gunas helps a devotee overcome their battles to accomplish perfection, and help us with complying with our duties. All three are responsible to get rid of desire actions in all beings. Instead of just putting these practices into use we should go beyond our own expectations. The one who is successful with all three Gunas is a qualified devotee. Therefore, we must begin our journey into this world.

Both Buddhism and Hinduism are well known religions. They are two of the most popular polytheistic faiths in the world. Some people believe them to be sects of the same religion, but they are mistaken. Buddhism and Hinduism have some similarities, but many things set them apart from each other as well. They are each their own religion in many aspects.

In the past few weeks of class we talked about so many different religions around the world. Three religions we discuss in class were Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity. These are three of the major religions in the world that still exist today. I will be focusing on how all three religions started, and I will compare and contrast Hinduism and Buddhism. Then at the end, I will discuss on how I feel about the three different religions.

The paths help to explain that for one to evolve they should worship more, "Men who worship me, thinking solely of me, always disciplined, win the reward I secure" (Gita 9:20 p.58) and be following and doing your duties, "Look to your own duty do not tremble before it" (Gita 2:31 p.57). These two ways of fixing the problem are explained by Krishna to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita. Arjuna is set to fight in a battle but in the last minute he twirls around the idea of retreating because of the fear of dying and killing. He believes that the act of killing will be bad in karma. Krishna is outraged with this non-sense and makes it his duty to open Arjuna's eyes to see and realize that he has a duty and that it is to be a warrior and fight. Krishna argues that by not fulfilling his duty in reality will be what brings him the bad karma that he so truly fears. In the end, Arjuna can not back down into his fears because that would be like turning your back on the God. A Hindu must follow their duties, beliefs, and many rituals in order to reach their inner peace, to receive good karma and possibly a better ranking in the caste system and stages of life.

The Bhagavad Gita uses the conversation between Pandava Prince Arjuna and his guide Lord Krishna to portray Hinduism world view and Krishna’s view on the different fundamental questions. When he’s facing a war, Arjuna is guided by Krishna to be a selfless leader, and dedication to the cause.

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.

In the Bhagavad Gita, the fourth discourse which is composed of forty-two verses, Lord Krishna, the narrator guides Arjuna- a warrior who is finding himself pondering about the simple principles of life while he is fighting the war. In the fourth discourse Arjuna learns from Lord Krishna about faith, wisdom sacrifice, ignorance, doubts of the soul, action and inaction, selfless service, and self-realization which ultimately leads to the ultimate truth, which is the path for the spiritual soul to reach its maximum potential here on earth and the afterlife.

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,

Buddhism is seen as a way of life rather than a form of religion that needs to be closely followed and constantly practiced. The idea of “enlightenment” carries through one’s entire lifetime in an attempt to reach nirvana, which is an end to all suffering. A person’s lifetime is spent being faithful and relying on karma to eventually achieve nirvana and enlightenment, in which people embark on the path of awakening. The awakening is a very crucial aspect of the Buddhist religion, as it was Buddha’s own personal awakening and understanding of how the world works, in which he passed it on to be believed and understood by others. It’s closely related to other religions in the way that rebirth and reincarnation are the beliefs surrounding the idea of the afterlife, however Buddhism in particular is an anatta tradition, or ‘not-self,’ which often sets it apart from other religions.This complex ideal entails that one’s external self, consciousness, feelings

Throughout history, religion has been a guiding force that determines a person’s core values and directs a person down a path in their life. It is a basic belief that a person practices which can determine an individual’s life. There are hundreds of religions in the world. They evolve from different traditions and customs, as well as practices and values. Two of the most influential religions in the world are Hinduism and Buddhism. Both religions originate from South Asia and are similar in their basic beliefs and practices; though they differ in many aspects.

Arjuna is a unique character because of the worldview he holds. Hindus in “The Bhagavad-Gita” hold the value of life slightly lower than most because they have the security of reincarnation to rely on. However, Arjuna is different than many Hindus because he values life to a higher degree than others. In lines 28-30, Arjuna’s value of human life is accurately displayed. “Krishna, I see my kinsmen gathered here, wanting war. My limbs sink, my mouth trembles, the hair bristles on my flesh. The magic bow slips from my hand, my skin burns, I cannot stand still, my mind reels” (Miller, 2004). Arjuna being struck with grief while watching his family members about to lose their lives exemplifies how his worldview is filled with empathy. Krishna, encouraging Arjuna to fight in the war and not to worry about the lives of his family, sparked the conversation about reincarnation. Krishna did not find death enough of a reason to cease fighting. There was no fear of death for most Hindus because their soul would simply be placed in a new life, possibly a better one. That is displayed in teaching two line 37 when Lord Krishna states: “If you are killed, you win heaven; if you triumph, you enjoy the earth; therefore Arjuna, stand up and resolve to fight the battle!” (Miller, 2004). Krishna’s viewpoint did not portray what Arjuna believed clearly because Arjuna had empathy for human life, whereas Krishna did not fret over a lost life. Ultimately, Arjuna’s view on life encouraged him to make the decision to drop

#2. Compare and contrast the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. What were the essential differences

Although there are numerous comparisons between Buddhism and Hinduism, there are many differences between these two religions. Some of which includes the founders, their goal in life, their reaction to the caste system, their belief system and most importantly their principles and practices. Hinduism did not have one founder; it possessed a mixture of Aryans belief. Siddhartha Gautama “Buddha” was the one who founded Buddhism, without his teachings, Buddhism would not be as successful as it is now. The main goal of those belonging to the Hinduism religion was to achieve Moksha. Moksha is the release from reincarnation. Buddhism’s goal in life is to achieve Nirvana by accepting Buddha’s teachings. Nirvana is the state of peace that is achieved or is entered at death. The Caste System is a system of social structure that groups people on their inherited social status. The Hindu’s did the acceptation of the caste system; their belief was that their happiness determined their movement in the system in the other life. The social classes they were divided among were Brahmins (priests), Kshatriya (warriors), Vaishyas (free people) and Shudras (Indian servants) However, Buddhism rejected the caste system; a person’s place in life depended on that individual. Due to

India gave birth to Hinduism which expanded quickly. This spiritual tradition focused on finding peace and eternal tranquility rather than temporary satisfaction from the worldly pleasures. In order to transmit the idea to other people and guide them through it, they came up with different writings to illustrate this. The Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads are popular writings that exemplify the beliefs and thoughts of Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita addresses the question about how a person can be one with Brahman, the universal soul or god, while living in this world. This document is set as a dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna. Arjuna is being encouraged by Krishna to fulfill his duty as a warrior and part of the Kshatriyas, one of the higher divisions in the caste system. Arjuna has to enter this battle and fight in order to live up to his duty and consequently live free from attachments and walk in the path of finding himself as one with Brahman. On the other hand, the Upanishads guided all kinds of people regardless of

The Bhagavad Gita is a sacred Hindu text that serves to illustrate many of the morals and ethics of Hindu culture, by way of the exchange between Arjuna and Krishna. One of the things Krishna tells Arjuna is that the war he is fighting in is righteous. Is this to say that all wars are righteous, that those of the warrior caste will know if a war is righteous, or that they have to guess and then suffer the consequences if they’re wrong? The first two seem naïve and oversimplified from the modern perspective, and the third seems unjust because regardless of caste, Hindus are said to be capable of fulfilling their dharma. Krishna also assumes that people know their purpose in life, which may have been the case at the time the text was written, but is no longer true. While in Arjuna’s day people were born into certain castes, today people are descended from a combination of what would have been considered castes, and often switch between castes within a lifetime. Regardless, Krishna’s argument for why Arjuna should fight seems relatively sound in that specific situation, but can be twisted to condone what many consider to be evil actions in others. Nonetheless, Krishna seems confident in the fact that it is a universal truth for everyone to know his or her dharma, and that he or she needs to follow it to achieve moksha. Although Krishna makes a strong argument for Arjuna’s specific case, it can be seen to condone evil, raising the questions that if all wars are righteous, and