Comparison of Upanishads and Buddhism

The three most practiced monotheistic religions- Christianity, Judaism, and Islam- share a belief in one singular God. Each have many similarities -like believing in one God and following sacred texts- as well as differences, such as different holidays and rituals. Although these three religions share similarities, there are more differences between them. Christianity is a religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ through the holy book called the Bible.

Monotheism: The basic definition of monotheism is the belief in one God. The opposite of polytheism, which is the belief in many Gods, who each serve a different purpose. However, for a monotheistic religion, the God is all-knowing, all-seeing and all-powerful; this God would be the sole creator and provider. There are three major religions associated with monotheism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The main focus of Buddhism is that the faith centers on correct understanding of human nature and ultimate reality, The Buddha was also called the Enlightened One, he taught that the way to eliminate suffering begins with understanding the true nature of the world. He rejected speculation about such matters as God, the nature of the universe, and the afyterlife, urging his folloers to focus instead on the Four Noble Truths by which they can free themselves from suffering. “We do not believe that this world is created and ruled by God.” The disbelief in God does not make Buddhism an atheistic religion. The Buddha rejected the concept of the atman, or soul. In

Early Buddhism and the Bhagavad Gītā have a wide array similarities and differences. Both Buddhism and the Gita deal with an inner struggle. We see Arjuna dealing with the struggle of whether or not he should murder his family in order to obtain a kingdom. In Buddhism, we see the inner struggle as the quest to find nirvana and the pain that is the very act of living. Although there are some similarities, the differences between Buddhism and the Gita are clear. One of the biggest digressions between the two is how one deals with the notion of atman and how one must live their life in order to reach the ultimate goal of nirvana or moksha.

The Upanishad scriptures suggest that followers exercise their body and mind. These exercises become more important to Hindu practice as time goes by. Through the teachings of Upanishads there is a spiritual essence called “Brahman”. Brahman is a single world soul that is the base of all physical matter, energy, time and space. Brahman is all things on earth and beyond. It is thought that a person’s inner soul known as the “atman”, is part of Brahman and therefore; a person’s innermost soul is part of the single world soul. The meditation associated with the search for perfect knowledge has evolved into a permanent aspect of Hinduism and is known as “Yoga”. During this period Buddhism and Jainism were created as additional ways of reaching enlightenment while denying key teachings and practices.

Buddhism differed radically about this most fundamental concept of Hinduism. Specifically, Buddhists do not believe in the existence of a permanent reality or soul. Moreover, they deny the existence of the unchanging Atman. Instead, they believe that there undergoes continuous change about our existence.

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.

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

In the early sixth century Christianity was evolving at a rapid pace. The spread of Christianity was not only moving westward through Europe, but it was also moving eastward down the Silk Road. The eastward spread of Christianity was primarily a form of Christianity known as Nestorianism, after the teachings of Nestorius, a fifth century patriarch. By 635 Nestorian Christianity had reached the heart of China spreading through all of Persia and India. During the middle of the seventh century Nestorian churches were found in cities all along the Silk Road, though there were unquestionably many fewer Christians than Buddhists in Asia

Religion is defined as "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God" . There are many recognised religions of the world, which all teach its followers to live life "the right way", whose definition varies according to the religion itself. They have some beliefs and practices that distinguish themselves from each other. Some examples are differences and similarities of Buddhism and Islam.

Between 600 BCE, and 600 CE, Buddhism and Christianity were spreading across India and the Middle East, but the two religions have a lot in common, yet each have their differences.

Under an Eastern Pantheistic Monism worldview, all is God and all is One. There is an overarching understanding that the soul of every human being belongs to the Soul of the Cosmos and after this understanding is achieved each soul is joined to the One (Soul of the Cosmos). Pantheism and Monism have evolved rapidly over the past three decades which led to a stark division of beliefs according to different branches of Pantheism. Eastern Pantheistic Monism has also adapted into a form of New Age Gnosticism.

This religion differs from the other three religions in that Buddhist do not believe in the nature of God. The Jewish, Christian and Muslim believe that God is the one and only God. He is the creator of human existence and what exist on earth, heaven and all that is between. Buddhist’s vision of the ultimate is Buddha, Dharma and sangha. The transcendence is different among the four. Buddhist seek enlightenment and that is done by being lead through the human form of Buddha (p.147). Christian and Jewish believe the transcendence of God is that he is not far away, but his presence with the people. Muslim believe in the transcendence in that God is not present in the created world, yet his divine reality is present

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.

As any other society, India and Greece underwent changes that transformed their thoughts, beliefs, social order, and their idea about this world. Most of these changes were experienced during the Axial Age and the Age of Iron. These periods in history made people question themselves about topics such as life, the world, death, the soul, etc. People attempted to answer these questions through ideas, philosophies, and myths.