Despite Buddhism being an extensive religion it is much more alike other religions than you might think. Religions like Hinduism, Confucianism, and Christianity are all similar to Buddhism in countless ways you may not know. Buddhism was created by Siddhartha Gautama (also known as Buddha). He decided to leave his wife and family to become a more holy individual and to find spiritual enlightenment. He did not understand what suffering truly was like so he sat under a Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya for forty-nine days until he understood what suffering was. His demons of desire subsided, and he experienced genuine enlightenment for the first time. Two very important principles of Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths (the truth of suffering, the cause …show more content…
The goal of Buddhism is to reach nirvana and be released from the cycle of reincarnation. Ultimately Buddhists try to keep a structured society. Buddhists must follow the Eightfold Path and meditate often. Confucians must visit temples to pay homage to Confucius, Ti’en (their God), and to their ancestors. In Buddhist thought women and men are equals and have equal rights. Christianity and Buddhism have similarities such as the basic principles are greatly alike. The Eightfold Path say that people should not kill other people like the Ten Commandments say. These two religions are both monotheistic. Both Christianity and Buddhism rejected different elements of the religion that they stemmed from. Also these two religions spread through political means by the ruler of the empire that it originated in (Buddhism through Ashoka and Christianity through Constantine). The differences between Buddhism and Christianity are pretty substantial like how Buddhists believe in reincarnation and Christians believe that they will go to heaven. The practices of the Buddhists include meditation, chanting, Mantras, and visiting sacred areas. Christian practices include going to church, celebrate important holidays (Christmas and Easter), and perform community
More importantly, the main beliefs in both religions have points in common. Buddhism and Christianity teach people and help them to escape the sufferings, and both of them
Hinduism and Buddhism have different similarities and are in some ways connected to each other. Some of the practices of the two religions are similar in various ways and there are several examples to show this.
4. Morality – This is the area where Christians and Buddhists mostly agree. The Christian “golden rule” is similar to that of the Buddhists. You are not to do anything to others that you wouldn’t want done to yourself. Christians hold a lot of the same morals as Buddhists such as the eightfold path and five precepts. The Christian and Buddhist Worldviews are shaped by their moral codes.
If a Christian follows Buddhist traditions, then one must assume that there is an overlapping of similarities in both teachings; a Christian’s worldview must be complementary to that of a Buddhist’s. Though I am arguing the similarities between Christianity and Buddhism, I do not completely shut down the obvious differences between the two traditions. Christians are devoted the Jesus Christ’s teachings, while Buddhists believe in the Buddha’s teachings. Jesus is God in human form while Buddha was a human being who reached supreme insight under the Bodhi tree. Roderick Ninian Smart, a Scottish writer and university educator of religious studies, argues in his book, Buddhism and Christianity: Rivals and Allies, “Jesus saved humanity through his deeds and death, while the heart of liberation for Buddhists is through the Eightfold Path” He then continues to defend
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)
At first glance the traditions of Christianity and Buddhism appear very different from each other. One centers around a God that was at one time physically manifest on earth in the human form of his "son" Jesus Christ, the other primarily worships a historical figure that gained divine status through enlightenment. This assessment is broad at best, especially in the case of Buddhism where the Theravada and Mahayana traditions differ significantly. Christianity also has division within itself, the most prominent being between the Roman Catholic and Protestant systems. There are however, despite obvious differences, some very interesting similarities between Buddhism and
These two religions had very different concepts about divinity, Christians believed in one only merciful god, while Buddhists believed in Buddha’s divinity known as enlightenment and his teachings. Christians had a very complex concept of what divinity is, they believe in only one god who can be manifested in three different ways, as God himself, throughout his son Jesus
There are similarities between Christianity and Buddhism, but they also have many differences. Christians follow the word of God, prayers, the sacraments, and etc., while Buddhists follow the eightfold path, which includes morality, concentration, wisdom, and etc. The goal of Christianity is to follow the commandments of God, spread his word to everyone, and get to heaven, while the goal of Buddhism is to reach Nirvana. The process is different from Christianity, because Christians believe eternal life; people either go to heaven or to hell based on the judgement the Father gives based on the basis of brotherly love. In Buddhism, individuals are reborn into different lives after death, and their rebirth is dependent on karma, which is dependent on their actions. Even though there is ideological difference between these two religions, the core beliefs are all about caring for others, hormonal relationship between body, mind and spirit. Both religions promote love and compassion towards others in order to build strong relationships. People have to do good in order to go to a good place, either heaven, Nirvana, or a good rebirth and bad deeds take people to either hell or a bad rebirth. When we look at these two different faiths closely, it is obvious that these two faiths act as moral agents. They are holding high moral values of compassion, love, kindness and mercy. People get healed with their strong faith and religious actions. Every religion has emphasized the
Buddhist teachings consist of teaching others how to end suffering in their own lives. Buddha teaches that if you follow an eightfold path, then you are moving toward reaching nirvana. This is the end of all suffering and the goal of all Buddhists.
Buddhism is a tradition that evolved from the original teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha or Enlightened One. Buddha was born a Hindu in about 563 B.C.E. He was of aristocratic birth and grew up in relative luxury and the security of the ruling class of that period. At age twenty-nine, he tired of his comfortable existence and renounced the world and went in search of wisdom. Tradition states that he attained enlightenment on a full moon day in May - under a fig tree.
Christians also believe in such polarities as good and evil, God and Devil, Heaven and Hell -- none of which form an important part of any Buddhist teachings. Christianity is likewise authoritarian and dictatorial -- "you must believe this or you will be condemned" -- whereas Buddhism tends to be more liberal and allows people to believe more or less whatever they like. Christians ban certain teachings as heretical, evil and harmful, but
The monks are meant to preserve the teachings and guidance that Buddha sent out for the people. There are monks called Dalai Lamas who are purposely reincarnated, wanted to be rebirthed again to help and serve humanity because they are special people who know the ways and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama. Karma is what decides your future. It is simply the actions of a person, and to do good deeds will return give you good karma. To do bad things will give you bad karma, and bad karma means rebirth onto Earth again. Dharma is the set of eight “rights” that you have to follow. It is the law and order of Buddhism kept to support the original teachings Buddha had sent out. Meditation is a key part to what Siddhartha Gautama had originally started with his period of doing nothing materialistic. Meditation is meant to clear the mind of everything, no matter what it is, and it stills the mind to keep it at ease. The point is to be fully aware and to live each moment as it unfolds and to just be at peace. The Bible says meditation can be good for the body as well, but they have a God is instruct them to do so. Psalm 104:34 - “Let my meditation be pleasing to Him; As for me, I shall be glad in the LORD.” Buddhists lack a figure of deity, someone who created everything, including themselves. They don’t believe in a god, but consider Buddha as the creator of their religion which makes him a god-like figure. He has shown the way to end suffering, and ultimately, that’s what everybody would like. Buddha motivating the people, and teaching them the ways of life, shows great power over the rest of the people, but he was completely man. He just resembled a figure Buddhists can look up to. What they can also learn from is the four noble truths of life: suffering, cause of suffering, cessation of suffering, and the eightfold path to the cessation of suffering, which is ultimately the eight “rights” of dharma. The four noble truths
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.
Buddhism is a religion that is practiced by millions of people across the world. It is a religion that heavily focuses on a variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices that are based on the teachings of the Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama. Periodically viewed as a philosophy or a religion, the teaching of Confucius also known as Confucianism, is concerned with primarily ethnical principles; the way of life. Buddhism and Confucianism are both spiritual beliefs that sought ways to end peoples suffering across the world. For those that practice the Buddhist faith or that of Confucius can see many of the similarities and differences that both these practices share. To understand the similarities and differences one needs to be exposed to the pathways of Confucianism and Buddhism.
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