Hinduism And Buddhism Research Paper

Buddhism and Hinduism-- the core area of both is Northern India and each spread through the Indian subcontinent, yet both did not seem to expand with the same radius. Buddhism flourished and spread across central and eastern Asia; whereas, Hinduism generally stayed close to home, in India. The question now becomes why.

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

Religion is a very intellectual topic in the world. There are so many different types of religions such as Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Jainism, and many more. So many people in this world believe in numerous different religions. Some believe in one god, and others believe in hundreds. Hinduism and Buddhism are popular religions that are practiced around the world.

Every society is based on different religion. Different people follow different types of religion according to their birth or by choice. The major religions of the world are Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Buddhism, and Judaism. Each religion is similar and different from one another in terms of festivals, practices and beliefs. Apart from Christianity, Hinduism and Islam are the two most widely practiced religions in the world today. They have their own traditions, beliefs and practices. These two religions are similar to some extent and differ in terms of the God they worship, religious text and the place where they offer their prayers.

In this essay, I intend to compare and contrast two major religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, that came out of India thousands of years ago. Though these two religions are old, they are still practiced today by millions of followers within the continent of Asia and the West.

The question of origin- In order for us to completely understand Hinduism, we must first understand that this a philosophical system of beliefs. To give a definite origin of Hinduism would be very hard to address because there are no known origins. There are no beginning points or a name of a founder. Hinduism can be traced all the way back to around 1500 B.C in what we now call India and has a lot of different beliefs, philosophies and views that contradict each other. All Hindus believe in one God, a supreme being known as Brahma. Brahma is an entity believed to live in every single facet of reality and existence throughout the whole universe. Brahma is both impersonal and unknowable and is often believed to exist in three separate forms: Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu, the Preserver, and Shiva, the Destroyer.

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.

Both Hinduism and Buddhism are prominent religions in the ancient and modern world. They are arguably two of the most popular polytheistic faiths as well. Most people make the mistake of grouping them as one uniform religion, but this is inaccurate. Buddhism and Hinduism do split some resemblance, but several aspects of these faiths cause them to be contrasting from one another. The pair have been exceedingly significant throughout history, providing hope to the common people of India.

Throughout history, numerous religions have surfaced, growing profusely with followers and becoming more significant. Moreover, many just think there is only a few religions but there are a plethora of religions, some even have things in common. Buddhism and Christianity are among one of the most well known religions out there with followers all around the globe. Both religions impacted millions of lives and changed their perspectives.

To get from South India to South Florida, normally, a person would need to travel roughly 15,117 km or 9,394 miles. Being that it is hardly just a hop, skip, and a jump away, members of the South Florida community, who are also a part of the Hindu community, desperately wanted a place where they could feel close to their motherland and yet remain near their newfound homes. To ensure this dream would become a reality, devotees gathered funds and support from friends and families to build what would later be known as the South Florida Hindu Temple. Interestingly, this temple, dissimilar to many others in the country, was built strictly from love and charity. All of the funds used to create the holy place

Buddhism originated in India and spread throughout Asia, where it is most heavily concentrated today. Buddhism spread early to Tibet and Sri Lanka, where it continues to be a popular religious practice today. Along with the inherent similarities one would expect, both countries have many differences in the beliefs and practices associated with each form of Buddhism.

Since the Chinese culture was the first to introduce the ways of Buddhism to the Japanese culture there are many similarities in their belief system. The concept and affluent beliefs of Buddhism is evidently demonstrated in the arts of both the Chinese and Japanese culture. Both cultures demonstrate great Buddhism influences within their arts, meanwhile they still keep up their own cultural identities. Similarities within cultures not so long after the development of Buddhism did the missionaries from India begin to spread the religion into North China. Buddhism was introduced to China from India along the Silk Road ads many Buddhist monks were on the path spreading the newfound knowledge of enlightenment.

In comparing Buddhism and Hinduism there are many factors to consider. There are many similarities between these two religions. While looking at both, although Buddhism was formed as a response to Hinduism, you see that both don’t have a primary god they worship. Adding on to this each religion also has religious leaders. The differences are also very obvious as well such as Buddhism having a very prominent founder while Hinduism doesn’t have a primary founder. Although both religions believed in reincarnation, Buddhism believed that your goal is to reach a state of enlightenment whereas Hindus used a caste system where the person can only be moved up a caste after dying.

In Southeast Asia, Hinduism comprises what is the thirst largest religious group today. However, unlike other religions, Hinduism’s beliefs range from monotheism, polytheism, and even atheism. In this essay I will argue that although the religious diversity in India is so vast between religions like Sikhism and Jainism, there are still very many similarities between them.

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.