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Jainism And Buddhism Similarities

Decent Essays

Buddhism and Jainism both originated from Hinduism. Buddhism and Jainism originated and developed as distinct religions in the same geographical area. With that being said there are going to be some similarities among both Buddhism and Jainism. Both of the religions are known as atheistic religions and are considered to be polytheistic religions that have a primary goal. Buddhism’s goal is gain enlightenment, “The Buddha taught that by understanding how we create suffering for ourselves we can become free.” (Fisher 137) Jainism’s goal is to liberate the soul, “Jain teachings recognized that we humans are imperfect, but hold out the promise that through careful control of our senses and thoughts we can attain perfection, freedom, and happiness.” …show more content…

The religion of Buddhism is centered upon the life and teachings of Guatama Buddha while Jainism is centered on the life and teachings of Mahavira. Buddhism believes in Devas or celestial beings; Jainism believes in deities known as Tirthenkaras. Each of the religions have a principle to their religion. Buddhism’s principle is to escape from the suffering of life by practicing the Eightfold Path whereas Jainism’s principle is to respect all living things and avoid bad karma which can cause rebirth and suffering. They also believe in Nirvana which means “blowing out or putting out or extinguishing a lamp or fire.” (hinduwebsite.com) Buddhism and Jainism organize their monastic orders where they use monks and nuns. Buddhist believe in the three jewels: the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha whereas the Jains believe in Godliness, the one who can break the bonds of karma and liberation can be termed God. There is an age difference between the Buddhism and the Jainism religions. Buddhism is about 2,500 years old starting about 563 BCE; Jainism is very ancient, one of the oldest religions. Buddhism has about 300-450 million followers whereas Jainism only has about 50-60 million

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