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Similarities Between Hinduism And Buddhism

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Although both Hinduism and Buddhism both Dharmic religions and originate from similar cultural backgrounds, their individual beliefs regarding death and the afterlife differentiate from one and other. Both religions believe in the concept of reincarnation, but the difference lies in the process in which someone is reincarnated and subsequently where the individual stops the process of reincarnation and reaches the desired end point of the seemingly endless cycle.
In Hinduism the concept of life and death is more complex than a body being born and subsequently reaching death. In Hinduism there is a spiritual entity within ones self called the Atman. The Atman, similar to a soul, is eternal, it does to adhere to the laws of the physical world, body included. Hindus believe that the atman cannot suffer, or feel pleasure, pain, or any other emotion that the physical body is tied to. This is because in Hinduism the Atman is a sense of pure consciousness, where the body is attempting to tap into this and achieved a sense of enlightenment; the Atman is the part of the individual, which exceeds the limitations of the physical body, not requiring needs or desires. The physical body experiences a relatively short life in comparison to the Atman, which is eternal. The bodily emotions one experiences when regarding death are physical limitations of ones physical self and not connecting with ones eternal self.
Within the Hind tradition there are four stages of an individuals life.

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