Comparing Buddhism and Hinduism
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Comparing Buddhism and Hinduism
Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world, with its roots dating from four thousand years and above. With almost more than 1.25 billion followers, this religion is the third-largest religion in the world. Hinduism is more of an Indian religion because nearly ninety-five percent of Hindus in the world live in India. Buddhism is a religion founded from more than two thousand years ago by Siddhartha Gautama, India. With more than five hundred and twenty million followers, Buddhism is considered the fourth- most enormous faith in the world. Buddhism includes various spiritual practices, beliefs, and traditions based on the teachings ascribed to interpreted philosophies and the Buddha. This essay will examine the similarities and differences in Buddhism and Hinduism.
The similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism are based on their concepts, symbolism, and practices. Hinduism and Buddhism have similar concepts because vocabularies like samsara, Karma, and dharma are familiar with the two religions. Samsara is the cycle that is endless and involves birth and death. Karma is a conception that every thought or action will result in a repercussion that fits directly to a life state either in the present or in the future. Dharma is an ambiguous word, which means natural duty, moral order, law, and right conduct in the universe. According to samrasa, both religions view life as a cycle where spirits are reborn after the end of one life. Samrasa is only broken when one achieves enlightenment. According to Buddhism, enlightenment is viewed as achieving nirvana, and in Hinduism, it is considered to be moksha, also known as bonding with the supreme god, Brahman. In Karma both religions view culture as a situation where when a person does things that are bad in their lives, they can be reborn in an undesirable state in the other entity (Gamble,2018). Also, they believe that when a person experiences good things in their lives, it might be caused by their great doings in their previous life. Dharma is a familiar concept to both Hinduism and Buddhism. According to Hinduism, dharma is closely tied with a person’s duty and expectations on how one should conduct themselves, depending on their caste. According to Buddhism, dharma refers to Buddha’s teachings.
Similar symbolism is the mantra, dharmachakra, while the practices are mantra, meditation, and vegetarianism in Buddhism and Hinduism. Mantra is saying words and syllables in a way that is melodic and is it is claimed to possess spiritual powers, which makes a person increase their spiritual awareness. In Hinduism, the mantra is used in worshipping gods during rituals and also when praying. In Buddhism, the mantra is used more in meditation exercise to enable people’s minds to focus more on some things and let go of others. Meditation to Buddhism is seen as a way of self-edification, and a way of attaining nirvana in Hinduism uses meditation to enhance their mental, spiritual and physical states. Vegetarianism is an inclination by both religions, where thirty-three percent of Hindus in India are vegetarians. In Hinduism and Buddhism, vegetarianism is not a mandatory exercise, but it is highly encouraging because it expresses non-violence. Both Hinduism and Buddhism believe that desire is the original cause of problems and suffering. They emphasize compassion towards living beings, encourage peace, and preach against violence. Hinduism and Buddhism believe that there are several layers of hells and heavens as they believe in more than one god and deities. The originality of both Buddhism and Hinduism was in India.
The differences between Hinduism and Buddhism are based on the perspective on God, morality, perspective on the caste system, and Buddha. The two religions have different views on god’s existence. Hinduism believes in numerous deities like Lord Shiva, Ganesh, Brahma, Lakshmi, and Vishnu(Dwivedi, 2019). Despite the countless gods in Hinduism, they have a similar belief on their originality to be from Brahman, which is the universal soul. Hindus acknowledge the existence of an individual soul inside every person known as Atman. Some of the Hindus have believed that Brahman and the Atman are in the end the same. This belief brings the idea that influences pantheism, but their views change with time significantly. On the contrary, Buddhism disallows the concept of the existence of numerous gods. Buddhism instead believes that there is the existence of a single god, and they have no belief in the necessity of seeking god. Their teachings mainly emphasize on the ethical behavior and not worship towards their god. In Hindu culture, the worship of various gods is deeply ingrained, but in Buddhism culture, the followers are encouraged to concentrate their attention on self-discipline.
Hinduism and Buddhism have different morality and perspective on Buddha. In Buddhism, the Eightfold Path is one of the teachings that is seen as necessary. The eightfold path includes eight practices: right view, resolve, speech, conduct, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and Samadhi, the meditative union. According to Buddhism, Eightfold Path is meant to help one achieve nirvana, which releases them from the rebirth cycle, something that is the highest Buddhism goal. On the contrary, Hinduism views morality as they view dharma, and they do not only put their focus on one’s moral behavior, but they put emphasis on rituals and duties fulfillment as expected from one’s lifestyle and economic status. On the view of Buddha, Gautama Buddha founded Buddhism, and he is seen as a historical figure born as an Indian prince and existed in the 4th century. Buddhists view Buddha as a teacher who is admirable because he attained enlightenment, and he was the founder of Buddhism. In Hinduism, a few denominations acknowledged the figure of Buddha but only as of the god Vishnu’s ninth avatar, who was one of the most important gods in Hindu culture. Hindus believe that Lord Vishnu went through an incarnation as Buddha with the intention of restoring dharma (Gamble,2018), the moral order in the whole world, but Buddhists avoid sharing this view.
Buddhism and Hinduism had different perspectives on the caste system, but it is now illegal in India. Hindus in India had a belief in the caste system where people were divided into four groups or five when the untouchables were included. All the castes have their dharma, the expectation of actions and behavior(Sultana and Subedi,2016). The caste system is said to be very widespread in Hinduism, and it was a determinant of whom to marry. Intermarriages between castes were highly discouraged in India. Currently, marriages and relationships between ranks happen even though the older generation does not approve of it. The thing with the caste system is that it is known only to benefit those in the upper caste, and those in the lower castes are suppressed. To attain enlightenment and moksha, Hinduism followers have to be from Brahmin caste. The untouchables which are from the lowest rank are the worst disadvantaged by the caste system. Gautama Buddha’s teachings were triggered by the disapproval of this system. Gautama Buddha taught that there was no good in creating the hierarchical categories of society because people are equal and have equal value, which is why there is no caste system practice in Buddhism.
One of the major holidays in Buddhism religion is Vesak, and in Hinduism is Bhogi. Vesak is the term given to Buddha’s birthday, making it a significant festival in the year amongst Buddhists. Vesak holiday is celebrated every year in May on the very first full moon day of the fourth lunar month. In some Buddhist countries, Vesak is used to celebrate Buddha’s birth and his attainment of enlightenment and parinirvana. In Hinduism, Bhogi is a festival dedicated to honoring Lord Indra, a god of rain. Many farmers worship lord Indra in expectations that he would bring them prosperity and happiness in their farms. In the festival, a bonfire is lit at down where people dispose of derelict things and sacrifice material things(Dowarah,2020). Buddhism was founded by an Indian called Buddha, but Hinduism was not founded by a specific person. Hindus follow the Vedas principles, while Buddhism followers do not. Hindus do not adhere to texts like Christians do to the bible, and Muslims do to Koran. The failure of Hindus from using documents makes it a problematic task defining its religion. Vedas is a Hindu scripture and is Sanskritic texts body dating at 1700B.C.E. Unlike Buddhists, and Buddhism followers do not believe that Hindu gods are powerful like Buddha. Buddhism followers do not look up to Hindu gods as they look up to Buddha. Buddhists have a notion that the main goal in this life is to overcome sorrow while Hindus believe that life has four goals, namely; artha, moksha, Karma, and dharma.
In conclusion, Buddhism and Hinduism have both similarities and differences. Buddhism was founded by an Indian prince called Buddha, and his teachings on equality helped Buddhists avoid the caste system, which was familiar with the Hindu culture. Both religions have similar concepts, symbols, and practices but differ their perspective of God, morality, their viewpoint on Buddha, and views on the caste system. Buddhism and Hinduism have similar and different holiday festivals, and they both believe in rebirth and death. Hindus believe that Lord Vishnu incarnated as Buddha, but Buddhists do not believe in Hindu gods. Both Hinduism and Buddhism originated in India.
References
Dowarah, A. (2020). The Religion in India: Comparative study between Hinduism and Buddhism. CLIO An Annual Interdisciplinary Journal of History, 6(10), 545-553. https://sites.google.com/a/cbmsonline.net/india/religion/buddhism/similarities-and-differences-between-buddhism-and-hinduism
Dwivedi, A. V. (2019). Numismatics (Hinduism) https://www.dummies.com/religion/hinduism/hindu-gods-and-goddesses/
Gamble, R. (2018). Reincarnation in Tibetan Buddhism: The Third Karmapa and the Invention of a Tradition. Oxford University Press https://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=431
Sultana, H., & Subedi, D. B. (2016). Caste system and resistance: the case of untouchable Hindu sweepers in Bangladesh. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 29(1), 19-32. https://www.google.com/search?q=caste+system+in+hinduism&oq=caste+&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j0l4j69i60j69i61.3919j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8