Buddhism and Hinduism both have a state of enlightenment. In Buddhism, this state of enlightenment is referred to as nirvana. For someone to achieve nirvana, they must follow the Eightfold Path, after that they will be free from suffering and the cycle of rebirth (Buddhism PowerPoint Notes). In Hinduism, this state of enlightenment is called moksha. To achieve moksha, one must understand the relationship between Atman, the individual soul, and Brahman, the world soul, which takes multiple life times, but will free them from worldly pain and reincarnation into the caste system (Hinduism PowerPoint Notes). This makes them similar because they both have forms of religion and similar end goals of that religion. Both of the forms of enlightenment result in freedom from pain and suffering and ending the cycle of rebirth into the caste system.
Buddhism and Hinduism both believe in non-violence. They also practice activities such as meditation and concentration. This makes the religions similar because it shows that they follow the same principals. Another non-violent practice in both religions is being vegetarian. This makes both religions non-violent because they are refraining from killing things. This makes Hinduism and Buddhism similar because they follow the same belief of non-violence and not killing things.
In Hinduism there are many gods while there are no gods in Buddhism. Hinduism is a polytheistic religion while Buddhism has no gods to worship. In Hinduism the three main gods are Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer, who all make up Brahmin, the world soul. But in Buddhism, there are no gods, because “…the Buddha had forbidden people to worship him…” (Page 193). This makes the religions different because it shows that they have different beliefs about worship and who to worship.
Hinduism is ruled by the caste system while Buddhism is not. In Hinduism, to achieve moksha, one has to be in one of the upper castes. One would have to be a twice-born, or a Priest (Brahmin), Warrior (Kshatriya), or a Merchant (Vaisya) to become enlightened. Buddhism rejected the idea of the caste system, finding it to be unfair and Buddha once said “Birth does not make one a priest or an outcaste. Behavior makes one either a priest or an outcaste.” This shows that Buddha believed that the idea of the caste system and how it was organized was wrong. Hinduism’s and Buddhism’s ideas on religion show they are different because the religions feel differently about treatment of people.
Hinduism and Buddhism are religions with similar ideas such as enlightenment and non-violence, but they are also different because of their opinions on basic religious foundations such as gods and the caste system.
"Dharma Data: The Caste system." Buddhist Studies. BDEA/ BuddhaNet, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. <http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/dharmadata/fdd53.htm>
"Hinduism and Buddhism." Hindu Website. Hinduwebsite.com, 2000. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. <http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_buddhism.asp>.
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