Hinduism and Buddhism: Compare/Contrast

Possibly Hinduism, and in turn, Buddhism have their origins in the Vedic age. Even though Buddhism is an offshoot of the Hindu religion, not much is the same between these great world religions. For example, Hindus worship many deities, and Buddhists worship one deity, the Buddha, or his teachings. The writings’ of both religions are similar in that they both talk about their teachings. During the Vedic age, early Hinduism developed in the Indo-European population in India. The nearby Indus Valley civilization may have also influenced some Hindu traditions. Today, Classical Hinduism is more personal than Hinduism was during the Vedic age, but some customs, such as ritual bathing, remain the same. Buddhism developed very differently. It was created by a Hindu prince. The prince, in ancient Nepal, was named Siddhartha. Over time, he found enlightenment and the Four Noble Truths through mediation. Once Siddhartha became enlightened, his name was changed to Buddha or the enlightened one. Polytheism is the worship of many gods. Hinduism is a polytheistic religion with three hundred thirty million deities. Hinduism says that all deities are a manifestation of one god. In contrast, Buddhism is a monotheistic religion, with some people worshiping the Buddha as a god, while others just use his teachings to reach enlightenment.

Teachings in both religions mainly come from their sacred writings. One of the more revered texts in Hinduism is the Vedas, which are the oldest writings in Hinduism. Created during the Vedic age, the Vedas contain many ancient rituals and hymns. Buddhism uses the Dhammapada, which is a collection of the Buddha’s teachings. Contained within the Dhammapada are the Four Noble Truths. They are some of the greatest ideals that the Buddha taught: life is suffering, suffering arises from desire, the solution to suffering lies in curbing desire, and desire can be curbed if a person follows the eightfold path. The influence of the Vedic age and its cultures could have created the two world religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. Each religion’s main texts teach a path to enlightenment, but Buddhism’s path uses mainly the Four Noble Truths. Possibly because of their differences, each religion continues to flourish.