Hinduism And Buddhism: Similarities And Differences

The religions Hinduism and Buddhism share very few similarities. The things they share in common are very broad, but discuss a lot about the foundations to the religion. Hinduism and Buddhism were created in two very different time periods. The difference in age creates a lot of changes in the structure of the religions such as the gods believed in, or the absence of gods entirely. Buddhists and Hindus are both sprouted form India, but are not both mainly Indian religions. Buddhism and Hinduism show different sides of Indian beliefs and give unique perspectives. The span of time in between the creation of Buddhism and Hinduism is approximately one thousand years. When Hinduism was created, it set the foundation for its own way of life. Hinduism contains its own beliefs, traditions, advanced system of ethics, meaningful rituals, philosophy and theology. The Hindu believers make up two thirds of the religious population of India. Hindu believers see Hinduism as a way of life, not just a set of rules. The way of Hinduism was created with no clear founders and diverse roots with various Indian cultures. Upon early creation, Hinduism started as the historical Vedic religion, and later turned into the Hindu religion it is today near eight hundred BCE and two hundred BCE. Buddhism was founded in the late 6th century by Siddartha Guatama, also known as Buddha. Buddhism was created in India but know today has migrated into being a major religion in most countries throughout all of Asia. Buddhism and Hinduism are two completely different belief systems on the subject of gods and other form of supreme beings. …show more content…
Hinduism has no exact number of “deities” but the rough estimate is thought to be approximately three hundred and thirty million different gods. There are three main gods associated with Hinduism. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are referred to as the trinity of Hinduism. Brahma is considered to be the god of creation. Vishnu is thought to be the supreme god. Shiva is also considered the auspicious one, because he is thought to be formless and limitless. Out of the three, two of the main gods of Hinduism are not depicted as humans, rather as being with extra limbs, such as arms or heads. Brahma is represented as having four heads and four arms. Vishnu is depicted with one head and four arms. Shiva is without extra limbs. These changes resembles the difference in power between the trinity, Brahma being the highest level. Hindu scripture tells of Brahma being the creator of the world, Vishnu is the god who gave life to it, and Shiva is the god responsible for balancing out the population of this world by destroying them. On the completely opposite spectrum of religion regarding gods, there is Buddhist beliefs, or lack thereof. Buddhist followers do not actually believe in gods. The idea of Buddhism is to find peace and tranquility. It is a way of balance. Buddhist do not follow any gods, but do involve spiritual connection, through meditation and chakras. Although the beliefs of Buddhism and Hinduism are both based on Karma and reincarnation, the two religions practices are very different. With Hinduism, praying is a necessity and is done often. But with Buddhism there are no gods to pray too. The main practice of Buddhism is meditation. Much like Christianity, Buddhism has rules to live by called the five percepts. Among these are do not kill, do