In about 1500 BCE, the Aryans came to Northern India and created a religion based on traditions and ritual purity. They called this religion Hinduism. Hinduism has four major jatis or caste; the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and the Shudras with the untouchables being an unsaid fifth caste. A member of the Kshatriyas, Siddhartha Gautama, started traveling between 600 BCE and 500 BCE within Nepal and Northern India preaching kindness and how to end suffering. By the time Buddha, formerly Siddhartha Gautama, died in 483 BCE, in Kushinagar, India, Buddhism was born which was a religion that incorporated Hindu beliefs with new Buddhist ideas. Hindus and Buddhists have similar beliefs in how they reach their goals, but different views on the role
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In Hinduism, women are considered the property of either their husband, father, brother, or son. Buddhist believes women are equal to men. The first women to propose this idea to the Buddha was “the Buddha’s own aunt and foster mother, Pajapati Gotami, who proposed to establish an order of nuns parallel to the monks” (Hitchcock and Esposito 145) She was so serious about this she shaved her head, dressed in monk’s robes, and traveled 357 miles to the Jetavana Monastery from Kapilavastu. In Buddhist society, all women and men have the same dharma, which is to end suffering. Hindus have a different view on the role of women. Hindus believe women go through three ashramas, or stages, opposed to the four ashramas men go through. Stages in Hinduism refer to the age of the follower. For women, these three stages are childhood, marriage, and later life. Women don’t go through the ascetic stage men go through. In childhood, women must be obedient to men. In marriage, women must dress to please their husband, be experts in household affairs, to love her husband and children, and many other related tasks. Finally, in later life women must spiritually guide the younger family members (“Women’s Dharma”). In Buddhism women’s dharma is to end suffering, while in Hinduism their dharma is mainly around pleasing the man in their life. Therefore, the role of women in Buddhism is different than the role of women in
In Hinduism, women are considered the property of either their husband, father, brother, or son. Buddhist believes women are equal to men. The first women to propose this idea to the Buddha was “the Buddha’s own aunt and foster mother, Pajapati Gotami, who proposed to establish an order of nuns parallel to the monks” (Hitchcock and Esposito 145) She was so serious about this she shaved her head, dressed in monk’s robes, and traveled 357 miles to the Jetavana Monastery from Kapilavastu. In Buddhist society, all women and men have the same dharma, which is to end suffering. Hindus have a different view on the role of women. Hindus believe women go through three ashramas, or stages, opposed to the four ashramas men go through. Stages in Hinduism refer to the age of the follower. For women, these three stages are childhood, marriage, and later life. Women don’t go through the ascetic stage men go through. In childhood, women must be obedient to men. In marriage, women must dress to please their husband, be experts in household affairs, to love her husband and children, and many other related tasks. Finally, in later life women must spiritually guide the younger family members (“Women’s Dharma”). In Buddhism women’s dharma is to end suffering, while in Hinduism their dharma is mainly around pleasing the man in their life. Therefore, the role of women in Buddhism is different than the role of women in