Buddhism Vs Hinduism Research Paper

Improved Essays
The two religions that I choose are Buddhism and Hinduism. Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of Gautama. He came to be called the Buddha, which means the “awakened one,” after he experienced a profound realization of the need to understand, death, and existence. The epic story of the birth of the Buddha was that he was conceived without sex; instead, a white elephant carrying a lotus flower entered his mother’s womb during a dream. The God arranged for the Buddha to see 4 sights that inspired Buddha to leave his luxurious life, a person suffering from horrible sickness, a bent old man (ruined by age), a dead person, and a wandering peasant (monk) seeking lasting spiritual satisfaction instead of material happiness. Buddha changed after witnessing the four sights, and he came to understand that all pleasure in life is temporary and unsatisfying. One night, Buddha was meditating under the Bodhi tree, and he achieved supreme spiritual awakening and enlightenment. Buddha was able to recall all …show more content…
One of the main differences between Buddhist and Hindus is that Buddhist believes that there is no one God, whereas, Hindus believe that there are many deities. Hinduism is considered as polytheism because there is not one God in India. In some traditions there are about 330 million deities. Hinduism is also considered as pantheism because some types of religious practices believe that the universe is identical with divinity. There are many deities worshipped by Hindus, three main worshipers include Saktas, Salivitas, and Valshnavites. Brahman is considered to be the breath behind all existence. Atman, is the soul within themselves and that in discovering the soul they would discover their unity with the divine source of all things. The main principle for Hindu’s is to Dharma eternal

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    I entered upon the chapter of Buddhism with the foundation that Buddhism derived its beliefs and practices from the Hindu religion. Nevertheless, I am continually fascinated by the two religions’ strikingly identical but contrasting qualities observable throughout The World’s Wisdom text. Section 12 especially delineates many of the similarities Hinduism and Buddhism share. Reaching Nirvana and therefore attaining freedom at last from the cycle of rebirth seems to be an utmost objective for both groups. And that the belief-that whether or not deaths and rebirths take place counts on the karmas one performed during its lifetime-is apparent in both as well.…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “The essence of all religions is one. Only their approaches are different”. This Gandhi quote appears to be true, because one can take two completely different religions, and through reading, one will notice there are similarities. The differences only come in when one compares the way religions approach certain situations. This proves to be true between Buddhism and Hinduism.…

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Several centuries after Siddhartha Gautama, also known as Buddha, died, Buddhism made its emergence into China in the first century CE. Initially, the spread of Buddhism was responded to positively by the people of China and they adopted its ideals. However, as Buddhism continued to expand, the government, specifically of the Tang Dynasty, started to turn against Buddhists and even went as far as to blame them for problems within the state. As a result, the people felt compelled to diverge from Buddhist beliefs and became xenophobic to those who did not abandon those beliefs.…

    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hinduism Vs Buddhism

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Every religion has a different viewpoint on the afterlife. While there may be some similarities, the differences are vast. Specifically, Hinduism and Buddhism differ in the way they approach the idea of the afterlife. That is the main difference; how they interpret death. However, a common theme across these religions is that a life well lived on earth today brings an eternal reward tomorrow.…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    While often deemed highly similar, Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism differ greatly in many of their core values and practices. The most significant differences lie in their stances on whether or not an all-powerful god is in existence. While the Hindu faith consists of millions of gods, most Hindus focus their worship on one all-encompassing god or objective Oneness, therefore making the religion henotheistic. However, because Hinduism is so internally diverse, some groups are atheistic in their views, similarly to Jains and most Buddhists. Some Buddhists, however, do consider the Buddha as the ultimate divine being and worship buddhas and other various divinities in methods similar to those found in Hindu worship.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Comparison of Hinduism and Buddhism Hinduism and Buddhism are two of the world’s most well known and influential religions. They are among the top major organized religions around the globe with Hinduism averaging over an approximate 900 million followers and Buddhism averaging 375 followers (Adherents). Both are religions of Ancient India and have been a part of India’s culture for a long time; they both maintained to stay widely practiced till this day. Some people believe that Hinduism and Buddhism are sects of the same religion, but that is a common and huge misconception. Although Hinduism and Buddhism have some striking similarities, there are many pronounced differences that set them away from each other.…

    • 1355 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Eastern and western religions are very different in terms of their belief systems and character. Hinduism and Taoism are the religions I looked at among the eastern religions while Islam and Christianity are among the western religions I looked at. Western and Eastern religions have similarities within their regions but differ when the regions become divided into east and west. They have different beliefs in terms of religious nature, views of God and main concerns. The religious natures between the western and eastern states are quite different in many regards.…

    • 1557 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This is because Buddhists do not accept the concept of an eternal self, and Buddha himself took a different approach, stating in an International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Inventions article that his followers would unite “as do rivers in the sea”. Hindus do not know their original creator unlike most of today’s religions. That information was lost over the years. Buddhists on the other hand are fully aware of their creator, the Buddha. Geographically, Buddhism mainly resides over countries like Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Sri Lanka though its practices and rituals are shared worldwide.…

    • 1613 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Hindus believe that Brahman is a three part God they believe there is Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva and they form one Supreme Being each one has a different title Brahma is the creator Vishnu sustains creation and…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Subject: Hinduism and Buddhism While Buddhism and Hinduism share many similar beliefs, these two religions differ in concepts of anatman and atman, especially in relation to path one must follow to nirvana. First we will explore the Hindu concepts of the soul based on the concepts found in the Upanishads. The Upanishads are texts that contain the concepts of Hinduism that were based on the Vedas. They are commonly referred to as the Vedanta, which is interpreted as “the highest purpose of the Vedas”. The Vedas are the 4 texts that are the oldest Hindu scriptures.…

    • 1276 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hinduism and Buddhism have been around for hundreds of centuries and both stem from Southern Asia, but while there heritage can be traced back to the same region that does not mean they share common beliefs. By comparing and contrasting the beliefs, narratives, and social dimensions of the two religious systems one can better understand the people who practice these ideologies. The narrative of the two religious systems are quite different, specifically the origins of the two. Buddhism has a single founder; Siddhartha Gautama born in 586 B.C.E. Born to royalty he gave it up to live a simple life and embarked on a spiritual journey. After many experiences along the way he reached ultimate enlightenment, “he attained full insight into the nature of the world and of…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Buddhism’s founder, Siddharta Guatama, had four powerful sightings that moved him, which led to the findings of Buddhism’s marks of existence. At the age of 29, Gautama saw an old man, who was disabled by age; a sick man, disabled by disease; a dead man; and a poor man, who was still contented. He realized…

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On Earth, right now, at this very moment there are two hundred and seventy religions. Two hundred and seventy ways of communicating to a higher power, of finding one’s place, and making sense of the ever-changing unreliable world. All religions in their center core have the same principles-be an honest person, respect oneself, and respect all others. Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, and Christianity are no exception. Buddhism and Hinduism, two eastern religions, share common center teachings, and lifestyles, while Christianity and Judaism, two Abrahamic religions, share similar stories, teachings, and practices; all of the religions overlap with their preaching’s and ideas, illustrating the certainty that all religions strive to accomplish the…

    • 1013 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hinduism Essay

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Hinduism is most likely the oldest and most complex religion in the entire world. Traces of the religion go back as far as the third millennium B.C.E. The possible religious views of Hinduism are effectively infinite due to the number of gods both major and minor, priests and temples. Nearly 80 percent of the India population consider themselves Hindu and there are at least 30 million practitioners outside of India making this religion the third largest after Christianity and Islam. The word “Hinduism” is a collection of various traditions that are closely related and share common themes yet they do not constitute an integrated set of beliefs or practices.…

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Introduction Between the two religions it is clear that the purpose of life and the religion itself vary between the two religions. The real difference between Hinduism and Buddhism is that, the Hinduism look at supreme forces such as God, as a collection of natural forces while Buddhism saw Reality as becoming a being that will be supreme. Buddha was strong on his teachings of impermanence, for the anatman (no spirit). Yet the atman can similarly be present in Buddhism as both strategies envision humans as having a soul. Therefore as a whole the quest that was religious Hindus is to start the search for the soul and Brahman.…

    • 1288 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays