By Sharon White Hinduism and Buddhism are two of the five major religions in ourworld. They are widely practiced, and have survived for centuries.Both have similarities and differences, as do all forms of religion,and I will discuss the practices and theological aspects of Hinduismand Buddhism. No one is completely sure of where Hinduism was started and by whom.Today, it is the world’s third largest religion. Many changes havecome upon Hinduism since they practiced it first. Hinduism includesmany different denominations and beliefs that have arisen. Thoughthere are many things in common with all of the Hindu sects, theirbasic beliefs are what tie them together. Their oldest writtendocuments, the Vedas, were written down in 1000 B.C. but had existedorally long before. The religion of Hinduism teaches us that each living body is filledwith an eternal soul. Hindus say that the individual soul was a partof the creator spirit, Brahma. It is each soul’s job and wish toeventually return to Brahma. It is not possible because of sins andimpurities from the world; they are no longer pure and holy to return.The process of becoming pure is so difficult that no soul canaccomplish it in one lifetime. The soul is forced to live life afterlife until it is pure enough to return to Brahma. The Hindus call thecycles of rebirths samsara, or the Wheel of Life. When a soul isfinally cleansed enough to break free of samsara it is called moksha.The soul returns to Brahma for an eternity of contentment and ecstasy. There is no one incorporating creed in Hinduism. A follower may chooseany god as their personal god, or may worship several of them.Although, to be a Hindu there are certain things that a follower mustbelieve in and live by. These beliefs include a belief in karma,dharma and reincarnation after death. Also, that there are three maingods: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Vedas is also honored for sacredness.Aside from these three gods, Hindus are truly monotheistic bybelieving in a single god. The reason behind this is that everythingcomes from Brahman. It does not matter whom the worship is for becauseit is ultimately Brahman. Brahman does not reward or punish those fortheir deeds in life. All souls create their own rewards andpunishments through karma. Dharma, on the other hand, is the ultimatecommendable balance of all things living. It belongs to everything,including the universe. Every soul is responsible for balancing theirdharma. The areas to balance in dharma are religious, social, andwithin the family. They must keep promises, and remain faithful toreligious rituals, while also taking care of their family. If a soulloses this balance, then it will affect their karma. Dharma has beencalled tradition, duty, and a custom, but to a Hindu it is spirituallymore than that. The society of Hinduism is strictly divided. The different levels,castes, do not mingle. The division is largely due to the practices ofdharma and karma. Both practices express the idea that if someone isborn into a specific lifestyle, they must stay there. It would be badkarma to attempt to leave that lifestyle. Within the caste system,there are four levels along with two groups that are apart from thecastes. Every caste comes from Brahma, with the highest level beingthe Brahmin. This level is the priestly caste, but also includedteachers and keepers or the religion. The next level, the Kshatriyas,were the kings and soldiers. The third level is the Vaisyas. Theyoccupy the jobs of merchants, artisans, and farmers. The fourth andfinal caste is Sudras. These people are the manual workers,represented by Brahma’s feet. It is considered a sin to associate withpeople of a lower caste than you. So each caste is made up of adifferent level of the society. There are also two groups outside the caste system. One group is forforeigners. They might be a nonbeliever or anyone who receives specialtreatment from the Hindu society. The second outcaste group is knownas the Untouchables; these people are considered nonhuman and cannotparticipate in any Hindu practices. They do the work no one wants todo and do no associate with anyone that is of a higher caste. Siddartha Gautama founded Buddhism and became the Buddha. Hisintentions were not to form a new religion, only to modify an olderone. Brahmanism, or Hinduism, had become very mainstream. Siddarthawas a minor king of northern India. He ventured outside the palacewalls one day and saw how life really was. Inspired, Siddartha lefthis home, and family to discover the meaning of life. For years helistened to and studied with the Indian wise men; he then turned tomeditation. Discouraged by not finding the answer he desired, he satunder a fig tree for 49 days. When the answer finally came to him, hebecame Buddha. Therefore, Buddhism was founded. Buddhism is a reformed version of Hinduism. Buddha discovered the FourNoble Truths, which are the foundation for all forms of Buddhistphilosophy. There is suffering, suffering is caused, eliminating thecauses of suffering can extinguish suffering and the way to extinguishthe causes of suffering is to follow the Middle Way stated in theEightfold Path. The Eightfold Path also comes from Buddha; it teaches to practicemoderation. If followed, one may achieve true enlightenment, ornirvana. Nirvana is reaching Brahma in one lifetime. Buddha believedthat you could live a perfect life and not have to continue in thesamsara. The basic way to this is the Eightfold Path, which says topractice moderation by having the right mind set, actively wanting toeliminate suffering, not lying, insulting or causing suffering withwords. Also, to have the right conduct, means of livelihood,endeavors, mindfulness and meditation. Buddhists believe that if youfollow this you will be enlightened. Many Buddhist beliefs are almost the same as a Hindu’s. Buddhists donot practice the caste system. One of the only ways to achieve nirvanain one lifetime is to be a monk or a nun. If you break an area in theEightfold Path, then you cannot achieve nirvana. Also, in order tofollow the 4th part of The Eightfold Path, all Buddhists arevegetarians. Killing of an animal is seen as causing suffering. Likethe Hindus, an animal has a soul. Despite all the talk about suffering, Buddhism is really about theabsence of suffering. Buddhism is a way to develop the ability to lovethe entire universe, simply because it is. By understanding that theuniverse exits inside a blade of grass, just as the blade of grassresides within the universe. All things are inter-connected. Both Hinduism and Buddhism accept and believe that there is onecreator spirit. Each of them recognizes Brahma or a version of Brahmaas the creator spirit. Though they also recognize other gods, Brahmais the ultimate god. All praise goes to him, no matter which god youare praising. This is a significant similarity between the tworeligions. The two religions of Hinduism and Buddhism believe in the process ofreincarnation. Reincarnation is being reborn again with one soul.Inside this belief, they also believe that your deeds, or activities,during your life will determine where you will end up. If you havelived a good life, you will be rewarded by another good life, or youmight be allowed finally to rejoin with Brahma. If you’ve led a badlife, you will remain on earth longer, and most likely have a bad lifewhen you are reborn. In the religion of Hinduism there are castes, or social classes. Theydecide what your lifestyle will be like in that lifetime. If you areborn a slave, you must stay a slave your whole life. Or, if you areborn a wealthy man or woman that is what you must be all of your life.To the Hindus, it is a sin to try to change what caste you belong to,as well as to associate with a person from a caste that is lower thanyours. On the other hand, the teachings of the Buddha did away with the castesystem. A person is allowed to change their social class. If theyfollow the Eightfold Path, then this is permissible. It is an honor tobe a monk or a nun, for they are the ones who can achieve nirvana.Buddhists also will mingle with those of less importance thenthemselves. Hinduism teaches that you must go through samsara in order to finallyreach moksha. They do not believe that a soul can totally cleanseitself of all impurities in just one life. It is a gradual processinvolving dharma, balancing one’s life, and karma, weighing the deedsof a lifetime. Meanwhile, the Buddha again went and brought questionto samsara. He found that it is possible to cleanse oneself in onelifetime and return to Brahma; he called it nirvana. In order toachieve nirvana, a Buddhist must follow and accept The Four NobleTruths, and the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path serves as aninstructional guide as how to keep oneself on the right path tonirvana. Hinduism and Buddhism also have several smaller differences. The areaof greatest concentration for Hinduism is India. India is whereBuddhism originated, but Hinduism eventually was a more appealingreligion and became dominant. Buddhism is found mostly in East Asia,inside China and Mongolia. These areas prefer having small gods, asopposed to the Hindus only having three major ones and then smaller,less important gods. Buddhism was founded by Suddartha Gautama, or theBuddha. Hinduism was started gradually; no one knows for sure whofounded it; most likely, it was many people. Both practice meditation,but they practice it in different forms. A Hindu will meditate obtaininginner peace through the charkras of the body. Once all of the charkrashave been balanced, a white light is said to be above the person’shead, and they are enlightened. Buddhists meditate similarity, buthave different variations of how it is preformed; their main goal isto end suffering. The two religions of Buddhism and Hinduism are very alike, and yetvery different. To accept their way of thinking, one must put asidetheir own religion. They strive for an inner peace, and finally toreach heaven through either moksha or nirvana. I being a Christian,have found in some ways it hard to understand the process ofreincarnation, and Brahma. Though, I can see how that for people ofanother culture, these religions are very supportive, and soothing.Culture plays a big part in determining your beliefs. Obviously, theyare very deep-rooted for surviving longer than Christianity. I admiretheir strong faith and their desire to become pure and unblemished.Hinduism and Buddhism are two major religions, firmly planted in their The article was produced by the member of masterpapers.com. Sharon White is a senior writer and writers consultant at term papers. Get some useful tips for thesis and buy term papers. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sharon_White http://EzineArticles.com/?Hinduism&id=303553 ky law against cash advances cap one personal loans payday advance no telechek unsecured loan for people with bad credit
