...to yoga class now and I redid my room to improve like my Zen, it really works…” for many in the western world, this is the most that is understood about eastern religions, particularly Buddhism and Hinduism. Although many would be interested to know that yoga is not just an exercise class; there are many more important details about Buddhism and Hinduism we are misinformed about, Especially, the differences of these two religions. Since Buddhism evolved from Hinduism, they are very similar, but they are two different faiths, with different sets of beliefs and interpretations on life and enlightenment (the ultimate objective of both). It might be in our best interest to begin this discussion at the end, with enlightenment. This is the goal of both Hinduism and Buddhism. To be exact, enlightenment in its simplest definition, is the ultimate release from the cycle of samsara, or the cycle of birth, death and rebirth (Wagnu, 2001). In both faiths, every living spirit will eventually achieve this goal, even if it takes numerous reincarnations. In Hinduism, this goal is also called moksha , existence in the realm of the gods (Wagnu, 2001). However, in Buddhism enlightenment is called nirvana, and is a release from the cycle completely, not a deployment to the realm of gods. The sort of middle way between these two extremes is a belief held by Mahayana Buddhists, whom identify the Buddha in three bodies, one of which, the Ultimate Buddha underlies, the entire universe and is identified...
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...Comparison of Buddhism & Hinduism For many in the western world zen, yoga and feng shui concepts are the most that is understood about eastern religions, particularly Buddhism and Hinduism. Although many would be interested to know that yoga is not just an exercise class that makes you zen; there are many more important details about Buddhism and Hinduism we are misinformed about; especially, the differences of these two religions. Since Buddhism evolved from Hinduism, they are very similar, but they are two different faiths, with different sets of beliefs and interpretations on life and enlightenment (the ultimate objective of both). It might be in our best interest to begin this discussion at the end, with enlightenment. This is the goal of both Hinduism and Buddhism. To be exact, enlightenment in its simplest definition, is the ultimate release from the cycle of samsara, or the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. In both faiths, every living spirit will eventually achieve this goal, even if it takes numerous reincarnations. In Hinduism, this goal is also called moksha, liberation of the soul from suffering. However, in Buddhism enlightenment is called nirvana, and is a release from the cycle completely into a state of bliss. The sort of middle way between these two extremes is a belief held by Mahayana Buddhists, whom identify the Buddha in three bodies, one of which, the Ultimate Buddha underlies the entire universe and is identified as nirvana itself. On this...
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...Hinduism is a religion filled with many philosophical thoughts about the soul, following your duties, achieving liberation and understanding the consequences of karma. Many of the beliefs in Hinduism makes a person think of life and their own actions they do everyday since it can affect your next life. Hinduism sometimes also makes one wonder if all of these various beliefs and philosophical thoughts are true or not and if you don’t follow your duties (dharma), if consequences really do occur or not in the present life and the next life. Atman, which is the soul, is constantly craving for things and always wants something even after we obtain our desires; it is a non-stop process (Embree 33). The Self (atman) is taken over by pleasure and pain, which is true in life because there are always desires that give us pleasure and make us happy (Embree 36). But one also needs to remember that life has its ups and downs meaning, there always will be a time of pain in life. No one is ever satisfied in life, we are always wanting more and more each day. According to the Upanishadic thinker the material world is not very important, only you, your soul, and the actions you do are important (Embree 36). Nothing else is more important in the world than your personality, which is the self (atman). I don’t completely agree with the Upanishadic thinker that the material world does not matter. It does matter because our actions and the way our soul feels at certain situations, it all comes from...
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...different beliefs as opposed to one. “Hinduism embraces a great diversity of beliefs, a fact that can be initially confusing to westerners accustomed to creeds, confessions, and carefully-worded belief statements. One can believe a wide variety of things about God, the universe and the path to liberation and still be considered a Hindu” ("Hindu Beliefs,”). One of the best ways to describe the primary difference between Hinduism and other religions is that “Hinduism grants absolute and complete freedom of belief and worship. Hinduism conceives the whole world as a single family that deifies the one truth, and therefore it accepts all forms of beliefs and dismisses labels of distinct religions which would imply a division of identity. Hence, Hinduism is devoid of the concepts of apostasy, heresy and blasphemy”(De Lingen & Ramsurrun,). There are, however a handful of important uniting beliefs that all Hindus subscribe to; beliefs that generally identify the borders between Hindu and non-Hindu. They are the belief in the existence of a soul that is reborn upon death into a new life, the idea that your destiny is determined by Karma and the goal of one day obtaining enlightenment. Reincarnation, also known as Punarjanma, is the “religious or philosophical concept that the soul or spirit, after biological death, begins a new life in a new body that may be human, animal or spiritual depending on the moral quality of the previous life's actions, is a central belief in the Hindu religion”(Taliaferro...
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...Contemporary Issues in Eastern Religions Contemporary Issues in Eastern Religions Common Characteristics between Buddhism and Hinduism Buddhism is closely related to Hinduism, they both share some important beliefs. They both believe in reincarnation and the cycle of samsara - birth, life, death, and rebirth - and in the influence of karma on the circumstances into which you will be born in the next life. They both believe that the ultimate end is to escape from the cycle of rebirth. However, they are quite different in some very fundamental ways. For Hindus, there is an eternal soul that does not change, in essentials, from life to life. The material bodies it inhabits are like clothes. Buddhists believe that there is no core soul - that your experiences, actions, and intentions (your karma) constantly act upon you and you are constantly changing in response, so that the cycle of samsara is a long process of becoming. They also have different beliefs regarding the escape from the cycle of reincarnation. For Buddhists, achieving enlightenment, seeing the true nature of phenomenon and of oneself, eliminating all craving and desire releases you from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. For Hindus, realizing the oneness of existence, achieving mental peace or perfect unselfishness, perfect detachment from the world, or perfect knowledge of oneself, or the realization of unity with god releases you from the cycle of rebirth. As it relates to salvation...
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...and philosophical practices. Hinduism consists of belief and tradition. The most recognized belief and traditions of the Hinduism are Karma, Dharma, Samsara and Moshka. Hindu people don’t believe in violence, but they do believe in prayers, honesty, truth, austerity, celibacy and penance. The Hindu scriptures are collectively referred to as the Shashtras. The Hindu scriptures were initially passed on orally from generation to generation until finally ancient scholars wrote them down; mainly in the Sanskrit language that was the prevailing language of the time. Some of the Hindu scriptures are the Shruti and Smritis. The Shruti primarily refers to the Vedas which represent eternal truths revealed to ancient sages but some other Hindu individuals associated the Vedas with a God or a powerful person. The Smritis are all of the other text different than the Shruti. The most know of the Smritis are the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Although the Hindus worship a large pantheon of Gods and Goddesses, they believe in the one Supreme Power that manifests itself in various forms. There are many cultural and societal influences that have made Hinduism vital to the region in which it originated. Hinduism can be traced to the Indus Valley Civilization that took place in 4000 BC to 2200 BC. India was a land of diverse cultures, religions, races and ethnicities. Hinduism was the unifying umbrella that brought peace to the land. The belief in Ahimsa or non-violence reduced warfare. In Ancient...
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...changed. The caste system is the oldest practice of Hinduism. An understanding to the caste system must be conceived before the Hindu religious beliefs. In the caste system there are five basic social classes. Each class has its own obligation for living and its own set of rules. The Brahman which consist of the priest is the elite caste. The Brahman acts as a counselor. The Kshatriyas caste which consist of the warriors and rulers. The Kshatriyas are protectors of the society. The Vaisyas caste which consist of the farmers and merchants. The Vaisyas own land and are money lenders. The Shudras caste which consist of the laborers. The Shudras does manual laborer. The Dalit caste which consist of the untouchables. The Dalit does the dirty jobs that no one wants to do. The perform job like cleaning toilets and sweeping. It is decided when born what caste system you will belong to and will not be determined by the individual. All Hindus believe in Brahman, the caste system, karma, reincarnation, nirvana. Brahman is the three-in-one god which consist of Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the preserver), and Shiva (the destroyer). Karma is the law that good things produced will brings about other good things and bad things brings about other bad things. Whether good or bad in this life, whatever do will return back to you in this life or the next life. Reincarnation is the transmigration of souls or...
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...census-taking. Although the belief structures of the people of this region are similar in many ways they are also different in many ways as well. Today the people commonly referred to as Hindus prefers to be called Sanatana Dharma, meaning eternal religion (Fisher, 2005). Hindus multifaceted belief structure and lack of a uniting belief system has not weakened the religions strong hold on the people of India, in fact the diversity is welcomed. Hinduism has a significant impact on the culture and society of this particular region of the world. Their desire for liberation from earthly existence is similar to many other religions around the world. Understanding these key components of the Hindu religion is an important first step to grasping a better understanding of what Hinduism is all about. Differing and uniting Hindu beliefs Hinduism is a unique religion because its followers do not share the same exact belief in the same “God” or deity. In fact, some believe in multiple Gods. Such as God of Thunder, God of Drink, and Goddess of Dawn. The Rig Veda is the oldest known Vedic scriptures. In this scripture the Hindus are taught about these multiple Gods or devas (Fisher, 2005). Other Hindus, such as the Upanishads, believe there are 1000s of deities that exist as spiritual leaders that help connect them to a higher power. While the exact beliefs in deities are not the same within the various religions that make up Hinduism, there are some common beliefs that hold true to all who...
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...If one were to look at Hinduism and Buddhism in a general sense, it would be easy to lump the two as so similar that they’re almost identical, however, when one takes a closer look at different aspects of each belief, one wouldl find that it’s the details between the two religions that make them different. Reincarnation is one of the many things that are different between Hinduism and Buddhism, while both religions believe in the soul living through multiple lives before being set free from any pursuits or desires –often referred to as samsara, the “wheel of rebirth,” and moksha respectively in Hinduism and nirvana in Buddhism– the idea of how one is reincarnated, and how to achieve liberation is different. Hindus believe that the soul is tethered to the body, and indeed, the rest of the earth, because of karma and samsara. The caste that an individual is born into is determined by what kind of karma said individual accumulated in their past life; if it’s good karma, then one is born higher up the caste, if it’s bad, then they are born lower down as a form of punishment. The goal is to reach moksha, or release, and until that time comes, the human spirit is destined to travel from life to life until it can finally achieve moksha....
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...million practicing Hindus live in India and Nepal. The earliest origins of Hinduism can be traced to the Vedic civilization. The thing that makes up the Hindu religion is Sanarana Dharma. Sanarana Dharma is the proper name for Hinduism. Hinduism is the traditional religion of India with a whopping 80% of Indians still practicing Hinduism today (Pearson Education, Inc, 2007). Sanatan Dharma is one of the oldest religions known to mankind (Basham, 2013). One of the biggest spiritual expressions of Sanatana Dharma is personal devotion to a specific God or deity. Like, for instance the female goddess Shakti, who was the other half of Lord Shiva, has several of her own temples built in her honor (Subhamoy, 2013). Hinduism is still one of the major religions in the world, Hinduism it is more than a way of life, Hinduism is indeed a restrictive and organized religion. The Hindu religion has many different beliefs that have greatly evolved over time. The Hindu religion includes Dharma meaning religion, which encompasses duty, natural law, social welfare and many other things. Many of the religious paths of Dharma still continue to coexist in present day India. Other well-known beliefs in Hinduism include karma which means action and also the consequences of actions. Then there is Samsara, which is the ultimate goal of the eternal cycle of birth, death, and rebirth and finally there is Moksha, which means the freedom from the limitations of space...
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...Apologetics 104 2/22/2015 Critical Thinking Part I: How does Hinduism answer the following Questions 1) The Question of Origin- The Hindu religion is diverse containing many different beliefs, viewpoints and languages. Their most common thread of belief is in a single Supreme Being called the Brahman. They believe that there are many manifestations of Brahman that is presented in different forms. Through the manifestations, the Hindu’s will worship different gods, or idols. Brahman is the creator of the universe and everything seen and unseen. The Hindu’s believe that the universe and everything in it is part of a continuous cycle that repeats itself over and over, except for Brahman the Supreme Being. (Hinduisim Facts) 2) The Question if Identity- The Hindu’s see themselves as an extension of Brahman. The soul is immortal and is part of the continuous cycle of rebirth or reincarnation. Humans are only a body to house the soul. After the body dies the soul will be reincarnated into a new body or animal depending upon your karma. 3) The Question of Meaning and Purpose- The Hindu’s believe that your Karma will determine your future. You can improve your cast in your next life by improving your positive Karma. The main goal for Hindu’s is to break the cycle of reincarnation and liberate their souls, this is called Moksha. Their souls become one with Brahman and reach the perfect state of being. 4) The Question of Morality- The world is an illusion;...
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...Blake Watson November-1-2013 James & Kathleen Hum 140 & Eng 101 5 Page Essay Final World Views/Benefits from Hinduism & Buddhism (Quotes are italicized and the source of the quote is bolded) Although Hinduism and Buddhism are third world country religions that most of us are not familiar with, does not mean we cannot benefit or get something out of them ourselves, whether we believe in them or not. Here in this essay i will be talking about the similarities and differences that contrast between these two massive religions that hopefully, can show a form of common ground between yourself (If you’re an “outsider”) and them. (The religious practitioners). Lets start from the beginning; who were the founders? The answer to that question is quite complex. Buddhism was founded around the 5th century B.C.E. by Siddhartha Gautama, who is commonly referred to as “The Buddha” which translates to the literal word enlightened or awakened. The creator and founder of Buddhism. On the other hand, Hinduism has no official founder and most of its practices are based off of concepts formed in Buddhism. Back to the fact that these two religions are third world country religions, what is their purpose? That is the main goal of both religions? The main goal or purpose of Buddhism...
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...Hinduism – An Insider’s Perspective Hindu Worldview Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in India and accommodates approximately 80% of the population of India. Hinduism is a highly organized and disciplined religion with prayers sometimes exceeding five times a day. Hinduism is a way of life with the law that governs all action a Dharma. Unfortunately we are unable to trace its origin, there is not a central person to be found. Hinduism has its own beliefs, traditions, advanced system of ethics, meaningful rituals, philosophy and theology. Karma is the teaching that all our actions have the appropriate consequences. Ethically good actions result in desirable consequences and ethically bad actions result in undesirable consequences (Yadlapati, M. p.150). Karma isn’t only the physical action a person makes, but it also a person’s thoughts and desires that will affect the future. The Hindus goal is to get away from Samsara which is the cycle of birth, death and re-birth and to gain moksha which is the liberation from the limitations of space. Moksha transcends the karmic worldview in which one does good to achieve good and instead seeks to avoid accruing karma at all ( Yadlapati, M. p.151). To achieve moksha they have to release all evil doings and wrongs to get there. They live through their yoga and correcting living dharma. Once all this is achieved the Hindu will have a more desirable reincarnation. Dharma is the natural universal law whose...
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...not realize that many Buddhist practices such as karma and reincarnation are rooted in Hinduism. How do the different Hindu and Buddhist prayers compare and how are they used amongst the lay people? These two religions have stark differences with their methods of prayer, so how have lay Buddhists found a balance between Hindu traditions and Buddhist traditions? Buddhism is known as the middle path between the relaxed version of Hinduism and the strict rules of other religions such as Jainism. Buddhism attempts to break...
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...Hinduism Death, Dying and Destiny Ideas about what happens after death, and its connection with how life is lived on earth, is a fundamental part of all religions. Many people accept death as the end of any form of existence. However others argue that death is not the end of life. The Australian Catholic University has held this conference about Death and Dying to address some of the ultimate questions that humans have always asked themselves. This particular seminar will deal with the aspects of death, dying and destiny. The religion that will be investigated around the issue of death, dying and destiny will be Hinduism. Based on the essence of Hinduisms framework and various interpretations of scriptures the basic fundamentals of what is expected of followers in life and death are dictated what expectations are up held and performed. What happens after death, and its connection with how life is lived on earth, is fundamental to every religion. These beliefs and ideas; help people make sense of life, give support and comfort at times of loss and bereavement, and provides purpose to life (BBC; 2014). In Hinduism it is believed that any attempt to permanent happiness in this world is an illusion (maya). Hindus believe that a person’s atman (spirit) is permanent and cannot change while the physical body is permanent (About Religion; 2014). This quote from Bhagavad Gita 2:22 (As a man casts off his worn-out clothes and takes on other new ones, so does the embodied soul cast off...
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