Among the major world religions, three are very closely related in their origins, their beliefs, their revealed books or Holy Scriptures, and their institutions of leadership. They are also closely related in their beliefs about morals and ethics, and their views of the individual and social life. Following is the way that the Abrahamic religions are compared to each other: Abraham (or Abram) had a huge impact on the religions Believe that God made a covenant, or agreement with Abraham to keep the faith in One God, and to worship Him, to keep that faith and teach the practice of worship to his children down the generations, and God would preserve, protect and multiply the children of Abraham. All of the monotheistic faiths share a belief that God, the Creator, has “spoken” to humankind over time. The word for this divine communication is “revelation.” Belief in angels as God’s messengers to human beings. Believers in the Abrahamic faiths have preserved these scriptures and traditions of the prophets and the story of their unfolding in human history.

Mahayana Buddhism The Mahayana emerged between 100 B.C.E. and 100 C.E. in India in the context of debate about proper Buddhist doctrine and practice, about monastic discipline, and particularly about the ongoing presence of the Buddha after his death as well as the nature of enlightenment itself. Initially, the Mahayana was influenced by other Buddhist schools of thought in India; as it spread in and beyond India, it absorbed and adopted aspects of indigenous religious traditions, such as Taoism, Confucianism, Bon, and various forms of Hinduism. The philosopher/monk Nagarjuna is sometimes said to be the founder of the Mahayana, along with such early figures as Asana and Vasubandhu, although each of these figures actually founded sub-schools within the early Mahayana; in reality there is no single founder of the tradition. The earliest Mahayana texts compose the vast corpus known as the "Prajnaparamita" ("Perfection of Wisdom"), which forms the foundation of many later Mahayana schools. Other important early texts include the "Sadharmapundarika" ("Lotus Sutra") and the "Vimalakirti Nirdesha Sutra." There is no single sacred narrative in Mahayana Buddhism. Accounts of the lives and activities of the Buddha’s, bodhisattvas, female deities, and significant monks serve as a means of spreading and explaining Mahayana doctrine and practice. The Mahayana does not hold a consistent idea of sacred time. The bodhisattvas are always present and active in the world, and thus in a sense all time could be understood to be sacred.
Theravada Buddhism Theravada the "Doctrine of the Elders," is the school of Buddhism that draws its scriptural inspiration from the Tipitaka or Pali canon, which scholars generally agree contains the earliest surviving record of the Buddha's teachings. The language of the Theravada canonical texts is Pali (lit., "text"), which is based on a dialect of Middle Indo-Aryan that was probably spoken in central India during the Buddha's time. Buddhists consider it the job of scientists to explain origins of the universe and life. There is no contradiction with scientific discovery, however many maintain that the world creates and recreates itself millions of times every fraction of a second. There is no transmigration of individual souls, but through the law of karma, one's wholesome or unwholesome intentions become imprinted in the mind. Negative mental states persist through continual rebirth until one's intentions become wholesome. Once fully enlightened, one is liberated from rebirths, reaching a state of absolute selflessness resulting in ultimate bliss called Nirvana--the "Deathless State." One becomes Buddha (or one with Buddha). Some Buddhists, especially modern Western, don't emphasize or believe in literal rebirth.
Tibetan Buddhism In common with Mahayana schools, Tibetan Buddhism includes a pantheon of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and Dharma protectors. Arya-bodhisattvas are able to escape the cycle of death and rebirth but compassionately choose to remain in this world to assist others in reaching nirvana or buddhahood. Dharma protectors are mythic figures incorporated into Tibetan Buddhism from various sources (including the native Bön religion, and Hinduism) who are pledged to protecting and upholding the Dharma. Many of the specific figures are unique to Tibet. Non-initiates in Tibetan Buddhism may gain merit by performing rituals such as food and flower offerings, water offerings (performed with a set of bowls), religious pilgrimages, or chanting prayers they may also light butter lamps at the local temple or fund monks to do so on their behalf. The Dalai Lama is the head of the dominant school of Tibetan Buddhism, the Gelugpa (or Yellow Hats). From 1642 to 1959, the Dalai Lama was the spiritual and temporal leader of Tibet. Until the Chinese takeover in 1959, the Dalai Lamas resided in Potala Palace in Lhasa in the winter and in the Norbulingka residence during summer.

Since Buddhism was established some 2500 years ago, much has changed and much has stayed the same. Buddha remains the essential being of knowledge and faith, though some of his teachings have been modified. Though Buddha emphasised equality between the sexes, this ideology has changed throughout the centuries, as there is evident discrimination towards females and nuns. This has come about because of the seemingly natural predisposition of males to want to dominate. At the Nan Tien Temple, we did not see many monks around because they were elsewhere, doing more important things, the nuns were left to teach the school children and tourists. Buddha called the eight fold plan ("Everything"). This is a basic guide to live by so that one does not accumulate karma. The basic ideas include things as sustaining from killing, that includes animals, not taking what is not given, and avoiding sexual misconduct. The idea behind this that if a person abides by these guidelines in a life, he will be reborn into a happy life, and be closer to the ultimate goal of nirvana.

According to the historians, the origin of Hinduism dates back to 5000 or more years, whereas, the origin of Buddhism came into existence in a much later period, that is in & around 563 BC. After Lord Buddha achieved enlightenment, He preached whatever He learnt from His experiences and His teachings came to be known as Buddhism and were well received by the people. It was during the later part of the Vedic Era, when Hinduism was on the verge of decline owing to the orthodoxy, superstitions and staunch practices, prevailing in the religion, when Buddhism with lesser complexities and rituals was accepted by the common people of India.
This was the time when Buddhism arose out of the atheistic strands of Hinduism. It is a fact that Buddhism evolved and developed because of the complex nature evolving in Hinduism, but still despite some differences, these two sects have a lot of things in common. Both of them believe that there are many paths to attain enlightenment such as overcoming through your feelings and desires and controlling over the six conscious senses. They both still meditate and believe in karma these two things have not changed.
Buddhism is a philosophy while Abrahamic religion is still viewed as a religion. Religions are still gaining large numbers of followers. Buddhism, unlike the Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, is a religion/philosophy which is non-theistic and with no transcendental Creator or God. This anthology of articles makes it apparent that there are various schools of Buddhism with their differences. So generalizations by outsiders such as myself, need to keep this in mind. One left bio, himself influenced by Buddhism, in commenting on the draft of this article, noted that “The claim is that realizing the true nature of reality transforms one’s being in such a way that compassionate action comes naturally.” Buddhism seems a highly ethical religion, with a sense of intrinsic values, yet ultimately the ethics remain human centered. For Buddhism, the “self” is a cosmic self and this is in fundamental alignment with deep ecology. The capitalist “self” so celebrated in this culture, is for Buddhism an illusion and the source of suffering. Buddhism is not a “dominion” religion towards Nature but, as has been noted, state incorporation can bring this about. Buddhism, it seems, can help the religious activist find the inner strength or moral courage to go out and help change this world. But there are no actual useful models of Buddhist politics, from a deep ecology and social justice perspective. Yet Buddhism can contribute to a different version of what it means to be a person, with a stress on interdependence with the universe, not independence. While the concern with an inner spirituality is important, this must not become a retreat from worldly engagement. Buddhism can help us become awakened to the needed re-sacralization of the Natural world.

Refrences
Darrell Jodock (2007). Context, continuity, and discontinuity in Hans Schwarz's survey of nineteenth- and twentieth-century theology. Scottish Journal of Theology, 60 , pp 360-370 doi:10.1017/S003693060700333X Smith, J. Z. "Religion, Religions, Religious." In Critical Terms For Religious Studies, edited by Mark C. Taylor, 269-284. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press, 1998.
Accessed February 6th, 2010 http://www.omsakthi.org/religions.html
A good site that compares the three major religions http://www.religionfacts.com/islam/comparison_charts/islam_judaism_christianity.htm