Buddhism and Hinduism: A Comparative Study

This article provides a comparative study of Buddhism and Hinduism, exploring their similarities and differences in beliefs, practices, and impact on society. It covers the origins and evolution of both religions, their major concepts, and their impact on society. The article also discusses the influence of Buddhism on Hinduism and vice versa.

Running head: Buddhism and Interreligious studies
Buddhism and Interreligious studies
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1BUDDHISM AND INTERRELIGIOUS STUDIES
The term Hinduism is a derivative of the word ‘Hindu’ that is a Persian distortion of
‘Sindhu’, which was the ancient name of the Indus river that charts its course through Northern
India, the place where the Vedic religion is believed to have originated (Kumar 2017). Hinduism
does not have any founder and is a conglomeration of a plethora of traditions and beliefs
(Jackson 2016). Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion in the world and Hinduism dates
back to over four thousand years. Although there are Hindus all over the world, yet Hinduism is
followed primarily in India and Nepal (Kumar 2017).
Modern Hinduism, which evolved from the Vedas, which are the ancient texts of
Hinduism, is akin to Zoroastrianism in their worship of nature gods (Jackson 2016). By fourth
century BC, Vedic Hinduism had spread throughout the Indian subcontinent incorporating
elements of all religious practices and beliefs. Over the next decade Hinduism further evolved
and absorbed the tenets of Jainism and Buddhism which laid an emphasis on non violence and
preached vegetarianism (Jackson 2016).
The major thoughts in Hinduism include the concept of Dharma, which refers to the code
of conduct that is ethical in nature. The other concept is Samsara, or reincarnation which refers to
the eternal cycle of life, birth and death; Karma which refers to an action being committed by a
person and its resultant reaction, Moksha which implies freedom from Samsara and the plethora
of Yogas i.e. the call to imbibe the righteous path, the various paths to attain Moksha and engage
in spiritual practices ( Lucia 2017). The majority of Hindus has faith in and believes in Brahma,
the omnipresent and supreme spirit that encompasses the universe and that the human soul or
atman is everlasting and an indistinct part of Brahma. According to Hinduism, the human soul
passes through a series of lives and deaths and the present life of a person was determined on
how the person lived his past life (Lucia 2017).

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According to Hinduism, the goal of life is the realization of non-duality and leading a life
that would help a person to attain Moksha (Wood 2017). Other schools worship Brahman as
Vishnu , Shiva, Shakti Brahma depending on the sect. The Hindu mythology or scriptures refer
to divine entities as Devas who are a personification of divinity and divine qualities. Human
manifestations of God that are corporeal in nature are called Avatars (Wood 2017).
Pilgrimage is not obligatory to Hinduism though there is a plethora of sacred and holy
centres for worship. The important places of Hindu pilgrimage include Allahabad, Haridwar,
Varanasi, Tirumala-Tirupati, home to the temple of Vaishno Devi as well as other centres of
pilgrimage and sites of worship.
One of the most significant impacts of Hinduism includes having an impact on the
evolution of society. According to Hinduism, human life comprises of four stages, which are
known as the Ashramas. The first stage is the stage of a student who follows celibacy and stays
under the guidance of a teacher, the second stage is the stage of ‘householder’, the third stage is
the stage of retirement wherein a person gradually detached himself from the material world and
the fourth stage is the asceticism in order to find Moksha (Lucia 2014).
Earlier Hindu society was categorized under four classes which was called the Varnas.
They included Brahmins who were teachers and priests of society, the Kshatriyas, which
comprised of farmers, businesspersons and merchants, and the Shudras where were considered
the lower classes of society and included labourers and servants. Modern Hinduism is liberal,
though some people still believe and hold on the principles of class and class in society (Lucia
2014).

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The Hindu scriptures , which are together known as the Shastras, are a compilation of religious
laws that was revealed by sages and saints during the course of its history (Kumar 2014). The
Hindu scriptures comprises of two types of sacred writing: Shruti, which implies heard and
Smriti, which means memorized. They were passed down orally from generation to generation
primarily in the language of Sanskrit. Gita is the holy book of Hinduism and the main Hindu
scriptures include the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas and the epics Mahabharata and
Ramayana (Kumar 2014).
Hinduism teaches four Purusarthas or the goals of human life. They include Dharma,
which refers to duty and ethics, Artha which refers to work and prosperity, Kama which implies
desires and passion and Moksha which implies the freedom from the cycle of Samsara (Lucia
2014).
Followers of the Hindu religion consider that there is only highest Absolute known as
Brahman. However, the Hindu religion does not preach the veneration of any one God. There are
various Gods and Goddesses in Hinduism but they all represent the various aspects of Brahma.
Thus multiplicity of deities characterizes Hinduism. The fundamental deity of Hinduism includes
the divine trinity which comprises of Brahma, who is the creator, Vishnu who is the preserver
and Shiva the destroyer. The Hindu religion also promotes the worship of the natural world
(Lucia 2014).
The Hindu calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and the sun and is lunisolar in
nature. The Hindu year comprises of twelve months and a plethora of festivals take place right
through the year.

4BUDDHISM AND INTERRELIGIOUS STUDIES
Unlike other religions, where a person has to follow a certain practice in order to join a
religion and practice the faith, Hinduism does not require any such prerequisites. In order to be a
Hindu a person must abide by the tenets of Hinduism, abiding by the Purusarthars and
conducting one’s life by following the principles of Hinduism and practicing honesty,
compassion, prayers and also self-restraint.
Buddhism developed as a reaction to the caste system that was prevalent in Hinduism.
Hinduism has an orthodox caste system which is absent in Buddhism and people sought to
escape from an oppressive caste-ridden society which granted special privileges to the upper
sections of society i.e. the Brahmins (Siderits 2017).
Unlike Hinduism Buddhism has a single founder, the Buddha. The founder of Buddhism
was Siddhartha Gautama, who founded the religion during the 5th and 6th century BC. According
to Buddhism, the Middle Path was the ideal path towards enlightenment. The Middle Path
teaches the followers of Buddhism to avoid extremes (Siderits 2017).
Buddhism and Hinduism share certain similarities and differences and at times use the
same vocabulary. Dharma that implies righteousness, also refers to the Natural Law or Reality.
It is peceived as the ‘Path of the Higher Truths’ (Eliot 2015). For Buddhists, Dharma refers to
the teaching of the Buddha. According to the Hindu religion, the soul or the atman is eternal
while the body of the human beings is subject to birth, decay, old age and death. The entire
concept of reincarnation is intricate intertwined with the idea of karma, which is includes the
superior and dreadful actions performed by a person in one’s lifetime. In addition, karma
controls the cycle of death and rebirth and is known as samsara. Buddhism on the contrary did
not believe in reincarnation. Shakyamuni Buddha was against the belief of Hinduism that

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preached that all beings have a soul or atman in the body that is immortal in nature. Buddhism
challenges this view of reincarnation preached by Hinduism. Both Hinduism and Buddhism
employ symbolism. For example, hand gestures or mudra to express emotions, Dharma Chakra
that appears on the National Flag of India as also on the flag of the Thai Royal Family. Other
examples include Rudraksha that is used by devotees and monks while praying, Tilak or
vermillion that is used n the forehead and that which implies the Third Eye and Sauwastika or
Swastika which is considered to be a sacred symbol. Buddhism employs the chanting of mantras.
According to Buddhist philosophy chanting these words, produces vibrations, which helps a
person to gain concentrate during prayer. Chanting of mantras is further done to gain wealth,
eliminate enemies and avoid danger. Chanting of mantras is intrinsic to Hinduism and Hindu
worship of deities. Mahayana Buddhism in Japan, Tibetan Buddhism among other forms of
Buddhism practiced Homa and Yagna (which are the rituals of fire) concepts of Hinduism and
incorporated them into their own cultures. These philosophies further offered prayers for
ancestors and people who had passed away (Eliot 2015).
Despite a plethora of similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism, a host of differences
exists between the two religions. Examples of differences include the concept of God (Kyabgon
2014). Hinduism practices idol worship while Buddhism does not believe in the practice of idol
worship. Also Buddhism does not subscribe to the view that the universe and the human race
was created by God. This ideology is in sharp contrast from the tenets of Hinduism. While
Hinduism followed the caste system and discriminated people on the basis of caste, the Buddha
was completely against the caste system and did not differentiate people on the basis of caste.
The Buddha negated the claims of the Brahmins that the caste system was divine. Buddha openly
offered ordination to everybody regardless of caste. Scholars feel that it is because Buddha

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belonged to the Kshatriya caste and was not a Brahmin. Hence, from the Brahminical point of
view, he was not entitled to teach Dharma, i.e. to teach the religious truth. The idea of ritual
purity prevalent in Hinduism was also absent from Buddhism. While Hinduism preached that
one’s soul is akin to the universal soul, Buddhism on the other hand preached that there was no
self and therefore no need to attach one’s soul to Brahman. In addition, Karma meaning activity
or action also refers to its consequent results, i.e. the fruits of one’s actions. Karma denotes the
complete cycle of cause and effect and is explained in this way in both Hinduism and Buddhism.
However, in Hinduism, karma refers to ritual action while for Buddhism karma, which can be
good or bad, lies in the intention of a person. Other differences include the fact that the caste of
Brahmins who had access to God through rituals was no longer considered a privileged class in
Buddhism. Also, in Buddhism anybody could achieve salvation as long as they understood the
teachings of Buddha. In Buddhism, a person can reach a state of nirvana once a person has
become enlightened (Kyabgon 2014). Nirvana is described as escaping the cycle of continuous
birth and death, the process of reincarnation that is cardinal to Hinduism. Both Hinduism and
Buddhism are extremely ancient religions and both had its origin in the Indian subcontinent. It
was believed that Buddha was born in a Hindu family and over one thousand five hundred years
ago, Buddha was accepted by the Hindus as one of the ten incarnations of Lord Shri Maha
Vishnu. Despite the differences between the two religions, both religions had an impact on each
other in a plethora of ways. For example, while Hinduism practiced the principle of Bhakti or
devotional worship, the Buddhist thought of empathy and ahimsa, which is non-violence, has its
roots in Hinduism (Sikka 2016). The tantra shastra of Hinduism created the Vajrayana school of
Buddhism. Hinduism further adopted the Buddhist methods of yoga, meditation and pranayama
using it as a means to gain a higher state of perception and awareness. Buddhism also had a

7BUDDHISM AND INTERRELIGIOUS STUDIES
positive impact on Indian culture and art. The Vedic theme of culture of Hinduism shares a
plethora of similarities with Buddhism and Jainism. All these were influenced by the regions of
North-east regions of India, Uttar Pradesh Bihar and Nepal. Buddhism however is an extension
of the Shramana belief while Hinduism is an extension of the Vedic belief and a combination of
Shramana belief, tribal and folk traditions of India. The Buddha did not believe in the fact that in
order to attain nirvana or salvation, one had to accept the scripture or the acknowledgement of
God. The Buddhist texts rejected such kinds of path condemning them as destructive views. This
line of beliefs of Buddhism influenced later religious thoughts in Hinduism. Buddhism and
Hinduism co-existed peacefully since time immemorial. Reference to The Buddha is made in the
Puranas. Some Buddhists thoughts and principles seems to have their roots in the ideologies and
ideas presented in the Upanishads (Kyabgon 2014).
Some scholars opine that the Bhagavad Gita, which was written after the birth of Buddha
was written as a part of the Hindu insight of Buddhism. Buddhist kings respected and revered
Buddhist Hindu teachers and deities while Hindu rulers extended the support to build several
Buddhist temples. A plethora of Buddhists texts in particular the Mahayana scriptures reflect the
influence of Hinduism (Sikka 2016).
The basic tenets of Buddhism include the Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Path.
The Four Noble Truths include the fact that life includes suffering and it is because neither the
world nor the individuals living in the world are perfect. The second noble truth includes the
origin of suffering which is due to desire or attachment. The third noble truth preaches the fact
the suffering can be mitigated through a detachment of craving and desire. And lastly, suffering
can be ended by following the Middle Path which will also ensure that one does not get
embroiled in reincarnation (Sikka 2016).

8BUDDHISM AND INTERRELIGIOUS STUDIES
The Middle Path can be attained by following the Eight Fold Path in order to conclude
suffering and begin in the process of attaining nirvana. The Eight Fold Path requires a follower
to practice Right or Perfect View, which is the beginning and the end of the path, which means
to perceive things as they really are and to realize the Four Noble Truths. The Right Intention
refers to the commitment of mental and ethical self- improvements. Right of Speech refers to the
practice of abstaining from the use of hurtful, false and slanderous speech and words, which may
hurt others. Right Action means to abstain from sexual misconduct, abstain from causing harm
to others and abstaining from taking something that is not one’s own. Right Livelihood implies
that one should live righteously and acquire wealth in the right way, i.e., legally. Right Effort
implies the willingness to act as the unwillingness to act will lead to no results. Right
Mindfulness refers to the ability to think actively and Right Concentration, which is the ability
to focus on right actions and thoughts through meditation (Siderits 2017).
In conclusion, one can say that both Hinduism and Buddhism have a plethora of
similarities as well as differences. Both Hinduism and Buddhism are among the oldest religions
of India. Both Hinduism and Buddhism had a positive effect on each other and both religions
coexisted peacefully and in harmony, which shows that India is truly a secular country that
respects all religions.

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