Hinduism & Buddhism

Hinduism and Buddhism are two of the five major religions in our world today. They are widely practiced, and have survived for centuries. Both have similarities and differences, as do all forms of religion. Hopefully, in this paper I will show you the basic structure of each religion. I would also like to show how they compare and contrast.

Hinduism: Foundation

No one is completely sure of where Hinduism was started and by whom. Their oldest written documents, the Vedas, were written down in 1000 B.C. but they had existed orally long before. The Vedas are where Hinduism originated. Today, Hinduism is the world's third largest religion. Many changes have come upon Hinduism since they practiced it first. Hinduism includes many different sects, or denominations, and beliefs that have arisen. Though, there are many things in common with all of the Hindu sects. Their basic beliefs are what ties them together.

Brahmas

brahma

Temple carving at Hoysaleswara temple representing...

Basic Beliefs-

The religion of Hinduism teaches us that each living body, including animals, is filled with an eternal soul. Hindus say that the individual soul was a part of the creator spirit, Brahma. It is each soul's job and wish eventually to return to Brahma. It is not possible though because by a soul's sins, and impurities from the world, they are no longer pure and holy to return. Instead, a soul must become pure before returning to Brahma, who is absolutely pure.

The process of becoming pure is so hard that no soul can become pure in only one lifetime. The soul is forced to live life after life until it is pure enough to return to Brahma. The cycles of rebirths are called samsara, or the Wheel of Life, by the Hindus. When a soul is finally cleansed enough to break free of samsara it is...