Buddhist vs. Hindu Religious Ideals in Art and Architecture Although Buddhist and Hindu art may appear to be the same to the eyes of an untrained observer, they are products of entirely different religious traditions. While Buddhism has its origins in India, it quickly spread outside of the birthplace of its founder, Siddhartha Gautama and gained greater traction elsewhere, including China and Japan. Buddhism also split into two distinct traditions, that

Nirvana Religious doctrine usually includes some form of salvation as a reward for good behavior and for keeping to the tenets of the religion. Each religion treats this general idea in its own way. For the Christian, right behavior lead to salvation from permanent death and promises an afterlife in heaven. In Buddhism, the promise is not of an afterlife but of a reward in this world, a reward in the

Instead, the practice bhakti-style devotion to various Buddhas and other supramundane figures (Protehero, 2010, p. 177). These are not manifestations of one God, as might be understood by practitioners of most Western religions, but more similar to spirit guides. Another aspect of Buddhism that might be surprising is the understanding of "karma." The word is commonly used in our current lexicon and refers to the good or bad that comes

Therefore, the Pentateuch plays a very important formal role in the Jewish faith. However, the oral Torah may be as important to the Jewish people. One of the underlying components of Judaism is that the Jews are God's chosen people. As God's chosen people, even the non-religious history of the Jewish people becomes religious. This is because God informs their activities in a way that is not necessarily acknowledged in

One of these core principles is evinced within the practice of zazen, or meditation. As the author of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind denotes, "…by your practice of zazen you can cultivate this feeling" (p. 95) of totality and uniformity with the universe that is the primary focus of Buddhism. Yet the way of actuating this ideal state of big mind is decidedly counterintuitive. Westerners are used to thinking of heaven

The Buddhist ideals of Nirvana/Enlightenment are an existence that are free from Tanha, Upadana, and therefore also Dukkha. The deepest truths in Buddhism are not absolute or completely objective, but rather any teaching that helps one to reach Nirvana, and there is no specific set of guidelines for what teachings or writings may be considered to be from an Enlightened point-of-view because Buddhism is highly personalized for each student.