Verified Document

Hinduism And Buddhism Are Two Term Paper

The responsibilities of one's current caste also constitute the dharma which will further advance or punish one in your next life. In other words, exceeding one's dharma in not only unnecessary, but in all probability will hurt your dharma, causing you to fall into a lower caste in your next life. This intertwining of social strata with religion creates a fatalism derived from inevitable destiny, guilt complexes of past life caste determination, a philosophy of acceptance, and fear of punishment for transcending one's dharma.. Both religions maintain a broad perspective of religious worship; however,. Hinduism is polytheistic while Buddhism maintains no structured belief in an independent, sentient god-like entity (especially in human form). Both religions believe in a system of reincarnation, and both religions emphasize the community over the self. The major rift between the two religions seems to stem from the role of social structure in the two religions. Hinduism's caste system perpetuates a fatalism and apathy toward social rights and advancement while reinforcing the ruling establishment. Buddhism concentrates on the individual's release from suffering, implying no overriding social definition.

Concepts of reincarnation and Nirvana

Both Buddhism and Hinduism have their ultimate goal the perfection of the individual. (Smith, 1958, 22). Buddhism concentrates not on the society, but on the individual, thus divorcing religion from the interests of the ruling stratum. The pessimism of Hindu reincarnation is replaced by a more optimistic and less fatalistic cycle. One is no longer born into a position due to past inequities. Although Buddhism does see life as pain and suffering and reincarnation as a renewal of this suffering, there is a potential escape. If...

The most important aspect of Nirvana, however, is its unrestricted access to people of any social background. In other words, although a Hindu "untouchable" cannot possibly advance in this life through any extraordinary effort of his own, any Buddhist can achieve Nirvana through the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, realizations of the essence of suffering and the methods to remove all suffering.
Conclusion

Buddhism also seems to be less ritualistic, culture-specific and deity-dependent than Hinduism. The lack of an artificial "diety" to instill purpose in a religion's followers makes Buddhism significantly different, and more advanced, than Hinduism. In this light, Hinduism becomes a tremendous force for stagnation, eliminating the initiative for progress in a philosophy of acceptance which breeds an apathy for social justice. Such a pervasive philosophy becomes an asset to the status quo and ruling stratum, stabilizing the social structure at the expense of individuals.

Hinduism, since it is based on the concept of a caste system, has not had much success taking root outside of South Asia; however, such Hindu beliefs, such as the concept of reincarnation and yoga, have become popular in the West. On the other hand, Buddhism, especially in its Zen Buddhist form, has had a profound influence on Western culture via the Beat movement. Many towns in the United States, especially on the West Coast, have Buddhist temples and the Dalai Lama is, after the Pope, the most influential religious leader in the world.

References

Smith, Huston. The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions. New York: Harper Collins. 1958.

Sources used in this document:
References

Smith, Huston. The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions. New York: Harper Collins. 1958.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Hinduism Buddhism Jainism
Words: 827 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Hinduism, Buddhism, And Jainism Hinduism is among the world's oldest faiths, and is regarded as a total way of life, or dharma, which evolved by the great sages and seers of ancient India (Hinduism pp). With traditions dating back before recorded history, the early phase of the Verdic tradition in India is generally dated between 10,000 -- 7,000 BCE. (Hinduism pp). However, in spite of the fact that Hinduism evolved more

Buddhism: Changing and Adapting to
Words: 1637 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

Thus to some, Chinese acceptance of Buddhism was surprising given that "China was already a very old civilization, with a written language, a well-organized government system and educational system, with two well-established philosophical and religious traditions -- the Confucian and Daoist Traditions -- sophisticated literature, poetry, art & #8230; so we had here a very highly developed highly literate civilization, and Buddhism came from outside via missionaries" (Garfield 2010).

Buddhism, Hinduism & Taoism Comparative
Words: 2902 Length: 11 Document Type: Term Paper

In fact, Hindus consider their religion not as a form of religion per se, but spirituality in general. Selvanayagam (2005) discussed the Hindu concept of spirituality, which takes into account all possible ways or manner in which enlightenment can be achieved. In India, wherein the Hindu religion is the dominant and an integral part of people's lives, Hinduism is considered more than a religion -- it is also a political

Buddhism, Religion and Philosophy Founded in India
Words: 1368 Length: 4 Document Type: Research Paper

Buddhism, religion and philosophy founded in India c.525 B.C. By Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha. There are over 300 million Buddhists worldwide. One of the great world religions, it is divided into two main schools: the Theravada or Hinayana in Sri Lanka and SE Asia, and the Mahayana in China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan. A third school, the Vajrayana, has a long tradition in Tibet and Japan. Buddhism has largely

Buddhism and Human Rights One
Words: 3319 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

3. There is the cessation of suffering (duhkha-nirodha); and 4. There is a path leading to the cessation of suffering (duhkha-nirodha-marga)." (Willis) In Buddha's opinion, suffering (duhka) can be represented through any kind of pain and regardless of its form. The best representation of suffering can be presumably felt when a change from a state of happiness to a state of unhappiness occurs. The cause of suffering (duhka-samudaya) states that most of

Buddhism As a Counterweight to
Words: 1611 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Columbus reveled in making distinctions between his own culture and 'the other,' in a way that prioritized his own culture, even though ironically he went in search of a non-Western civilization's Indian bounty of spices. Columbus' eradication of another civilization is the most extreme form of Western civilization's prioritization of distinction, in contrast to Buddhism's stress upon the collapse of such distinction. The most obvious negative legacy of Columbus, for

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now