Hinduism and Buddhism are two very unique religions based out of the country of India. They are both ancient religions that still exist today. A good majority of the worlds population, and especially the Asian population are mostly Buddhism or Hinduism followers. Although they are similar in many ways, they are also very different.
First of all, both Hinduism and Buddhism developed out of India, but developed in different ways. When the Indo-Aryans migrated to India, their cultures and traditions combined with the natives of India. This created Hinduism. Buddhism however, was developed by a single person. This person was called Siddhartha Gautama. He is considered “The Buddha” of the Buddhists. He found perfect understanding of the world by meditating and rejecting all earthly desires that plagued his soul. Siddhartha gained many followers throughout his lifetime and even more after his death.
These two religions differ from many other religions in that they believe in reincarnation. They both share beliefs in karma. Karma is the belief that your good or bad deeds will determine how your next life will be lived. They believe that if you do good deeds you would be rewarded, and maybe be reincarnated as a man with high authority. This also means if you did bad deeds you would be reincarnated into something worse. You could even be reincarnated into an inanimate object such as a rock or a tree. If you did extremely well in your life you could reach moksha or enlightenment. Moksha and enlightenment is the understanding of the world and freedom from earthly desires. If you reach this stage, you will not be reincarnated, but rather your soul will pass on.
Both of these religions have holy writings. The Hindus have the Vedas. The Vedas were developed when the Indo-Aryans came to India. They were not written down for many generations, but they were passed on orally from the elders. The Buddhists have writings called the Four Noble Truths. The First Noble Truth states that everything in the world is suffering. The Second Noble Truth states that the cause of all this suffering is earthly desires. The Third Noble Truth says to end suffering you have to end worldly desires. The last Noble Truth states that to get rid of these desires you must reach enlightenment. Buddha developed these four truths during his lifetime and preached them to his followers.
Buddhism and Hinduism were made at different times and by different people. Buddhism and Hinduism are very similar. Many people think they are exactly the same, but Hinduism and Buddhism are obviously very different. These two religions are very unique, with many different beliefs than the religions Americans are accustomed to.
