Writing 4- Melissa Vásquez

Differences Between Buddhism and Hinduism

Have you ever heard phrases like: "When you speak, try to make

your words be better than silence." Or perhaps: "Rejoice because every

place is here and every moment is now". When reading them, they

undoubtedly give us a lot of ideas for thought, however, the first quote is a

philosophy of Hinduism and the second one is related to Buddhism.

Buddhism and Hinduism are some of the most ancient religions in the world

today. Incredibly, Hinduism has been able to maintain its culture for over

3,500 years, Buddhism for 2,800. Of course, there are many similarities

between Hinduism and Buddhism, as they sprang from the culture and

surroundings of India. However, there are three main differences between

these popular religions. The first difference between Buddhism and

Hinduism is God's concept. Hinduism accepts the existence of various

gods, is a polytheistic religion, with about 330 million gods, also has a

supreme "god" who is Brahma. Buddhism, on the other hand, is considered

a non-theistic philosophy, they reject the idea of the existence of an

omnipotent and omnipresent creator. Second of all, their principles,

Hinduism has reincarnation as its fundamental principle so that we can

come to experience eternal life and because Hindus worship gods, they

have a number of rites and rituals that they observe. By contrast,

Buddhists do not believe in the efficacy of such things. To them,

meditation, along with right action and thoughts in day to day life, is what is

needed for salvation, for achieving enlightenment, a state of full mental

tranquility and happiness free from the inherent suffering of living. One final

but important difference is the Personal goals of followers, in Hinduism,

the ultimate aim for a person is Purusartha, which consists of attaining four

separate goals: Dharma (righteousness), Artha (prosperity), Kama

(pleasure/love), and Moksha (liberation). These are, respectively, moral,

economic, psychological, and spiritual values. In contrast, the ultimate goal

of the Buddhist religion is to attain Nirvana. When this happens, a person

no longer suffers, exhibits desire, or has a sense of self. One is released

from the effects of karma, and also from the recurring cycles of death and

rebirth. In brief, Hinduism is a religion more formal than Buddhism. In the

West, we see this last one more like a philosophy that was afforded the

opportunity to look at the state of Hinduism at the time and offer a

critique…an alternative that many people saw as an answer to some

injustices being done in the name of religion.