Compare And Contrast Hinduism And Buddhism Essay Example For Students

Compare And Contrast Hinduism And Buddhism Essay I have considered myself to be a fairly religious person. I went to aPresbyterian elementary and middle school, a Christian School. At C.S. we had areligion class everyday. The difference from then and now is then we learnedstrictly about Christianity. I had never heard about evolution and otherreligions until I was in high school. I had only known that there was one God,and it was He to which we prayed. I knew that there was a heaven and a hell. Thegood people went to heaven and the bad to hell. In much more depth of course,but needless to say that was very naive. I had a Humanities class my sophomoreyear in high school. In this class we learned about all of the religions, howthey operated, and what they believed. It was then that I took a deep interestin Buddhism. I didnt know much, but what I did know seemed so much differentand it really caught my eye. Buddhism has two parts. These parts are MahayanaBuddhism and Theravada Buddhism. The first part is Mahayana. It can be definedas, Large Raft Buddhism; one of the two branches of Buddhism, dominantin East Asia and Vietnam. So named because its people carry a large raft tocarry people to enlightenment. (Niwano, 87-88) And Theravada is defined as,Way of the Elders; surviving school of one of the two branches ofBuddhism, found in Southeast Asia. Claims to bet he most ancient expression ofBuddhist teaching. Called Hinayana by Mahayana Buddhist teachers. (Niwano,87-88) The Theravada Buddhism has dated back to as late as sixth century B.C.E.,and its was founded in one of the countries that it flourishes in today,Southeast Asia. There one founder of this school of Buddhism that is SiddharthaGautama. He has shown people what is known as the middle way. This path isa path of liberation from the cycle of rebirth. All Buddhists honor this man. Nomatter what type of Buddhism they believe the focus is on him. The believers maynot know what the significance of his life is, but they do know that he is ofgreat importance. Sid dhartha was born in about 563 B.C.E. He was a warrior inIndia. Siddhartha was raised in luxury to protect him from the bad parts oflife. His father did this in hopes to raise religious questions in his mind. In contrast, Hindus say, â€Å"†¦that thou art.† This statement means that Brahman is the same as one true self, or his Atman. Not only do the Hindus worship Brahman, they also worship several other gods as well. The other gods are in the reincarnation series, or the samsara, they are not ultimate but they help to bring liberation throughout the grueling cycle. All Hindus believe in three most popular gods, which they are: Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma. Shiva is the deity of the renounces, especially of the many shiava sects that imitate him. These are Kapalicas, Pashupatas, and Aghoris. Shiva is also the deity that is said to have appeared on earth in various human, animals, and vegetable forms. Vishnu, to his worshipers, is all-powerful and supreme. He is believed to be to god from whose navel a lotus sprang giving birth to Brahma, the creator. Vishnu created the universe by separating the heavens and the earth and has rescued it on a number of occasions. As Hopfe and Woodw ard state â€Å"Vishnu is known as a god of love, benevolence, and forgiveness (Hinduism 94).† â€Å" In some incarnations, he has come as a man.† (94). The third popular god is Brahma, the creator of the world. Since Buddhism and Hinduism have different believes they also have different holy days.Moreover, because Hindus worship variety of gods they have a variety of festivals. The three main festivals of Hinduism are: Holi, Divali, and Dasehra. Holi is the most popular festival. This holy day is celebrated each year during February-March to welcome spring. â€Å"Holi is dedicated to god Krishna and it was once a fertility ceremony (104).† Throughout the days of Holi, many of the casts and taboo restrictions are set aside and pleasure is emphasized. The second ceremony Divali, celebrated in November, is a festival to welcome a new year. Finally the third festival, the Dasehra, celebrated up to nine days in October, in honor of Durga, a consort of Shiva. On the other hand Buddhism is divided in many ways according to philosophy and geography. The major festivals that are celebrated by most Buddhists are New Year, Buddha’s birthday, the festival of souls, and robe offering. In m any Buddhist countries the New Year is celebrated in April. It usually lasts three days. Another festival is Buddha’s birthday. During this festival the birth of Gautama, celebrated on April 8 in China and Japan and on the last full moon on May in Southeast Asia. Buddhist communities celebrate by washing the statue of the infant Buddha and a basin of fragrant water filled with flower petals to honor the gods who bathed the Buddha immediately after his birth. The festival of souls id celebrated during July (in Japan), and August (in China). Buddhists believe that purgatory is opened and the souls of the dead are allowed to wonder about the world. The last festival celebrated by Buddhists is robe offering. This festival is celebrated in November at the end of rainy season. During this festival the laity present new yellow robber to the monks of their region. This robe is one that has been made in a single day or night. Character Analysis-Tell Tale Heart EssayHindus believe in souls and Buddhists do not. In Hindus religion it is believed that an individual should abolish all once and desires in addition to refraining from any temptations of sin in order to discipline himself or herself. Once all of these things are done, the perfect joy and harmony with the infinite spirit is reached. The infinite spirit refers to Hinduism belief that the soul never dies. Hindus believe that each time a body dies the soul is reborn into a new body. On the contrary, Buddhism believe in the Anatman or no soul.Buddhism sees human existence as made up of five bundles or Skandhas. These are material body of feelings, perceptions, predispositions or Karmic tendencies, and consciousness. Buddhists deny the permanent soul. Buddhists believe that as long as they follow the four noble truths they would be freed from the life sufferings. Eventually, today both religions are still greatly worshiped and have millions of follow ers. Buddhism and Hinduism are connected in many ways and still continue to flourish after many, many centuries. Both religions have a similar goal, and path to achieve that goal. Bibliography: