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Feras Allouwoime
Dr.Jeremy Cook
World Religions
25 November 2015

Hinduism Compared to Buddhism

Hindus believe in a Supreme, who is both immanent and transcendent (KHM). Hindus
believe in the divinity of four Vedas (KHM). Hinduism has no specific origin. They believe that
the universe has endless cycles such as creation, preservation, and dissolution (KHM). Hindus
believe in karma, and how an individual creates his or her own destiny (KHM). They believe in
reincarnation and moksha (KHM). Hindus believe that an enlightened master knows the
transcendent absolute, as a personal discipline, good conduct, purification, pilgrimage, selfinquiry, meditation, and submission to God (KHM). They also believe that all life is sacred
(KHM).
Buddhists believe in the four noble truths; this is Buddhas teachings (BBC,
Buddhism). These are the teachings that Buddha understood during his meditation under the
Bodhi tree (BBC, Buddhism). Buddhisms origin comes from Siddhartha Gautamas quest for
enlightenment around six thousand B.C. (BBC, Buddhism). In Buddhism Suffering is the first
noble truth and has three signs. They are sickness, old age, and death (BBC, Buddhism). Being
unsatisfied is a great example of suffering. Buddha defines the second noble truth to have three
roots of evil. They are greed and desire, ignorance or delusion, hatred and destructive urges
(BBC, Buddhism). Greed and desire are represented in art by a rooster (BBC, Buddhism).
Ignorance or delusion is represented by a pig (BBC, Buddhism). Hatred and destructive urges
are represented by a snake (BBC, Buddhism). In the third noble truth Buddha has taught how
to extinguish desire (BBC, Buddhism). This causes suffering. This is known as the possibility

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of liberation (BBC, Buddhism). In the last noble truth Buddha has a solution to end suffering
(BBC). This set of principles is called the Eightfold path (BBC, Buddhism). Just like the
Hindus the Buddhists also believe in Karma.
The primary focus of Buddhism is to reach enlightenment. This is different from
Hinduism because in this religion their primary focus believes in a Supreme. The Buddhists
believe that there is life after death. They believe existence is endless because individuals are
reincarnated (BBC, Buddhism). They also believe that only Buddhas who have obtained
enlightenment will reach Nirvana (BBC, Buddhism). Hindus believe that a persons spirit is
permanent and cannot change (BBC, Hinduism). The atman is reborn in many occasions (BBC,
Hinduism). The samsara is represented as reincarnation (BBC, Hinduism). The goal is for
the atman to move closer to rebirth so moksha can happen (BBC, Hinduism). For this to
happen, it really depends on how samsara has been dependent on karma (BBC, Hinduism).
When the atman finally reaches moksha it can rest (BBC, Hinduism).
The rules the Buddhists have to follow are to not harm living things, to not take things
unless they are given, to not partake in sexual misconduct, to not lie or gossip, and to not take
drugs, or drink alcohol (BBC, Buddhism). The rules the Hindus have to follow are the truth
has to always be told, to not partake in any violence, to not commit adultery, to not steal, to not
be corrupt, to remain cleansed and purified, be content, to read the scriptures, complete penance,
and to pray regularly (Das). These rules are quite similar because they follow the same
principles. Both of these religions believe it is wrong to lie, be violent, commit adultery or sexual
misconduct and to take unless something is given to you. The rules for Hinduism came from
Sanatana Dharma (Das). The rules for Buddhism came from Buddha (BBC, Buddhism).

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Buddhism views human nature as five aggregates, which are known as Khandas
(Religion Facts). The first form of human nature is the physical form, known as the rupa
(Religion Facts). The second form of human nature is feelings and sensations this is known as
vedana (Religion Facts). The third form is ideations known as sanna (Religion Facts). The fourth
form mental formations are known as sankhara and the fifth form is consciousness known as
vinnana (Religion Facts). In Hinduism there are three paths a human has to follow. The first path
is the Karma marga; this is the path of action (Kinnard). The second path is Jnana marga; this is
the path of knowledge (Kinnard). The third path is Bhakti marga, which means the path of
devotion (Kinnard).
The purpose of life to the Buddhists is to end suffering (BBC, Buddhism). The purpose of
life to the Hindus is to reach enlightenment (BBC, Hinduism). Hinduism and Buddhism share
a lot of similarities. They both believe in reincarnation, different paths to enlightenment, and
both believe in suffering. There are many differences when looking at these two religions as
well. In Hinduism there is no founder, while in Buddhism Buddha was the founder. The Hindus
believe in Vedas. The Buddhists do not believe in Vedas.

Annotated Bibliography
BBC. Religion: Buddhism. BBC. 2014. 20 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/>.
This source was very useful in describing the Buddhism religion. This source described
the four noble truths. This source was helpful in describing the basic beliefs of Buddhism.
This source went in to great detail describing about suffering. It also describes in detail
the five rules a Buddhist must follow.
BBC. Religions - Hinduism: History of Hinduism. BBC. 2014. 20 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/history/history_1.shtml>.
This source was very helpful in describing the process of reincarnation. This source was
very thorough in describing the history of Hinduism. It described the basic beliefs of the
Hindus. Knowing what they believed in helped to explain how this religion is similar and
different in many ways.

Das, Subhamoy. 5 principles & 10 disciplines the basics of Hinduism. Religion & Spirituality.
About.com Religion & Spirituality, 2015. 20 Nov. 2015.
<http://hinduism.about.com/od/basics/a/principles.htm>.
This source was used to explain the ten rules made by Sanatana Dharma. This source was
helpful because it explained all ten rules. These rules were widely used when describing

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the rules the Hindus had to follow. This source also used the Hindu name for each of the
rules explained.

Kinnard, Jacob. Hinduism. Patheos. 2015. 20 Nov. 2015.

<http://www.patheos.com/Library/Hinduism/Beliefs/Human-Nature-and-the-Purpose-ofExistence>.
This source was used to explain the pathways in Hinduism nature. It describes each
pathway, and tells what the pathways goal is. This source was very helpful in
distinguishing what pathway related to each caste system. It was also helpful, because if
someone was visiting this website there would be no problem is deciphering the
definitions of the words given, because it explains so much about the Hinduism religion.

KHM. Basics of Hinduism. 2015. 19 Nov. 2015.

<https://www.himalayanacademy.com/readlearn/basics/nine-beliefs>.
This source explained the nine beliefs that the Hindus follow. It gave a great explanation
of what each belief was, and how it related to the spiritual aspect of the religion. This
source was used, because it is a monastery webpage. This source started describing the
first priority to the Hindus, and then it worked its way to the broader priorities.

Religion Facts. Buddhist views of human nature. Religion Facts. 10 Nov. 2015. 20 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.religionfacts.com/human-nature/buddhism>.

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This source was a simple explanation when examining how Buddhist felt about human
nature. This source described the five forms in which are used humans. It also listed in
parenthesis what word described the form being explained. This source was referred back
to when looking at the similarities of both of these religions.