Buddhism originated in India from a man named Siddhartha Guatama. Guatama as a boy lived an extravagant life. It was only when he bored of the indulgences of a rich life. He proceeded searching the world for understanding. That is when he then encountered an old man, a corpse, and an ill man, convincing him that suffering lay at the end of all existence. From there, he became a monk and deprived himself of all worldly possessions in hope of comprehending the world around him. One day while meditating under a tree, he had an epiphany of how to be free from suffering. From that point on he would be known as the Buddha or "enlighted one". Now all of this was somewhere between 566 to 480 B.C., the Buddha's lifetime.
Now that we know about how these religions came about, it's time to learn about their beliefs and how they are similar and different. Buddhism believes that one has to work for salvation oneself, and must do good deeds. Hinduism believes that one can obtain salvation through good deeds, love, faith, and knowledge. As you can see they both agree on how to achieve salvation. When it comes to enlightenment they both believe that there are many paths to gather enlightenment such as overcoming and controlling ones feelings. On suffering both the schools of thought believe that too much attachment to people and things in the physical world causes pain and suffering. Therefore we must make ourselves free of worldly desires. Another thing they agree on is reincarnation. They both believe that one must perform good deeds. They differ on their beliefs of a God. Hindus believe in 300,000 gods while the original Buddhist had no god. They both have castes systems, but the Buddhists do not use theirs. Buddhists do not believe in stages of life, opposed to Hindus who do. Hindus believe there are four stages of life, student life, family life, the age when a person leaves all worldly desires behind, and finally the age when a person meditates and waits for the ultimate truth, death.
As you can see that although they are different, they are also very similar. They aren't the only religions that are similar either. If every religion was tolerant of the other we would live in a better world. This doesn't only apply to religions but people too. So instead of looking at how we differ from one another, we should see how we are similar.
Work Cited
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V, Jayaram. "Hinduism and Buddhism." Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism and Other Resources. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <
"Basics of Buddhism." PBS. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2009. <>.
"Buddhism & Hinduism,Comparitive Study of Buddhism & Hinduism,Compare Contrast Buddhism & Hinduism." Buddhist Tourism,Travel Buddhist Sites,Buddhist Tourism in India, Japan, Tibet, China. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <>.