Hinduism vs. Buddhism :: essays research papers

Hinduism and Buddhism are the two main religions of Ancient India. Both religions share common beliefs and have their differences. Some differences are the gods worshiped, the founders of the religions and the holy books worshiped. Both religions are similar and different at the same time. In the Hindu religion, the founder was not one person alone. Hinduism was developed over 3500 years ago by the Aryans. The Hindu religion was developed around the caste system. Important books of the Hindu religion are the Vedas. The Hindus are polytheistic, or they believe in many Gods. The caste system was the social class of India. At the top of the caste system were the Brahmins or the priests. Below them were the warriors followed by the merchants, the farm workers and lastly the untouchables. Some goals of the Hindus are to reach Moksha, or to be free of the caste system. The Hindu religion had many priests and religious rituals. Hinduism is still important and followed by people in India today. In the Buddhism religion, there was only one founder. The founder was the Siddhartha Gantina. Siddhartha founded Buddhism in 560 B.C. Buddhists rejected the caste system. Instead they focused on individuals. Important books of the Buddhist religion are the Triptakas. Buddhists have no Gods. They believed if you follow the Four Nobile Truths and the Eight Fold Path, you will live a great life. Buddhism is important throughout Asia, but there are few followers of Buddhism in India today. Hinduism and Buddhism share some beliefs as well. Both religions told people to live moral lives. People tried to live non-violent lives, or ahimsa. Both religions accepted reincarnation, which is the belief that after someone passes away, their soul, comes back to life in another body. The goal was to be united with an all powerful, spiritual force. They both thought animals were sacred.