Similarities and Differences of Hinduism and Buddhism

Eventually, these spirits took the shape of terce main gods: Brahma, the creator of life; Vishnu, the preserver of life; and Shiva, the uprooter who makes room for new life ("Religion, ..." 8). In addition, experts have counted as umteen as 300 million other gods of which Hindus remember all argon faces of the supreme power "Brahman."

After several(prenominal) hundred years, Hindu beliefs were finally written down in a number of saintly books, including the "Vedas," the "Ramayana," and the "Mahabharata" (Ibid.). As these scriptures show, the scope of beliefs and practices be great, ranging from village goddess cults such as that of Manasa, the protectress against snakes, to that of modern "gurus," meaning defender or t separatelyer, such as Sai Baba, one of India's best-known. It varies also, often in significant detail, from region to region. These differences may include the deities worshipped, the scriptures used, the Caste structure, the holy age, and so on. The result is that Hindus follow a number of diametrical cults: Durga, Kali, Krishna, Rama, Shiva, Vishnu, to name a few (Hinnells 149). In many of the cults, the deities are female.

Central to Hinduism is the principle of "reincarnation," the belief that people are converted after they die ("Religion, ..." 8). It is based on the premise that each living thing ha

impuissance to find the answers to life, he finally spent forty-nine days meditating beneath a fig tree.

As the story goes, he fought back temptation after temptation until he succeeded in understanding the meaning of life. From that point on, he became known as the Buddha (having become one with the highest object of knowledge, Supreme Truth) and spent the near forty-five years preaching his message throughout northern India.

Buddhism emerged from Hinduism in the sixth century B.C. and, though sharing many of its ideals, is a historical religion all its own with its break dance a prince of a small North Indian sound out (Nepal). Today, there are approximately 307 million Buddhists located mainly throughout China, Nepal and East Asia ("Religions,..." 8).

The Buddha's teachings became known as the "sutras," and are contained in the Buddhist holy book, the "Tripitakea" (Ibid.). The Buddha's message is known as the 'Four overlord Truths,' and includes the following:

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