What is each and how are they different? My mom has blocks on religions due to her preferance. (Latter day Saint) I am curious of them all becuase I have a friend who told me a little bit. Any information is help! Thankyou!
--JC
PS. Suggestions on books are good too!
2007-03-10 13:47:07 · 4 answers · asked by Morbid_Engel 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Hinduism is a vedic religion that developed over a wide frame of time. From it's vedic routes, and the Aryan occupation Indian society developed. Hinduism is polytheistic. Brahm-a is the central diety (sorta odd the same latinized letters spell a-brahm)
Brahma is the source diety, but is not often followed. Vishnu and Shiva are two other main dieties and sects. Hindu's beleifs are very cultural, and tend to relate dieties to historical trends of developed entities that interconnect to explain 'forces' beyond human control. It is a religion with old routes.
Buddhism, which emerged when Jainism emerged around 500 bc or something developed from vedic(hindu) beleif, but it was a philosophy, not a religion. As religions have a 'god' buddah could be seen as on part with a prophet but the buddist god is a state of mind (called nirvana - perhaps on par with the hindu's beleif of freedom from moksha (release from the cycle of rebirth), which the jaina also beleive. Buddhism key is paitence and moderation. It is an ascetic practice, that is only vaugely an actual religion, but nirvana does in a way play the role of god, imo.
Confucianism is a chinese administrative process, or philosophy. Confucius was the origin of this. It is sorta like buddhism but without the same approach nor nirvana. I don't know all to much about it, other than that it is a way of living that does not have an external diety. Its about as old as buddhism.
For hinduism I suggest learning sanskrit, and reading the rig veda and other (peoms) ... Hinduism to me is a cultural expression more than anything else, it feels much more lively than Judeochristian concepts which seem demure in comparison. For buddhism there is a lot of information, buddhists have tons of texts. Try http://www.sacred-texts.com/ to start as they have a lot of source texts to skim through before you actually get something in print.
2007-03-10 14:02:40 · answer #1 · answered by intracircumcordei 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Welllllll... that's a ton of info to put in here and such a small block to do it in... I can only speak for Hinduism and Buddhism since I'm Buddhist and studied Hinduism. Hinduism and Buddhism are similar in that they both believe in the concepts of "ahimsa" (non-harming all sentient beings), "marga" (which is a path of liberation), "karma" (the cause and effect thing... you do something good eventually the karma will ripen into a good result, later in this life or another rebirth...), "rebirth" (according to the state of your mind at death and your karma)(Hindu's version of this differs slightly from Buddhism), some concepts of monasticism and such overlap a bit (Buddhism doesn't believe in extremism though, it's a 'middle way')... those are but a few.
Differences: The concept of "enlightenment" is different, but that takes WAY too much room in here to explain, philosophical views vary on "karma" a wee bit... Buddhism views the concept of an omnipotent creator being as illogical, but Hinduism believes there is such a being. Buddhism teaches that one can be free from cyclical existence, Hinduism teaches that you are reborn according to your karma within the absorbed (from Aryan historical addition to the culture) caste systems, which Buddhism eschews.
So much... too much too share, not enough space. Hope this gives you a tad of info.
_()_
2007-03-10 21:55:29 · answer #2 · answered by vinslave 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
go to the library and look them up. It is sad that you mom blocks information from you. What is she afraid you will find out?
2007-03-10 21:50:15 · answer #3 · answered by Militant Agnostic 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What about Islam?
2007-03-10 21:50:34 · answer #4 · answered by halo 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋