what are some differences n similarities between hinduism n buddhism?

Answer 1

Buddhism sprung from the Hindu heart and heartland, then pioneered its own distinct vision.

Asia's two spiritual titans, Hinduism and Buddhism, have exerted profound influence on the planet and its people since their beginnings. They are unique in offering imperative moral direction alongside esoteric knowledge of the yogas leading to transcendent states of consciousness and ultimately to Liberation. Taken together, Buddhist and Hindu adherents and enthusiasts would roughly account for one-quarter of the entire world population. Both religions have spread from the same soil, India, to countries far and wide. Buddhism especially has settled abroad, while its once powerful presence in India has dwindled to fewer than five million adherents (.5 percent of the population). Despite significant similarities and lasting philosophical affinities, profound and undeniable differences remain between them.

Buddha and Buddhism form an intimate part of Hindu consciousness. Buddha was a Hindu, and Buddhism is Hindu in its origin and development, art and architecture, iconography, language, many of its beliefs, psychology, names, nomenclature, religious vows and spiritual disciplines. Hinduism is not all Buddhism, but Buddhism forms part of the ethos which is essentially Hindu.

HINDUISM

FOUNDED: Hinduism, the world's oldest religion, has no beginning -- it predates recorded history.

FOUNDER: Hinduism has no human founder.

MAJOR SCRIPTURES: The Vedas, Agamas and more.

ADHERENTS: Nearly one billion, mostly in India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Malaysia, Indonesia, Indian Ocean, Africa, Europe and North and South America.

SECTS: There are four main denominations: Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartism.

SYNOPSIS

Hinduism is a vast and profound religion. It worships one Supreme Reality (called by many names) and teaches that all souls ultimately realize Truth. There is no eternal hell, no damnation. It accepts all genuine spiritual paths -- from pure monism ("God alone exists") to theistic dualism ("When shall I know His Grace?"). Each soul is free to find his own way, whether by devotion, austerity, meditation (yoga) or selfless service. Stress is placed on temple worship, scripture and the guru-disciple tradition. Festivals, pilgrimage, chanting of holy hymns and home worship are dynamic practices. Love, nonviolence, good conduct and the law of dharma define the Hindu path. Hinduism explains that the soul reincarnates until all karmas are resolved and God Realization is attained. The magnificent holy temples, the peaceful piety of the Hindu home, the subtle metaphysics and the science of yoga all play their part. Hinduism is a mystical religion, leading the devotee to personally experience the Truth within, finally reaching the pinnacle of consciousness where man and God are one.

The following nine facts, though not exhaustive, offer a simple summary of Hindu spirituality or about Hinudism.

1 Hindus believe in a one, all-pervasive Supreme Being who is both immanent and transcendent, both Creator and Unmanifest Reality.

2 Hindus believe in the divinity of the four Vedas, the world's most ancient scripture, and venerate the Agamas as equally revealed. These primordial hymns are God's word and the bedrock of Sanatana Dharma, the eternal religion.

3 Hindus believe that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation, preservation and dissolution.

4 Hindus believe in karma, the law of cause and effect by which each individual creates his own destiny by his thoughts, words and deeds.

5 Hindus believe that the soul reincarnates, evolving through many births until all karmas have been resolved, and moksha, liberation from the cycle of rebirth, is attained. Not a single soul will be deprived of this destiny.

6 Hindus believe that divine beings exist in unseen worlds and that temple worship, rituals, sacraments and personal devotionals create a communion with these devas (divine beings) and God.

7 Hindus believe that an enlightened master, or satguru, is essential to know the Transcendent Absolute, as are personal discipline, good conduct, purification, pilgrimage, self-inquiry, meditation and surrender in God.

8 Hindus believe that all life is sacred, to be loved and revered, and therefore practice ahimsa, noninjury, in thought, word and deed.

9 Hindus believe that no religion teaches the only way to salvation above all others, but that all genuine paths are facets of God's Light, deserving tolerance and understanding.

GOD IN HINDUISM

God Siva is a one being, yet we Hindus understand Him in three perfections: Absolute Reality, Pure Consciousness and Primal Soul. As Absolute Reality, God is unmanifest, unchanging and transcendent, the Self God, timeless, formless and spaceless. As Pure Consciousness, God is the manifest primal substance, pure divine love and light flowing through all form, existing everywhere in time and space as infinite intelligence and power.God is all and in all, great beyond our conception, a sacred mystery that can be known in direct communion.

Hindus believe in one Supreme Being. In the Hindu pantheon there are said to be three hundred and thirty-three million Lords(divine beings). The plurality of Lords are perceived as divine creations of that one Being. So, Hinduism has one supreme God, but it has an extensive hierarchy of Lords.

Hinduism views existence as composed of three worlds. The First World is the physical universe; the Second World is the subtle astral or mental plane of existence in which the devas, angels and spirits live; and the Third World is the spiritual universe of the Mahadevas, "great shining beings," our Hindu Lords. Hinduism is the harmonious working together of these three worlds.


BUDDHISM

FOUNDED: Buddhism began about 2,500 years ago in India.

FOUNDER: Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha, or "Enlightened One."

MAJOR SCRIPTURES: The Tripitaka, Anguttara-Nikaya, Dhammapada, Sutta-Nipata, Samyutta-Nikaya and many others.

ADHERENTS: Over 300 million.

SECTS: Buddhism today is divided into three main sects: Theravada or Hinayana (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia), Mahayana (China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea), and Vajrayana (Tibet, Mongolia and Japan).

SYNOPSIS

Life's goal is nirvana. Toward that end, Buddha's teachings are capsulized in the Four Noble Truths, chatvari arya satyani:

THE TRUTH OF SUFFERING: Suffering, duhkha, is the central fact of life. Being born is pain, growing old is pain, sickness is pain, death is pain. Union with what we dislike is pain, separation from what we like is pain, not obtaining what we desire is pain.
THE TRUTH OF THE ORIGIN (SAMUDaYA) OF SUFFERING: The cause of suffering is the desire (icchha), craving (tanha) or thirst (trishna) for sensual pleasures, for existence and experience, for worldly possessions and power. This craving binds one to the wheel of rebirth, samsara.
THE TRUTH OF THE CESSATION (NIRODHA) OF SUFFERING: Suffering can be brought to an end only by the complete cessation of desires -- the forsaking, relinquishing and detaching of oneself from desire and craving.
THE TRUTH OF THE PATH (marga) TO ENDING SUFFERING: The means to the end of suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path (arya ashtanga marga), right belief, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right meditation.

BUDDHIST BELIEFS

I believe that the Supreme is completely transcendent and can be described as Sunya, a void or state of nonbeing.

I believe in the Four Noble Truths: 1) that suffering is universal; 2) that desire is the cause of suffering; 3) that suffering may be ended by the annihilation of desire; 4) that to end desire one must follow the Eight-Fold Path.

I believe in the Eight-Fold Path of right belief, right aims, right speech, right actions, right occupation, right endeavor, right mindfulness and right meditation.

I believe that life's aim is to end suffering through the annihilation of individual existence and absorption into nirvana, the Real.

I believe in the "Middle Path," living moderately, avoiding extremes of luxury and asceticism.

I believe in the greatness of self-giving love and compassion toward all creatures that live, for these contain merit exceeding the giving of offerings to the Gods.

I believe in the sanctity of the Buddha and in the sacred scriptures of Buddhism: the Tripitaka (Three Baskets of Wisdom) and/or the Mahayana Sutras.

I believe that man's true nature is divine and eternal, yet his individuality is subject to the change that affects all forms and is therefore transient, dissolving at liberation into nirvana.

I believe in dharma (the Way), karma (cause and effect), reincarnation, the sanga (brotherhood of seekers) and the passage on Earth as an opportunity to end the cycle of birth and death.
Please visit, if you wish to seek further
http://www.himalayanacademy.com/resources/books/wih/

Answer 2

Atman, which is the eternal and infinite core of every real being or self and is God Brahman ,is the main difference; Buddhism rejects this(Anatman)but teaches that all have a Buddha nature and potentially can become Buddhas(Enlightened or Awakened Ones) Buddhism has no caste system(some forms of Hinduism no longer do either) Buddhism claims a founder and Hinduism does not Buddhists may have gods if they choose but such cannot save you since only you can attain enlightenment and Hinduism sees the role and worship of the gods/God as important in moksha( but there are forms of Hinduism that do not) Both have reincarnation,karma and Nirvana and dharma Also, there are people who are simultaneously both Hindu and Buddhist Buddhism has the 4 Noble truths, the Eightfold Path and the 5 Precepts and Hinduism has the Laws of Mani Hinduism has the Vedas, the Epics Mahabarata and Ramayana and the Upanishads which are older than the Buddhist Pali Canon and the sutras

Answer 3

For starters...

Hinduism is a "theistic" religion, meaning it's a religion that involves belief and/or worship in dieties (gods and/or goddesses, spirits, etc.), and in the case of Hinduism, tens of thousands if not millions of 'em (Polytheism).

Buddhism is a "non-theistic" religion, as opposed to Hinduism and other theistic faiths (e.g. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Baha'i Faith, Zoroastrianism, etc.). In fact, in reality, many of its followers believe that it's not a religion itself, but rather teachings (teachings handed down from its founder, Siddharta Gautama) to guide one to directly experiencing reality.

BOTH RELIGIONS ARE "INDIAN/DHARMIC RELIGIONS"

Answer 4

1

Answer 5

Read a book instead of asking a bunch of laypeople. Heck, read wikipedia articles.

Answer 6

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinduism

Answer 7

Yep they both have missed God