Hinduism vs. Buddhism
...endlessly in the cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth. When man discovers the Path of Desire is not fulfilling, he is ready to start on the Path of Renunciation. When he discovers this, he is ready to except his duty to others, family, community, and dedicates himself to a life of service. This is rewarding but he still yearns for infinite being, infinite awareness, and infinite joy (Sprunger, 1). Achieving these ultimatums is not easy and to do so we must realize the basic purpose of life is to pass beyond imperfection. That which is beyond the limitation and imperfections of life can only be found within. This means that underlying our very physical existence and personality is an infinite reservoir of reality. This infinite center of every life (comparable slightly to the soul in other religions), this hidden authentic self or Atman is not less than Brahman, the Godhead. When we detach ourselves from the finite, illusory self and commit ourselves to Atman-Brahman, we can achieve infinite awareness and infinite joy. This philosophy has its basis in the sacrificial, priestly form of worship in Hinduism. It emphasizes meditation as a means of worship and teaches that ignorance is man’s basic plight. Classical Hinduism also produced the ethnical Code of Manu, which teaches that the caste system is divinely ordained. The first three castes the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas, and the Vaishayas are “twice born” people while the Shudras are “once born” manual laborers. The only way to move upward in the caste system would be by repeated incarnations. Although the caste system is outlawed in contemporary India, the social influences are still strong. The Code of Manu also teaches the various stages through which a man is expected to pass in a successful life: student, householder, hermit, and wandering beggar. These stages of living are only meant solely for “twice born” men. Women should stay in the home under the protection and control of the chief male in the household. The code also requires the cultivation of pleasantness, knowledge, truthfulness, and non irritability. The killing of a cow is considered among the greatest of sins. Near the end of the classical period of Hinduism, subtle changes gradually appear in Hinduism. Out of the millions of major and minor gods, worship became centered on the Trimurti, which includes Brahman, the creator; Shiva, the destroyer; and Vishnu, the preserver. Among this trinity, Brahman receives the least attention. Shiva is the most popular of the three because he is the god of sex and reproduction and appeals to the deprivation experienced by the masses. According to mythology, Vishnu has appeared on earth in nine forms and will come a tenth time to bring the world to an end. Among his appearances are Krishna; Gautama, the Buddha; Matsya, the fish who saved Manu from a great flood; and Christ. The majority of the people of India seek salvation through devotion to the gods while many of the wealthy and educated seek salvation through knowledge. The intellectual Hinduism centers around six systems of philosophy, which are Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Vedanta, Vaiseshika, and Nyana. All six of these philosophies base their claim around the Vedas and all have common themes. The only difference between them is their view of ultimate reality. Jainism and Buddism later began as reform movements in Hinduism and it has absorbed much of their thinking. Buddhism adapted part of its beliefs from Hinduism. Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 BC), or the Enlightened one in Sanskrit, founded Buddhism in India. Although the earliest accounts of his life were not recorded until about three hundred years after his death, the history that is now written is accepted by most Buddhists as being true and forms the model for all Buddhists today. Buddha in itself means “the enlightened one.” When Siddhartha was an infant, a sage visited the King’s court and made a prophecy that Siddhartha would become either a great ruler like his father if he remained in the palace or if he went out into the world, he would become a Buddha (Contender Ministries). The King believed that if Siddhartha were exposed to any human misery he would leave his home to seek out the truth. Therefore, the King ordered his subjects to shield Siddhartha from any form of evil or suffering. Despite his father’s attempts to shield his son, Siddhartha ventured outside and observed a leper, a corpse, and an ascetic (Contender Ministries). From his observations he determined that happiness was an illusion and as soon as his first son was born he left the kingdom on a pilgrimage of inquiry. For six or seven years, he sought communion with the supreme cosmic spirit, first through the teaching of two Brahmin hermits and then in the company of five monks. Despite gaining this knowledge, he did not believe that he had found truth. At this point he discovered the importance of what he called the Middle Way. Instead of denying himself food or sleep or even worldly things like the monks did, he consumed food and did not deny himself worldly things. This angered the monks and Siddhartha decided it was best for him to continue on him pilgrimage. As the story goes, at Gaya in northeast India, he sat at the foot of a fig tree where Mara, the evil one, tried to thwart his becoming the Buddha. After withstanding the temptations from Mara, he received a revelation. He then felt he knew the way to escape the cruel cycle of rebirth and claimed to have discovered the four noble truths (Pativedhanana) and henceforth was the Buddha (Contender Ministries). He decided he would not retreat into solitude with his knowledge as the monks had done, but instead share his new found knowledge with others. Siddhartha died shortly after consuming poisoned food from a black smith. His followers then convened and created a system of doctrines of these teachings. Buddhist monks first passed down the doctrines orally for many generations. In 80 BC, Buddhist scribes finally compiled the teachings of the Buddha on paper, which became the Pali Canon, also called the Triptaka. These teachings contained the rules of conduct, methods of spiritual attainment, and the ethics taught by the Buddha. Buddhism is based on the “Wheel of the Law.” Contrary to the Hindu cast system which you could only move through by incarnation, the Buddhists recruited disciples from all castes. According to Buddha, nirvana, or deliverance from suffering, is extended to everyone who strictly obeys the laws of monastic life. It was believed however, that the cast system was important for the framework of temporal life. The Buddha rejected subservience of any kind to a supreme God and denied belief in an eternal self. While he still did believe that karma would determine the kind of rebirth and quality of life one would have a...