Hinduism And Buddhism Research Paper

1153 Words5 Pages

In Hinduism and Buddhism there are important religious practices/devotions. One of those being meditation. There are many reasons why the practice of meditation is important in both Hinduism and Buddhism, even though they are different. Hinduism emphasizes meditation as yoga. Yoga is known for relaxing, but in religious terms it is categorized as the uniting of the self with God. The ultimate goal of meditation according to Patanjali is the destruction of ignorance and the realization of the true nature of the self. The main two types of yoga that is apart of the Hindu culture include, hatha (physical exercises to increase your physical being and health), and Raja (includes both physical and mental techniques in order to make liberation from …show more content…

Buddhist believe that it is hard to understand the teaching of Buddhism without acquiring a sense of devotion to meditation. While the foundation of many religions is a god, or deity, it can be said that the major focus of Buddhism is the mind, or consciousness. The state of consciousness is of primary concern – all other matters, such as reincarnation or the nature of God, are secondary. One reason why meditation is an important part of religious practice is because it enables practitioners to identify, understand, and eliminate patterns of thought towards desire and suffering perpetuation. Which only means that they learn to relax and become one with their inner peace or consciousness. This can be practiced many of ways that include, Shamatha and Vipassana Meditation, or Walking meditation. Another reason why the practice of meditation is important is because Buddha attained enlightenment through meditation, and meditation is found to be the key for Buddhist to acquire and attain enlightenment. Attaining enlightenment is having a state of perfect knowledge or wisdom, and it is combined with compassion. This is important for them because everyone has the ability to attain enlightenment and meditation shows the …show more content…

One way that they differ is in ideology. In Hinduism, the ideology. The history of meditation is more spiritual than religion. The purposes of meditation in Hinduism are different in these ways; physical, mental, and spiritual improvement, and control of mind. In the most simple sense Meditation is the way of getting in union with the creator or Paramatma. Buddhists on the other hand do not believe in God but considers meditation as an essential part of their religion. The main purpose of meditation in Buddhism is self-realization or