Throughout the course of this class, we have had the opportunity to dissect two religions that are dominant in the Eastern hemisphere, Hinduism and Buddhism. They are commonly the highlights of Indian philosophical thought. Both religions have rooted from the same soil in a sense, and therefore have overlapping concepts that are evident when studied. Both religions believe in the idea that the universe displays a periodical series of ascending, existing, then vanishing without beginning and end. Both Hinduism and Buddhism believe in the idea that actions lead to future consequences (karma). Both are influenced by the concept of the transitory character of existence in the world and ultimately hope to achieve liberation over the course of their …show more content…
Atman is the most basic and fundamental aspect of Hinduism. The simple definition of atman is inner self or soul. Practicing Hindus believe that there is Atman (a soul) in every being. Atman is the true self of an individual that is beyond identification with phenomena, and in order to obtain liberation, an individual must acquire self-knowledge. Atman is also believed to be part of the universal Brahman, with which it can fuse after moksha is achieved. This is the water droplet falling into the ocean example that Professor Rice gave in class. On the contrary, Buddhism believes in the concept of anatman. This is the idea that there is no permanent, underlying substance that can be called the soul in the sense of a permanent, autonomous being within an individual existence. This is not to say that nothing exists at all; rather, the individual is a combination of five different aggregates that are constantly changing. These five factors are matter, feeling, perception, thought process, and consciousness. Personally I find the concept of anatman more compelling mostly due to the fact that it is an easier notion for me to understand. Looking past the argument of atman versus anatman, I look at the five aggregates of Buddhism as a recipe of, “How to Make a Human” basically. The concept of a soul is something that I have always struggled with because I find myself coming