Both Buddhism and Hinduism are well known religions and are two of the most popular faiths in the world, Hinduism ranking at number three and Buddhism taking the fourth spot on the list. To the untrained eye, Buddhism and Hinduism are commonly mistaken for the same religion due to their “many similarities”. However, any parallels that are found between Buddhism and Hinduism is more than likely the result of them been originated in the same Asian region. By comparing and contrasting Buddhism and Hinduism, it will be made plain the level of similarities between both religions due to their region of origin, as well as putting an end to any misconceptions that placed them together as the same religion. Both Buddhism and Hinduism are fixated on …show more content…
Opposing Hinduism, Buddhism does not believe in the existence of souls. Buddhism is against the logic that any god or goddess in the Hindu religion is equal to the Buddha. The Buddha taught his followers that the belief in gods was not useful for those seeking enlightenment.When Lord Buddha introduced Buddhism to the world there were no divisions or sects or traditions in Buddhism; the caste system was thrown out as well as gender bias. However, once the Lord Buddha passed away there were some struggles with the opinions of different bhikkhus (Buddhist monks), and as a result, there exists two major traditions in Buddhism: Theravada and Mahayana. Hinduism has many forms of holy texts but the Buddha said that his followers should not accept doctrines just because they read them in scripture or are taught them by priests. Instead of teaching doctrines to be memorized, the Buddha taught how them to realize truth for themselves. The major outline of Buddhist practice is the Eightfold Path. Desire is the cause of all suffering, according to Buddhism. Hence, they consider the world a repository of suffering. The eradication of suffering and achievement of nirvana is considered the primary aim of human life. By following the Eightfold Path: right understanding, right purpose, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right alertness, and right meditative