Get Chapter Section Quiz Hinduism And Buddhism Develop

Both believe in a continuing cycle of life, suffering, death, and rebirth, but for Buddhists the goal of enlightenment is call nirvana, while it is called moksha in Hinduism. Hinduism and Buddhism are like twins sharing a lot of the same terminology and concepts, but each has its own distinguishing features.

Buddhism arose in the Gangetic plains of Eastern India in the 5th century BCE during the "second urbanisation" (600 BCE - 200 BCE). Hinduism developed as a fusion or synthesis of practices and ideas from the ancient Vedic religion and elements and deities from other local Indian traditions.

Despite all these hostilities, Hinduism and Buddhism did in fact exert considerable influence upon each other. Buddhist ideas, practices and ideals found their counterparts within various Hindu developments, and a number of Buddhist texts, in particular Mahayana scriptures, reflect Hindu influence.

Indeed, since Siddhartha was born into a Hindu family, Buddhism is considered to have originated in part from the Hindu religious tradition and some Hindus revere Buddha as an incarnation of a Hindu deity.

It could be said that Buddhism emerged out of Hinduism because Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, grew up learning Hindu teachings before he became a traveling monk and gained enlightenment. Considering this overlapping background between Buddhism and Hinduism, it is natural that both share common ideas.

Buddhism and Hinduism agree on karma, dharma, moksha and reincarnation. They are different in that Buddhism rejects the priests of Hinduism, the formal rituals, and the caste system. Buddha urged people to seek enlightenment through meditation.

While mindfulness is the focus of Buddhist meditation reached by focusing sustained attention on the body, on breathing and on the content of the thoughts, reaching an ineffable state of nothigness accompanied by a loss of sense of self and duality (Samadhi) is the main focus of Hinduism-inspired meditation.