Hinduism Vs Buddddhism

Buddhism vs. Hinduism

Buddhism and Hinduism are both widely practiced throughout the world today. Although they were both created centuries ago, they have remained very popular (both in the top 5 religions). Today, both religions have evolved but still maintained most of their traditions and beliefs. Like almost all religions; Hinduism and Buddhism share similarities yet differ from one another at the same time.

One example of Hinduism differing from Buddhism is their caste system. The caste system divides the Hindu people into four major classes, Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra, and "untouchables," or people outside of all the classes. Members of certain castes have certain duties. Caste is determined by birth, allowing no social advancement, career choice, or individual freedom. The castes are socially ranked, forming an upper social division as well as lower ones. Buddhism, on the other hand, plays little role in the social or political structure of a society. Buddhism actually began as a reaction to the violence of Hindu society, including the brutality of the caste system. Buddhism concentrates not on the society, but on the individual. This can be observed in the movie "Little Buddha" directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, when Siddhartha finally sees the "other side" of his city and it makes him sad to see such suffering so he leaves and creates Buddhism.

A similarity that Hinduism and Buddhism share is their beliefs on suffering. Unlike some religions Both Hinduism and Buddhism believe in "suffering". They also both believe that suffering is caused by attachment to things in the physical world. Therefore they both believe that if you aren't attached to anything in the physical world, you will not experience and suffering.

Overall you can tell that Hinduism and Buddhism are both similar and different. They both had their own views on the worlds but at the same time those different views were also very similar in many ways. Indirectly these religions may seem to be the same religion to some, and to others very different, but to me they are different while sharing some similarities.