Essay on Similarities of Buddhism and Hinduism

In the current essay I will review the similarities of Buddhism and Hinduism. Almost every religious Sanskrit word has its equivalent in the lexicon of Hindu philosophy Buddhist. The first Buddha adopted many of the terms already used in philosophical discussions of his time. In any case, many of these terms were reinterpreted or redefined in the Buddhist tradition.

Buddhism developed in India in context of Indian philosophy and religion, which included Hinduism and Jainism. Although Buddhism has some common features with these religions, however, there are fundamental differences.

It is worth noting that Buddhism – is the religious and philosophical teachings of spiritual awakening, which arose around the VI century BC. in ancient India. The founder is Siddhartha Gautama, who later received the name of Buddha Shakyamuni.

It is important to note that Hinduism – is a Religion, originated in the Indian subcontinent. The historical name of Hinduism in Sanskrit – is the Sanatana Dharma, which means “eternal religion,” “eternal way” or “eternal law”.

It should be noted that like Hinduism, Buddhism speaks of karma, but the idea of karma is completely different. This is not the idea of destiny or fate, like the idea of Islamic kismata, or God’s will. It does not exist in classical Hinduism, Buddhism, although in contemporary popular Hinduism, it sometimes takes a value due to the influence of Islam. Both in Hinduism, and Buddhism there is contained the idea of rebirth, but it is understood in different ways.

All in all, it should be noted that non-violence to living being is one of the main similarities between Buddhism and Hinduism. There is also a visual similarity between the two religions.