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Hinduism and Buddhism
AP World History
Bartlett High School
Mr. Pahl
Hinduism
 No single founder
 No single sacred text.
 Grew out of various groups in India:
 The Aryans added their religious beliefs to
those of the Indus Valley.
 Our of all its complexity, though, there are
certain basic beliefs…
Hindu Beliefs…
 God is one, but is known by many names.
 Everything in the universe is part of the
unchanging, all-powerful force called Brahman.
 Brahman is too complex for most people to
understand.
 They worship gods that give a concrete form to
Brahman.
 Gods are Brahma the Creator; Vishnu the
preserver, Shiva, the destroyer
 All are aspects of Brahman
 Every person has an essential life, or atman.
More Hindu beliefs
 But even the atman is just another name for
Brahman.
 The ultimate goal is to attain moksha, union
with Brahman.
 Since this usually takes more than one
lifetime, Hindus believe in reincarnation.
 Reincarnation is the rebirth of the soul in
another bodily form. Samsara.
 Karma; your good or bad deeds affect one’s
future, and the future of those around one,
for good or suffering
 Respect for all life – vegetarian
 Human life as supreme:
– Four “stations” of life (Caste) - priests &
teachers, nobles & warriors, merchant class,
servant class
– Four stages of life – student, householder,
retired, renunciant
– Four duties of life – pleasure, success, social
responsibilities, religious responsibilities
(moksha)
Major Gods
 Brahma, the creator god
 Vishnu, the preserver god
 Shiva, god of constructive destruction
(the transformer)
 Saraswati, goddess of wisdom, consort of
Brahma
 Lakshmi, goddess of good fortune,
consort
of Vishnu
 Kali, destroyer of demons
 Ganesha-He is the Lord of success and
destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also
worshipped as the god of education,
knowledge, wisdom and wealth
More Hindu Beliefs…
 All existence is ranked: Brahman, humans,
animals, plants, things.
 To help escape the wheel of fate, dharma,
religious duties, can help one acquire merit
for the next life.
 Vedas and Upanishads are sacred texts. The
BhagavadGita spells out many ethical ideas.
 Ahimsa is another key principle of
Hinduism; nonviolence.
Buddha
 Gautama Buddha, from the foothills of the
Himalayas, founded a new religion.
 Gautama born about 566 BC
 He saw for the first time in his protected
environment, a sick person, an older person,
and a dead person.
 Gautama left a happy married life to
discover the realm of life “where there is
neither suffering or death.”
Buddha…
 He meditated and fasted. For 48 days he
meditated in one place. He believed he understood
the cure for suffering and sorrow; he was now
Buddha.
 The Four Noble Truths are the heart of Buddhism:
1. All life is full of suffering, pain and sorrow.
2. The cause of suffering is the desire for things that are
really illusions, such as riches, power and long life.
3. The only cure for suffering is to overcome desire.
4. The way to overcome desire is to follow the Eightfold
The Eightfold Path:
 Right views
 Right aspirations
 Right speech
 Right conduct
 Right Livelihood
 Right effort
 Right mindfulness
 Right contemplation
Buddhism
 Final goal of Buddhism is nirvana,
union with the universe and release
from the cycle of rebirth.
 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.
Hinduism and Buddhism
Compared
Hinduism
and
Buddhism
Similarities
Differences
Karma
Buddhism rejects the
priests of Hinduism,
the formal rituals, and
the caste system.
Buddha urged people
to seek enlightenment
through meditation
Dharma
Moksha
Reincarnation
Buddhism
 Buddha preached in northern India and his teachings
spread.
 Buddhas followers gathered his teachings into the
Tripitaka.
 Gradually Buddhism split into two parts, schools:
– Theravada Buddhism. Closely followed Buddha’s original
teachings.
– Mahayana Buddhism. Made following Buddhism easier for
the ordinary people.
 Buddhism declined in India, being swallowed up by
Hinduism which made Buddha another Hindu god.