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Mary Pleiss

Mr. Diaz-Williamson

World History

1 March 2019

Hinduism and Buddhism

In Classical India, religion was a very important part of culture and way of life. India is

where many major religions began, including Hinduism and Buddhism, which are still very

popular today. Questions regarding our place in the universe and the reasons for suffering are

crucially important to these religions, causing the founders to contemplate and investigate them

by looking within.

The first concept of what our place is in the universe can be answered by the beliefs and

practices of Hinduism. The main idea from Hinduism is trying to discover what a certain

individual’s place in society is. We must discover that for ourselves by following Hindu

methods. Some of these methods include meditation, to explore one’s thoughts and become more

in touch with one’s self, and doing their dharma, which means "cosmic law and order" but more

simply refers to one's duty in society. The idea of dharma was most likely appealing to people in

that time period because peasants may be wondering why they are in the lower class and want to

gain higher status, but if they are doing their dharma they might feel better about being in a

lower caste. If one does their dharma and practices Hindu rituals, they will accumulate good

karma and be born into a better life. After many cycles of life and rebirth, moksha could be

realized. Moksha directly translates to liberation but is actually the full awareness that Brahman

equals Atman and being released from the cycle of samsara. Samsara is a Sanskrit word that
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refers to the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, and upon rebirth, the soul is passed on to another

body. Another Hindu practice is karma, the idea that our actions affect our next life, which is

commonly referred to in everyday life. Combining these practices and living your life in order to

realize moksha will help an individual to get to the heart of Hinduism: doing dharma in order to

gain full recognition over the fact that the force of the universe exists in us.

A question that Buddhism tries to answer is "why is there suffering in the world?" In

Buddhism, it is believed that suffering exists because of desire. As humans, we are prone to want

the things we do not or can not have. Buddhists believe that if desire is eliminated, suffering will

be too. The elimination of desire is achieved by realizing nirvana. Nirvana is a Sanskrit word that

means “extinguishing of self.” It is the freedom from a cycle of life, death, and rebirth that is

filled with suffering and never ends, called samsara. In order to achieve this, one must follow the

“Eightfold Path.” This path consists of eight disciplines: right effort, right mindfulness, right

livelihood, right speech, right view, right resolve, right conduct, and right samadhi (which is

essentially the unification of the mind). Once an individual follows this path, they can be rid of

desire and therefore rid of suffering as well.

Buddhism and Hinduism would most likely be appealing in the Classical Era because

there was constant suffering and they wanted another way. With the alternate path that these

religions offered, people were drawn in. Now, life has a seemingly endless cycle so these

religions are appealing in a new way. Humans go through a monotonous cycle of being born,

working hard in school, working hard in a job, and dying. Hinduism and Buddhism could be

used to try to break out of this cycle.

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Hinduism and Buddhism have a somewhat different approach to religion. Instead of

worshipping a God, they promote the importance of the individual and their inner-self. They

offer the best ways to live life in order to achieve greater mindfulness, whether that be doing

your dharma to eventually achieve moksha (and be released from the cycle of samsara) or

following the Eightfold Path to reach a state of nirvana. There are a few differences between the

religions, for example in Hinduism they believe in “Atman” (which is the soul) and “Brahman”

(which is one’s eternal life) but in Buddhism, they urge individuals to find wisdom and

knowledge through meditation. However, the creators of Hinduism and Buddhism were able to

discover the answers to big, universal questions by looking inward and practicing mindfulness.