Comparative Analysis of Hinduism, Theravada

Buddhism, and Mahayana Buddhism

I n Hinduism and Buddhism (Mahayana and Theravada), dharma is an integral concept. In Hinduism,
dharma refers to the religious and moral law governing a person’s conduct. It is also one of the four
Hindu goals of life. For the two Buddhist schools, it may pertain to the cosmic law and order or to
Buddha’s teachings. Apart from the Buddha and the sangha, the dharma is one of the “Three Jewels” to
which Buddhist followers go for refuge. Hinduism and Buddhism both originated in India. Hindu
followers comprise 80% of India’s population of more than a billion or about 14% of the world’s
population. Meanwhile, there are more than 370 million Buddhists around the world that represent about
6% of the entire population. Quite interestingly, while Buddhism began in India, it almost died out as a
living religion in its place of origin (Coogan 2005). Majority of its followers can be found in China Japan,
Korea, and Indochina Peninsula. The major sects of Buddhism include Theravada and Mahayana schools
of thought.
ORIGIN
Both Hinduism and Buddhism, two of the world’s great religions, trace their origin in India. Believed to
be the oldest living religion in the world, the early beginnings of Hinduism with its forms and themes may
have begun around the third millennium B.C.E. (Hopfe 1983). As the precise time of its founding is very
much difficult to determine, Hinduism evolved and developed during the ancient Indus Valley
civilization. It is widely regarded that both pre-Aryan and Aryan elements are found in Hinduism (Brown
1975). A timeless religion as it is and a way of life for its adherents, Hinduism has no precise moment of
origin and no one specific founder or prophet unlike most other world religions. Throughout its long
history, Hinduism became the source of three other religions, namely, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
Buddhism also traces its origins in northern India around the sixth century B.C.E. as another
interpretation of the Hindu belief. This religion is closely linked to its founder Siddhartha Gautama who is
also referred to as the Buddha or the “Enlightened One.” A son of a Kshatriya chief, the once affluent
Siddhartha abandoned the comfort of his palace and family as he set to discover the remedy to universal
suffering he observed in this world. After long periods of abstinence and meditation, he finally reached
enlightenment (nirvana) and became known as the “Buddha” or the “enlightened one.” He preached
mainly in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent such as in Magadha and Kosala. About 500 years
after Buddha’s enlightenment, a schism within the Buddhist religion resulted in the emergence of two
major branches around the first century C.E, namely, the Theravada and Mayahana schools of tradition.
Both schools owe their fundamental teachings to the Buddha whose life has become an inspiration to
millions of followers all over the world. Around the third century B.C.E., Buddhism reached neighboring
Asian countries as a result of the missionary zeal of Indian rulers. A different outlook to salvation
attracted many Asian people to embrace the tenets of Buddhism as it reached China, India, Korea, and
Indochina Peninsula. However, while Buddhism was successfully converting people in faraway places,
Buddhist fervor gradually waned in native India as a result of resurging Hinduism. The resurgence in
Hinduism is due to how Hinduism absorbed the rising challenge of other new religions as it incorporated
their elements into the Hindu belief.
MORALITY
Hinduism is said to be the most tolerant of all religions as there are numerous ways to manifest one’s set
of Hindu beliefs (Hopfe 1983). In short, the Hindus themselves differ in the manner of practicing their
religion. However, while Hinduism may seemingly lack a cohesive system of beliefs and practices, most
of its adherents hold several key moral values such as karma and dharma. The concept of karma involves
the accumulation of one’s past deeds that have a direct effect on one’s present condition. Karma is closely
linked to the Hindu belief of reincarnation (samsara) or the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Bad deeds,
including actions and thoughts, may result in one being born into an unpleasant circumstance in the next
life. On the other hand, good deeds generate an enjoyable disposition in one’s next life. In short, karma is
the universal law of causality. The notion of balance and order in this universe is integral to the Hindu
belief. People are born in this world with specific duties to perform in accordance to their status in
society, such as those elements related to gender and caste. This is the concept of dharma wherein people
must accomplish their tasks so that society can prosper as a whole. Evidently, dharma is a complex term
that could mean law, duty, order, justice, or norm within Hinduism. To disregard one’s dharma is
tantamount to reaping bad karma that could have an adverse effect in the next life. By performing one’s
dharma correctly, one gains good karma. Essentially, dharma brings morality and ethics in the Hindu
belief system. While the Buddha embraced the general framework of Indian ideas, he radically altered
many of them (Bowker 1997). Similarly, the cycle of rebirth persists in Buddhism and succeeding lives
may be affected by the moral laws of cause and effect or karma. Until one has achieved enlightenment,
one’s deed in the present lifetime will affect the course of future rebirths. Buddhist moral thoughts and
actions are principally guided by the “Four Noble Truths” formulated by the Buddha, along with the basic
guide called the “Eightfold Paths” that are divided into three categories, namely, right view, right
conduct, and right practice. Unhappiness of life (dukkha) is principally caused by people’s unending
desires. People are advised to scrutinize their motivations and ponder upon the outcome of their actions
keeping in mind Buddha’s teachings. Anything harmful to others, in deed and in thought, must always be
avoided. The two major schools of Buddhism, the Theravada and Mahayana sects, follow the “Four
Noble Truths” and the “Noble Eightfold Path.”
PURPOSE
In Hinduism, there are four desirable goals of life (purushartha). All Hindus aim to achieve the four-fold
purpose of life that includes dharma, artha, kama, and moksha. Dharma means to behave appropriately
and act righteously. In essence, dharma is a path toward a pleasant rebirth through fulfillment of one’s
destiny that is often defined by class, family, social status, age, and gender. It also involves paying debts
to gods, fellow humans, and other living beings during their lifetime. Artha pertains to the pursuit of
legitimate worldly prosperity or material well-being. Wealth must be gained by way of lawful measures.
As one pursues success, dharma must always be kept in mind. Kama refers to the pursuit of legitimate
pleasure as one obtains enjoyment in life, such as those related to arts, music, and dance. This could also
include satisfaction of one’s desire or sexuality. Moksha is the final meaning of life that involves
enlightenment, self-realization, or union with god. For the Hindus, this is the most difficult goal of life to
accomplish. While some can accomplish moksha in just one lifetime, others may take several
reincarnations in another physical form just to be liberated from the cycle of rebirth. While ignorance and
illusion hinder the enlightenment of sentient beings, they can still escape these bondages. In essence, the
main purpose of their life is to obtain release from the cycle of reincarnation or at least a better rebirth. In
addition to the four goals of life, traditional Hindus often pass the four stages of life (ashramas). The first
stage of Hindu life is that of being a student (brahmacarya). As a bachelor, he lives in the house of a guru
and studies sacred scriptures under his guidance. The second stage is that of being a householder
(grihastha) wherein he takes in a wife, raises children, and contributes to the well-being of society (Brown
1975). During the third stage (vanaprastha), he withdraws to the forest with his wife as he undergoes
meditation to understand the meaning of life. Finally, the fourth stage (samnyasin) involves renouncing
the world and all its attachments as he now becomes a holy sage. The first three stages are obligatory in
nature while the fourth is only optional and not all men attain it. In Buddhism, the principal purpose of
one’s life is to terminate all forms of suffering caused by attachment to impermanent entities, such as
material things, friends, and health. All these do not offer enduring happiness but sorrow. When one
recognizes the impermanence of all these things, an individual begins to free one’s self from attachment
thereby reducing suffering and ending the cycle of rebirth. Buddha’s teachings on the “Four Noble
Truths” and the “Noble Eightfold Path” form the basic tenets of all Buddhist sects. In Theravada
Buddhism, the monastic way of life ensures the path toward enlightenment. For the Buddhist laity, they
must first be reborn as monks for them to be eligible for enlightenment. As members of the laity perform
good deeds, positive karma may bring forth a pleasant condition in the next life. In contrast, Mahayana
Buddhism offers enlightenment to anyone, not only for the members of the monastic order, but also for
those with families and secular careers. Moreover, the Mahayana branch of Buddhism attracts followers
because it offers a faster route to enlightenment than the Theravada sect.
DESTINY
Simply put, the destiny of all Hindus involves reincarnation until such time they gain ultimate
enlightenment. Hinduism believes that within the human is an eternal soul (atman) that is being reborn
millions of times and in many forms subject to the moral law of karma (Bowker 1997). While the soul is
immortal and naturally blissful, it could plunge into darkness because of ignorance and delusion
concerning reality. Moral law enables souls to create their own destiny leading to a pleasurable or
repulsive state of existence. Hindu practices to achieve enlightenment involves yoga, meditation, proper
worship, rituals, devotion to gods and goddesses, pilgrimage to sacred shrines, and performing one’s
duties. For the Hindus, the idea of an eternal heaven or hell is unfounded as it does not uphold genuine
moral behavior. In fact, the concept of heaven and hell can be exploited by religious groups just wanting
to lure or scare people. Meanwhile, Buddhism holds that no soul is being reborn because there is no
permanence in anything (Bowker 1997). The Buddha preached to his followers to achieve their own
salvation conscientiously because external forces have no control over their life and circumstances. They
control their own fate as they are bound to the law of causality. Buddhist destiny, therefore, is the direct
result of natural law or dharma and one’s accumulated deeds or karma. Here lies the glaring difference of
Buddhism as a dharmic religion when compared to other world religions that teach the concept of fate or
predestiny. For Buddhist followers, life and events are not controlled by an all-powerful creator or
universal force. In contrast to Hinduism and other religions, the Buddhist goal is neither absorption into
Brahman nor union with God. Instead, Buddhists aspire to reach nirvana or the extinguishing of fires of
longing and suffering (Bowker 1997). When one has achieved nirvana, one has attained the state of
perfect peace wherein attachment, aversion, and ignorance have ceased once and for all. In the Theravada
school of Buddhism, the trainings on the development of ethical conduct, meditation, and insight assist in
eradicating all forms of evil in order to acquire goodness and purify the mind. All worldly things are
momentary and impermanent. By following the “Middle Path” and practicing the basic doctrines of
Buddhism, there is a realization that desire can be terminated and suffering reduced. In the end, a
perfected state of insight can be accomplished. A person who has attained this position is called an arhat
or a “worthy person” who must be emulated by Theravada Buddhists. Adherents can reach an enlightened
status through their own ways without any assistance from any divine beings, such as gods or goddesses.
With the help of Buddha’s teachings, the journey toward nirvana becomes possible. Meanwhile, the
Mahayana sect devotes much attention to the bodhisattvas or “enlightened beings” who delay their own
enlightenment for them to benevolently aid other beings to reach their ultimate end. All beings can follow
the path of the bodhisattvas which is the ideal way for all Buddhists to live. Well-known in the Mahayana
sect are Avalokitesvara, Manjusri, Ksitigarbha, and Samantabhadra. The Theravada sect only accepts
Maitreya as boddhisatva. The vow of a bodhisattva is as follows: “However innumerable sentient beings
are, I vow to save them. However inexhaustible the defilements are, I vow to extinguish them. However
immeasurable the dharmas are, I vow to master them. However incomparable enlightenment is, I vow to
attain it.”
VIEWS ON WOMEN
The status of women in ancient India leaves much to be desired as they are always seen as inferior to
men in all aspects of life. Restrictions abound with regard to their daily activities; tending household
chores would be their primary role. Women are to be cared for by their parents in their childhood days, by
their husbands when they marry, and by their sons when they reach old age. Religious and educational
liberties for women are severely lacking. Honoring women in Hindu society as a fundamental teaching
has been laid down in one of the supplementary arms of the Vedas, the Manusmriti or the “Laws of
Manu.” Based on this standard book in the Hindu canon, women must attend ritualistic practices despite
the fact that they had no roles to play in these activities. According to this basic text, the three-stage
pattern for a woman include that a woman child be protected by her father, a wife must be protected by
her husband, and an old woman be protected by her sons. As a married woman, she must become a good
wife and treat her husband as a god. She must serve and follow him, and pray for him. She often eats
when her husband has finished eating. In return, a husband must also revere his wife as a goddess. The
sacred text adds that the happiness of the wife is crucial in the stability of the family. Cases of having
several wives also exist in Indian society that naturally breed hatred and jealousies among the wives.
More so, women are not allowed to remarry after the death of their husbands. Shaving their head is a
requirement to make them unappealing to other interested men. The most difficult chores are given to
widows and they are forbidden to eat alongside family members. Widows are personification of all the
negative characteristics of a woman, ill-fated and wretched. Widows are brought to the Indian city of
Vrindavan by their families who eventually abandon them there. A widow can opt to commit sati or the
act of killing herself by jumping into the funeral pyre of her husband. It is believed that immolating one’s
self assures immense rewards for the family and gives a chance to the wife to be with her husband in the
next life. The practice of sati has now been banned in India especially with the passage of Sati
(Prevention) Act of 1988 that criminalized any type of involvement in sati. On the other hand, women
have enjoyed considerable freedom in their religious life in Buddhism as compared to Hinduism. The
Buddha himself allowed the full participation of women in all major Buddhist rites and practices. For so
long a time when women’s duties were confined to household and kitchen duties, Buddha radically
changed this when he allowed women to join the monastic order and attain enlightenment in equal footing
with men. In the past, learned women members of sangha include Dhammadinna, Khema, and
Uppalavanna. Fully-ordained Buddhist female monastic members are bhikkunis. For the Buddha, men are
not always wise and women can also be wise. In Buddhism, women should not be treated as inferior to
men because both are equally valuable in society. Women as wives and mothers have roles to fulfill in the
family and society. Husbands and wives must equally share responsibilities in the family with the same
zeal. Wives must also familiarize themselves in trade and business dealings so that they can also handle
these affairs. Men and women have equal status in Buddhist societies.
Summary
• Both Hinduism and Buddhism, two of the world’s great religions, trace their origin in India.
Throughout its long history, Hinduism became the source of three other religions, namely, Buddhism,
Jainism, and Sikhism.
• Buddhist fervor gradually waned in native India as a result of resurging Hinduism that absorbed the
rising challenge of other new religions as it incorporated their elements into the Hindu belief.
• Most Hindu adherents hold several key moral values such as karma and dharma. Buddhist moral
thoughts and actions are principally guided by the “Four Noble Truths” and the “Eightfold Paths.”
• In Hinduism, there are four desirable goals of life (purushartha). All Hindus aim to achieve the four-fold
purpose of life that includes dharma, artha, kama, and moksha.
• In Buddhism, the principal purpose of one’s life is to terminate all forms of suffering caused by
attachment to impermanent entities.
• The destiny of all Hindus involves reincarnation until such time they gain ultimate enlightenment.
Hinduism believes that within the human is an eternal soul (atman) that is being reborn millions of times
and in many forms subject to the moral law of karma. On the other hand, Buddhism holds that no soul is
being reborn because there is no permanence in anything
• Honoring women in Hindu society as a fundamental teaching has been laid down in one of the
supplementary arms of the Vedas, the Manusmriti or the “Laws of Manu.” Women have enjoyed
considerable freedom in their religious life in Buddhism as compared to Hinduism.

bulk
HINDUISM
-Is the world third largest religion
-hindu followers comprise the major bulk with almost 80% of the country population adhering to the
religion

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
-The oldest and the most complex of all world religion. The term Hindu originated from the Persian word
Hindu( in sanskrit sindhu) means “river Hinduism was originally known as “arya pharma” or the Aryan
way

SACRED SCULPTURES
*SHRUTI
-Means that which is you heard
-the four collections of texts of the vedas form the shruti and are considered primary sources and the
most authoritative text of the hindu faith
VEDAS
-the four basic vedic books,which are sacrificial hyms compiled from an earlier oral tradition composed
of rig-veda,sama-veda yajur vead yajur veda and antawaveda.
Word of veda means knowledge or sacred lore
4 PRINCIPAL DENOMINATIONS
*SHAIVISM
-Valu self discipline and philosophy
*SHAKTISM
-Use chants magic and yoga to summon cosmic forces
*VAISHAVISM
-Have mulitucles of saints temples and sacred text
*SMARTISM
-known as liberal as taey embrace all major and gods.