LESSON 11:

Comparative Analysis of Hinduism,

Theravada Buddhism, and Mahayana
Buddhism
Lesson Objectives:
1. Identify the uniqueness and similarities of Judaism,
Christianity and Islam.
2. Differentiate the Dharmic religions from one another
based on their origin, morality, purpose, destiny and
views on women.
3. Illustrate the Trimurti.
4. Explain the Samsara or the Hindu’s cycle of life.
BACKGROUND CHECK:
DIRECTIONS: Choose the correct answer for each
number from the box below.

1.__________ He is known as the “Enlightened One”.

2.__________ It is composed of around one hundred
thousand verses making it the world’s longest poem.
3.____________ They perform the most menial of jobs, such
as street sweepers, latrine cleaners, and handlers of the
dead.
4. __________ The 3 major Hindu gods are Brahma, Vishnu
and Shiva is also known as?
5. __________ It is the earliest known Sanskrit literature from
the Brahmanic period and oldest scriptures of Hinduism.
6. ___________ Buddha’s real name.
7. ___________ Commemorative monuments that contain
sacred relics associated with Siddhartha himself, and the
venerable monks and nuns. These burial mounds predate
Buddhism as ancient Indian kings and heroes were housed in
stupas.
8. ___________ It is composed of Dukkha, Samodaya,
Magga, and Nirodha.
9. ___________ He has generated bodhicitta or the
spontaneous desire to achieve the state of being
enlightened.
10. ___________ It contains the most definitive
teachings of the Buddha.
 LET’S EXPLORE!
In 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
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.
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
 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.
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
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.
DIRECTIONS:
Based on the previous discussion, complete the information needed in
the chart.
Dharmic Views On
Origin Morality Purpose Destiny
Religion Women

1. HINDUISM

1. THERAVADA BUDDHISM

1. MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
DIRECTIONS:
Explain the cycle of life or the Samsara according to the
Hindu belief.

Re Birth

MOKSHA SAMSARA

Death Life
DIRECTIONS:
In a short bond paper, Draw the
Trimurti or the 3 Hindu gods:
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
Reflection
"In comparing Hinduism, Theravada Buddhism,
and Mahayana Buddhism, what insights can be
gained about the diverse paths to spiritual
enlightenment, and how might understanding
these differences deepen our appreciation for the
complexities of human spirituality?"