BUDDHISM AND HINDUISM

S.Rahdhakrishnan, an Indian philosopher and statesman, wrote "Buddhism, in its origin at least is an offshoot of Hinduism." According to Rhys Davids, a British scholar of the Pali language: “Gautama was born and brought up and lived and died a Hindu...There was not much in the metaphysics and principles of Gautama which cannot be found in one or other of the orthodox systems, and a great deal of his morality could be matched from earlier or later Hindu books." [Source: Hinduwebsite.com]

According to “Topics in Japanese Cultural History”: “In the Buddha's day, several religious traditions existed on the Indian subcontinent, the most important of which was Hinduism. Hinduism is a broad term (much like Christianity) to designate a large number of different but related systems of religious belief and practice. Hinduism is so complex that we cannot possibly do it justice here. Our concern is simply with a few major tenets of Hinduism that became a major influence on Buddhism. [Source: “Topics in Japanese Cultural History” by Gregory Smits, Penn State University figal-sensei.org ~]

rotating dharma wheel

“In many of its forms, Hinduism is much concerned with cycles of creation and destruction. The most important Hindu deities, for example, are sometimes depicted simultaneously destroying and creating. Such deities serve as symbols of the forces of nature, which both create and destroy without cease. One creator/destroyer deity is Shiva, the cosmic dancer. Shiva is usually depicted as male, and one of his symbols is the linga (phallus). But some depictions of Shiva show "him" with female features or with both male and female features. If depicted clearly as a male deity, Shiva is often depicted with a female counterpart. Such images of Shiva emphasize his role in creation, but Shiva, is also a destroyer. His cosmic dance takes away life for some while giving it to others. Other examples of creator/destroyer deities are Kali and Durga, who are almost always depicted as female. ~

“Deities like Shiva, Kali, and Durga are concrete representations of a key concept in Hinduism and Buddhism: reincarnation, also called transmigration. As it applies to sentient beings, when a person or animal dies, its vital forces become re-embodied and it is born into a new life. When that life is over, it is reborn again, over and over. This cycle of reincarnation, called Samsara is like a prison in which we are trapped. Why? Stated somewhat crudely, because we can never die and stay dead. Think about the prospect of never dying — it would be terrifying for many people. ~

“Samsara is closely connected with karma. In Hinduism, the word karma has three closely related meanings. Most basically, it is any mental or physical deed. Karma is also the consequence of any mental or physical deed, and by extension, it can also mean the sum of all consequences of a person's mental and physical deeds in a past or present life. When speaking of karma in this third meaning, it is more accurate to use a term like "karmic situation" or "karmic balance." ~

“Buddhist conceptions of karma were similar to those of Hindus. Early Buddhists stressed the role of karma in powering or driving the process of reincarnation. In this context, think of karma as energy connected with desires and cravings that seeks re-embodiment after death (there are other meanings of karma in Buddhist theology, but we will not take them up here). People want things, strive to attain goals, crave certain sensations, covet certain possessions, yearn for a better life, and so forth. These wants, strivings, cravings, covetings, and yearnings are a form of energy. Indeed, they produce significant, palpable effects: sleeplessness, higher blood pressure, ulcers, other physiological changes, as well as behavior such as working overtime, not working (in the case of coveting short-term ease or comfort), crime, heroism, and so forth. Our desires and other powerful emotions, in other words, propel us from one birth to the next. This concept has a certain intuitive appeal, for of course it is literally a burst of desire or passion that causes births. ~

“This idea of karma has several implications. First, it suggests that our mental and physical deeds in the present lifetime will have an effect in determining the nature of our rebirth. In other words, if we reduce the sum of desires over our lifetime and perform good deeds (i.e., selfless deeds that benefit others), our karmic balance will improve (i.e., we will have less karma). Such a person will be reborn into a better life the next time around. Conversely, a lifetime of indulging our desires and performing deeds to satisfy them will accumulate more karma. Such a person will be reborn into a lower, more base existence, perhaps as an animal. ~

Buddhist symbols

“Is there any way to get out of the cycle of Samsara? Yes, but only over the course of many lifetimes, lowering the karmic balance each time around--at least according to most forms of Hinduism. When all karma is finally gone, there is no more energy to drive the cycle of Samsara. In a sense, it runs out of fuel. A person in such a situation would enter a state called nirvana--a word that means "to extinguish"--and would not be reborn. What is nirvana like? Nirvana is so radically different from the modes of existence we occupy, that words cannot describe it nor can we even imagine it. But most Hindus saw Samsara as a living hell or prison. The chance to escape from it and enter into nirvana, therefore is a desirable goal. An important legacy that Buddhism inherited from Hinduism was a generally negative or pessimistic view of life in this world. ~

“Another Hindu teaching that became an important part of Buddhism was the doctrine of ahimsa, or not harming. To cause pain, suffering or death to another sentient being increases one's karmic burden or debt. Notice that karma is perfect justice. To the extent that a person produces it, that person must, quite literally, live with it--over multiple of lifetimes if necessary. Most forms of Hinduism and Buddhism prohibit consuming the flesh of animals. One should eat only those things that do not cause death, even to plants. Fruit, therefore, is a perfect food, since eating it does not harm the plant from which it came. (Jainism is a religion of India that takes not harming especially seriously. A strict Jain will sweep the path in front of him with a soft feather duster as he walks, to avoid stepping on small insects. He will also wear a gauze mask to prevent accidentally inhaling small insects. Incidentally, some extremely dedicated Jains take the quest for reducing karma so seriously that they stop wearing clothes and even starve themselves to death.) ~

“The final contribution of Hinduism to Buddhism we examine here concerns deities. Hinduism contains thousands of greater and lesser deities. As we will see, the Buddha's original teachings had nothing to do with deities or external supernatural forces of any kind. All religions change over time, however, and as the centuries passed, Buddhism incorporated hundreds of Hindu deities into its teachings, art, and iconography. A large pantheon of deities, therefore, is another important Hindu legacy in Buddhism. In the most scholastic, abstract teachings of Hindu theology, deities do not actually exist. The purpose of deities and their representations in Hinduism is to assist those at lower levels of comprehension by providing concrete images of various religious truths. As we shall see when studying the doctrine of Skillful Means, this understanding of deities also became the (Mahayana) Buddhist view.” ~

Websites and Resources on Hinduism: Hinduism Today hinduismtoday.com ; India Divine indiadivine.org ; Wikipedia article Wikipedia ; Oxford center of Hindu Studies ochs.org.uk ; Hindu Website hinduwebsite.com/hinduindex ; Hindu Gallery hindugallery.com ; Encyclopædia Britannica Online article britannica.com ; International Encyclopedia of Philosophy iep.utm.edu/hindu ; The Hindu Religion, Swami Vivekananda (1894), .wikisource.org ; Journal of Hindu Studies, Oxford University Press academic.oup.com/jhs

Websites and Resources on Buddhism: Buddha Net buddhanet.net/e-learning/basic-guide ; Internet Sacred Texts Archive sacred-texts.com/bud/index ; Introduction to Buddhism webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/buddhaintro ; Early Buddhist texts, translations, and parallels, SuttaCentral suttacentral.net ; East Asian Buddhist Studies: A Reference Guide, UCLA web.archive.org ; View on Buddhism viewonbuddhism.org ; Tricycle: The Buddhist Review tricycle.org ; BBC - Religion: Buddhism bbc.co.uk/religion

Similarities Between Hinduism and Buddhism

On the similarities between Hinduism and Buddhism, Jayaram V, , a leading author of Indian religions, wrote on Hinduwebsite.com: 1) Both Hinduism and Buddhism emphasize the illusory nature of the world and the role of karma in keeping men bound to this world and the cycle of births and deaths. 2) According to the Buddha, desire is the root cause of suffering and removal of desire results in the cessation of suffering. Some of the Hindu texts such as the Upanishads (Isa) and the Bhagavadgita consider doing actions prompted by desire and attachment would lead to bondage and suffering and that performing actions without desiring the fruit of action would result in liberation. 3) Both religions believe in the concept of karma, transmigration of souls and the cycle of births and deaths for each soul. [Source: Jayaram V, Hinduwebsite.com |*|]

some Hindu symbols

“4) Both emphasize compassion and non violence towards all living beings. 5) Both believe in the existence of several hells and heavens or higher and lower worlds. 6) Both believe in the existence of gods or deities on different planes. They also use similar names for several deities such as Indra, Brahma, Yama etc). 7) Both believe in certain spiritual practices like meditation, concentration, cultivation of certain bhavas or states of mind. 8) Both believe in detachment, renunciation of worldly life as a precondition to enter to spiritual life. Both consider desire as the chief cause of suffering. |*|

“9) The Advaita philosophy of Hinduism is closer to Buddhism in many respects. 10) Buddhism and Hinduism have their own versions of Tantra. 11) Both originated and evolved on the Indian soil. The founder of Buddhism was a Hindu who became the Buddha. Buddhism is the greatest gift of India to mankind. 12) Both Hinduism and Buddhism recognize Death as an inevitable and inescapable aspect of life. Both personify Death as a deity, as Kala and Yama in Hinduism and as Mara and Yama in Buddhism. Death as the devourer of all life figures prominently in the Bhagavadgita and Upanishads and so also in the Buddhist texts and iconography. |*|

“13) Both Hinduism and Buddhism believe that liberation, not rebirth or heavenly life, is the best solution to the problem of suffering and bondage. 14) Both Buddhism and Hinduism recognize a four tier cosmology of multiple worlds and spheres. Hinduism recognizes a subterranean world, the earth, the mid-region populated by celestial beings, the heaven of Indra and the world of Brahman. Buddhism recognizes an underworld, the earth, the mid-region of devas inhabiting the worlds of passions and desires, the higher region of devas inhabiting the worlds of forms and perception and the highest region of abstract worlds known as Brahma lokas inhabited great beings. 15) Both religions recognize the earth as the center of the universe, resting on the mountain Meru, surrounded by seven concentric rings of mountains and seven oceans, with the hells of asuras below and the worlds of devas above. Both recognize the land where the Buddha was born as Jambudvipa. 16) Both hold that the whole cosmos is represented in the inner world a human being.” |*|

Differences Between Hinduism and Buddhism

On the differences between Hinduism and Buddhism, Jayaram V wrote on Hinduwebsite.com: “1) Hinduism is not founded by any particular prophet. Buddhism was founded by the Buddha. 2) Hinduism believes in the efficacy and supremacy of the Vedas. The Buddhist do not believe in the Vedas or for that matter any Hindu scripture. 3) Buddhism does not believe in the existence of souls as well in the first cause, whom we generally call God. Hinduism believe in the existence of Atman , that is the individual soul and Brahman, the Supreme Creator. 4) Hinduism accepts the Buddha as an incarnation of Mahavishnu, one of the gods of Hindu trinity. The Buddhist do not accept any Hindu god either as an equal or superior to the Buddha. [Source: Jayaram V, Hinduwebsite.com |*|]

“5) The original Buddhism as taught by the Buddha is known as Theravada Buddhism or Hinayana Buddhism. Followers of this do not worship images of the Buddha nor believe in the Bodhisattvas. The Mahayana sect considers the Buddha as the Supreme Soul or the Highest Being, akin to the Brahman of Hinduism and worship him in the form of images and icons. 6) Hinduism recognizes four chief aims of human life, namely dharma (religious duty), artha (wealth or material possessions), kama (desires and passions) and moksha (salvation). Buddhism considers the world full of suffering and resolving it as the chief purpose of human life. Therefore, it recognizes only two aims, namely the practice of Dharma (Buddha's teachings) and liberation (Nirvana). |*|

“7) Hindus also believe in the four ashramas or stages in life. This is not followed in Buddhism. People can join the Order any time depending upon their spiritual preparedness. 8) Buddhists organize themselves into a monastic Order (Sangha) and the monks live in groups. Hinduism is basically a religion of the individual. 9) Buddhism believes in the concept of Bodhisattvas. Hinduism does not believe in it. |*|

Hindu God Shiva with his symbols

“10) Buddhism acknowledge the existence of some gods and goddesses of Hindu pantheon, but give them a rather subordinate status. 11) Refuge in the Buddha, the Sangha and Dhamma are the three cardinal requirements on the eightfold path. Hinduism offers many choices to its followers on the path of self-realization. 12) Although both religions believe in karma and rebirth, they differ in the manner in which they operate and impact the existence of individual beings.” |*|

Hostility Between Hinduism and Buddhism

Jayaram V wrote in Hinduwebsite.com: “Both Hinduism and Buddhism originated in the Indian subcontinent and share a very long, but rather peculiar and uncomfortable relationship, which in many ways is comparable to that of Judaism and Christianity. The Buddha was born in a Hindu family, just as Christ was born in a Jewish family. Some people still argue that Buddhism was an offshoot of Hinduism and the Buddha was a part of the Hindu pantheon, a view which is not acceptable to many Buddhists. It is however widely accepted that Buddhism gained popularity in India because it released the people from the oppression of tradition and orthodoxy. The teachings of the Buddha created hope and aspiration for those who had otherwise no hope of salvation and freedom of choice in a society that was dominated by caste system, predominance of ritual form of worship and the exclusive status of the privileged classes which the Vedic religion upheld as inviolable and indisputable. [Source:Jayaram V, Hinduwebsite.com |*|]

“Long ago, over 1500 years ago, Hindu tradition accepted the Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu. However strong rivalry existed between both traditions in the subcontinent for a very long time. The followers of Siva and the Buddha could hardly stand each other in the earlier times. There were instances of Buddhist persecution by Hindu rulers, though a great majority followed a policy of religious toleration. Sasank, a ruler from Bengal and contemporary of Harshavardhana vandalized Buddhist monuments and burnt the Pipal tree under which the Buddha got enlightenment. |*|

“The Buddha “made a radical departure from the commonly held belief that the soul was eternal and indestructible. He declared that the self-identity was just a formation or an aggregation like the body itself and it disappeared when the desires were annihilated and karma was full burnt away. Unlike the other renunciant traditions that preferred to live in seclusion or in isolation, the Buddha went to the masses with his teachings and tried the breach the caste barriers that prevented a number of people from practicing faith or seeking liberation. Thus you may regard the Buddha as a social and religious reformer within the Vedic fold who challenged the basic tenets of Hinduism or as the founder of a new, organized religion. In these undertakings his purpose was not to propagate a new religion, but to help the people find relief from suffering and achieve liberation.” [Source:Jayaram V, Hinduwebsite.com |*|]

“The Vedic texts, especially the Puranas betray a pointed animosity towards Buddhism and the Buddha. The chasm between the two traditions grew in course of time as Buddhism tried to capitalize on the vulnerabilities of Vedic beliefs. The Buddha is considered an incarnation of Lord Vishnu for all the wrong reasons. The Puranas suggest that Lord Siva and Vishnu manifested as a Jina and Buddha respectively to mislead the demons and cause their destruction. Once the people lost their dharma and cease being devotees of gods, the gods such as Vishnu and Shiva would have no problem launching an offensive against them and destroying them. Thus the purpose of including the Buddha and some Jinas in the Hindu pantheon was entirely parochial. |*|

“The Buddha's not-self (anatta) theory is very similar to the belief held by the demons that the body is the soul, which is mentioned in the Chandogya Upanishad (8.7), as the doctrine learned wrongly by Vairocana while he was receiving instruction from Brahma. This gave the Vedic scholars valid justification to draw parallels between the two. Incidentally, Vairocana is considered one of the five Dhyana Buddhas in Vajrayana Buddhism. Therefore, although religious tolerance was the hallmark of ancient Indian society, the relationship between the Buddhist and the Hindus was less than cordial. When Buddhism was on decline, many caves and monasteries belonging to the Buddhist monks were either occupied or converted by Hindus into places of worship by installing Hindu deities. It is possible that a similar practice might have been followed by Buddhist monks when Buddhism was in ascendance.” |*|

Was Buddhism a Rebellion Against Hinduism

The scholar of religion and writer Huston Smith argued that Siddhartha Gautama was a kind of "rebel saint." Writing in The Religions of Man (1965), he said that Buddhism "must be seen against the background of the Hinduism out of which it grew." Smith then went to contend that Buddhism was largely "a reaction against Hindu perversions — an Indian Protestantism." By "perversions," Smith was alluding to the elaborate ceremonies and power of the Hindu Brahmin priests of Siddhartha's time. The Buddha believed that emphasis on rituals indicated that Hinduism was more interested in superficialities and helping the common people, who were often suffering. [Source: Encyclopedia.com]

Similar to the Protestant Reformation's break from Catholicism, Buddhism aimed to eliminate what it perceived as hypocrisy or insincerity in Hinduism. In contrast to Hinduism, which has a Brahman priestly caste, the Buddha advocated for a religion without authority or a hierarchy of power. He believed that each person should pursue his or her own spiritual journey and not rely on the teachings of a priest. The Buddha's words from the Dhammapada illustrate the importance of personal discernment: 'Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.'

The Buddha encouraged religious beliefs that did not focus on ritual and tradition, unlike Hinduism which had a large number of rites and prayers to the gods. The Buddha believed that such rituals served as worldly distractions that kept a person from enlightenment. Additionally, Hinduism relied heavily on fortuntellers and mystics who claimed they could see into the future and supplied easy answers to life's difficult questions. Rather than focusing on metaphysics, The Buddha emphasized the condition of the human mind. He arrived at his principles through experience, living and reason and rejected the caste system in India and created a belief system where everyone was equal.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons except Four Noble Truths, Rissho Kosei-kai, and Hindu symbols, culturalsymbolism.wordpress.com; the four sights, gauthamabuddha.blogspot.com

Text Sources: East Asia History Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu , “Topics in Japanese Cultural History” by Gregory Smits, Penn State University figal-sensei.org, Asia for Educators, Columbia University; Asia Society Museum “The Essence of Buddhism” Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius, 1922, Project Gutenberg, Virtual Library Sri Lanka; “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “Encyclopedia of the World's Religions” edited by R.C. Zaehner (Barnes & Noble Books, 1959); “Encyclopedia of the World Cultures: Volume 5 East and Southeast Asia” edited by Paul Hockings (G.K. Hall & Company, New York, 1993); BBC, Wikipedia, National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Reuters, AP, AFP, and various books and other publications.

Last updated March 2024