by Jayaram V
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." (Rhys Davids)
"To my
mind...Buddhism has always seemed to be not a new religion, but a
natural development of the Indian mind in its various
manifestations, religious, philosophical, social and political"
(Prof. Max Mueller.
"Buddhism, in its origin at least
is an offshoot of Hinduism." (S.Rahdhakrishnan)
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.
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.
Despite the fundamental differences between both the religions,
Hinduism and Buddhism influenced each other in many ways. The Buddhist
notion of non-injury and compassion toward all living beings took deep
roots in the Indian soil, while
Mahayana Buddhism took cue from the traditional Indian methods of
devotional worship. Buddhism influenced the growth and development
of Indian art and architecture and contributed richly to the practice of
breathing and meditation in attaining mindfulness and higher states of
consciousness. The Hindu tantra influenced the origin and evolution of
Vajrayana Buddhism.
Similarities
Hinduism and Buddhism share some of the following similarities.
- 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.
- 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.
- Both religions believe in the concept of karma, transmigration of
souls and the cycle of births and deaths for each
soul.
- Both emphasize compassion and non violence towards all living
beings.
- Both believe in the existence of several hells and heavens or higher
and lower worlds.
- Both believe in the existence of gods
or deities on
different planes.
- Both believe in certain spiritual practices like meditation,
concentration, cultivation of certain bhavas or states of mind.
- 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.
- The Advaita philosophy of
Hinduism is closer to Buddhism in many respects.
- Buddhism and Hinduism have their own versions of
Tantra.
- 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.
Buddha's Attitude Towards Hindus
Prior to his enlightenment, the Buddha was brought up in a
traditional Hindu family. Before finding his own path, he went to Hindu
gurus to find an answer to the problem of suffering. He followed the
meditation techniques and ascetic practices as prescribed by the Hindu
scriptures and followed by the Hindu yogis of his time. It is said that
after becoming the Buddha, he showed special consideration to the higher
caste Hindus especially the Brahmins (priests) and Kshatriyas
(warriors). He exhorted his disciples to treat especially Brahmins with
respect and consideration because of their spiritual bent of mind and
inner progress achieved during their previous births. It is said that
certain categories of Brahmins had free access to the Buddha and that
some of the Brahmin ascetics were admitted into the monastic discipline
without being subjected to the rigors of probation which was other wise
compulsory for all classes of people. The Buddha converted many Brahmins
to Buddhism and consider their involvement a sure sign of progress and
popularity of his fledgling movement. Much later, we find a similar echo
of sentiment in the
inscriptions of King Ashoka where he exhorted the people of his
empire to show due respect to the Brahmins.
Differences
Following are some of the differences we can see in the principles and
practice of these two religions.
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 equivalent or superior to the Buddha.
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. The Buddhists consider the world to be full of sorrow and regard
ending the sorrow as the chief aim of human life. The Hindus consider that
there are
four chief aims (arthas) in life which every
being should pursue. They are dharma (religious duty), artha (wealth or
material possessions), kama (desires and passions) and moksha
(salvation.)
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.
11. Buddhism acknowledge the existence of some
gods and goddesses of Hindu pantheon, but give them a rather
subordinate status.
12. 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.
13. Although both religions believe
in karma and rebirth, they differ in the manner in which they
operate and impact the existence of individual beings.
Of the two religions Hinduism is older perhaps by at least a millennium
or two. Some Buddhist may argue that the Buddha that we know
historically as born in the sixth century B.C. in the Indian
subcontinent was but one in the line of many Buddhas that preceded him
and would follow him. Such a belief may enjoy some validation and
approval in the metaphysical realm of enlightened monks, just as the
Hindus believe in the existence and continuation of sanatana dharma,
(popularly known as Hinduism) through endless cycles of creation and
dissolution of worlds spanning across a time frame of millions of years.
However available evidence do not confirm the theory that Buddhism
existed as a religion prior to the birth of the Buddha. In case of
Mahavira, the founder of Jainism
we have evidence that he was the last in the long line of 24 Jain
Thirthankaras, But in case of Buddhism we do not have such confirmation.
Technically speaking, Hinduism is not a religion but a group of
religious and sectarian movements that share some fundamental and in
some respects identical beliefs, regional variations, history, tradition
and practices peculiar to the land and the times in which they
originated and evolved. In contrast, Buddhism is a well established and
organized religion having a set of beliefs and practices, commonly known
as the Dhamma, based on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.
We can safely conclude that in the first few centuries following the
nirvana of the Buddha, Buddhism was an integral and significant part of
the complex religious character of the subcontinent that was later came
to be recognized as Hinduism by the outside world. However subsequently
Buddhism crossed the boundaries of the Indian subcontinent and went on
to play a much greater role in the whole of Asia. In the process it
developed a very complex sectarian, theological and geographical
diversity and tradition of its own to become one of the most significant
and influential religions of the world. No wonder many people who are
not familiar with the history of the Indian subcontinent fail to
understand and notice the deep connection that existed between Hinduism
and Buddhism in the earlier days and the significant ways in which they
enriched each other.
