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Four Introductory Questions about Buddhism and Hinduism

Buddhism in the News

Buddhism and Hinduism may be ancient systems of belief, going back thousands of years

into the past. All the same, that has not stopped them from making headlines in the 21st century.

For instance, in December last year, Tibetan Buddhist leader Tenzin Gyatso was going to be

denied entry into Mongolia because of political pressure from China. Even as recently as a

couple days ago, we learnt that Hindus were protesting against commercialization of products

bearing images of Hindu gods. But what makes them relevant today?

Key themes in Hinduism and Buddhism

Both worldviews originated in India, and although they differ from one another both in

doctrine as well as practices, they do share some basic terms and ideas, a brief summary of

which is given below.

Working backwards, we may start with the ultimate goal, or what humans want the most,

“limitless being, consciousness, and joy”. (Smith,1991, 26). This is known as moksha in

Hinduism (quite similar to nirvana in Buddhism). It basically means “liberation”. In other words,

our true desire is to be free, which we are not: we are subject to false beliefs, such as mistaking

mere appearances for reality. Appearances that prevent us from knowing the true nature of the
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world (brahman) and ourselves (atman), and even realizing that self and world are not separate,

are known as the veil of maya. As long as we are fooled by appearances, we cling to things that

disappear and that cannot make us really happy. Thus we submit to false desires and allow

ourselves to be filled with harmful motives that bring about consequences (karma) which might

extend even into our next life, once we are reborn. This seemingly endless cycle of death and

rebirth is called samsara, and it can only be broken away from by achieving moksha through

self-knowledge and rigorous life habits.

Religious differences

There is no such thing as one single school of Buddhism or Hinduism. For instance, we

might turn our attention to three great branches of Buddhism: Theravada, Mahayana, and

Tibentan. They all differ somewhat from each other with regard to liberation. Theravada

Buddhism sees liberation as becoming an arahant, a state that is achieved through exceptional

concentration and that requires the monk essentially to shut out all worldly distractions. (Smith

126) Mahayana and Tibetan Buddhists value the condition of bodhisattva, who tries to become

awake. (Lester in Earhart 879). The bodhisattva is not isolated, but rather exercises compassion

towards all sentient beings and even helps others to escape samsara. Finally, Tibetan Buddhism

holds that buddhahood is not a goal several reincarnations away, but rather can be attained faster

by including tantric practices.

Storytelling and teaching about “the Sacred”

Oftentimes, Hinduism and Buddhism convey their lessons through stories. These fables

and parables are meant to highlight some virtue or value that is held in the highest regard within

the particular spiritual tradition, wherefore it is aptly described as sacred.

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Hinduism offers many good examples, such as the story of King Janaka and a monk who

did not believe the King, surrounded with worldly pleasures, could be such an accomplished

spiritual teacher. King Janaka showed him how the clear understanding of unavoidable death

allowed him never to lose sight of the supreme truth.

Buddhism in turn has several different stories for giving us a taste of the sacred. Wishing

to teach the joy of spiritual life, it tells the story of a monk who would become happier the more

he practiced meditation. When his king felt insulted that the monk forgot to observe proper

etiquette, he was made to see that the monk himself had once been a king, but material

possessions and other appearances would not allow him to lead a fully spiritual, therefore

infinitely blissful, life.

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Works Cited

1. Smith, Huston. The World's Religions. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.

2. “Tibetan Buddhism”, in DharmaNet International. Ashoka Education,

http://www.dharmanet.org/lcvajrayana.htm. Accessed 19 Feb, 2017.

3. “Story of King Janaka & a Monk”, in Aumamen. http://aumamen.com/story/story-of-king-

janaka-a-monk. Accessed 19 Feb, 2017.

4. Lester, Robert C. "Buddhism: the Path to Nirvana"Religious Traditions of the World: A

Journey Through Africa, Mesoameria, North America, Judaism, Christianity,

Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, China, and Japan. Ed. H. Byron Earhart. New York:

HarperCollins, 1993.

5. Wong, Edward. “Mongolia, with Deep Ties to Dalai Lama, Turns from Him toward China”,

The New York Times. Dec 30, 2016. Accessed Feb 19, 2017.

6. Agrawal, Nina. “Hindus Push to End Commercialization of Sacred Images”, in Faith and

Religion. The Pueblo Chieftain. Feb 17, 2017. Accessed Feb 19, 2017.