Hinduism and Particular Religions

Buddhism

Buddhism formulates itself as Buddha Dharma, "the way or Dharma of enlightenment." Starting as a monastic reform movement within the field of Hindu teachings, Buddhism gradually developed a separate existence of its own apart from the common stream of Sanatana Dharma, though it never entirely gave up its roots.

Indian Buddhism and its direct offshoots, like Tibetan Buddhism, contain much of the greater Hindu tradition or Sanatana Dharma with the use of Sanskrit mantras, Yoga techniques, Vedic fire rituals, Ayurvedic medicine and Vedic astrology, and a common iconography and temple worship with the Hindus. Buddhist traditions of more distant lands, like China and Japan, maintain many of these same practices but adapted over time to their own cultures.

Buddhism and Hinduism have much in common and their differences are often merely semantic or variant lines of approach. In fact there are greater differences among teachings in each tradition than between the two, as both traditions contain considerable diversity.

While Hindus and Buddhists may disagree as to the nature of enlightenment or liberation, not only with each other but among themselves, all their various branches accept spiritual realization through meditation as the goal of life.

[ Back ] [ David Frawley ] [ Up ] [ Next ]