Comparison of Two Religions - Research Paper Example

Comparison of Two Religions Cultural and geographical origin of Hinduism and Buddhism Hinduism is among the oldest religion intertwined within its varied beliefs and ritual practices. Its inception occurred when the Aryans and the Indus Valley civilization cultures shared religious thoughts at about 1500 B.C (Wilke, 2011). This happened when the Aryan invaded India and spread their religious beliefs while absorbing the native’s religious practices. Vedic religion is the earliest form of Hinduism, which scholars deduce to have existed under the preservation of the ancient literatures known as the Vedas. Hinduism has spread all over the world especially southeast Asia while blending its religious beliefs with those of others.
Buddhism originated in northeast Asia under the influence of an ancient Buddha known as Gautama Siddhartha who lived in the 5th century B.C. Siddhartha came up with Buddha teachings that enabled an individual to attain high levels of enlightenment. At this level, the individual completely detaches from the body through the process of meditations thereby alleviating worldly sufferings. Buddhism has undergone metamorphosis leading to divisions in the ancient traditions of Buddhism. The divisions include Vajrayana that represents the diamond vehicle, Theravada that symbolizes the doctrines from the elders and Mahayana that represents the great vehicle (Wilke, 2011).
Three religious practices in Hinduism
Hinduism entails numerous religious practices but the most prevalent practices include Hatha yoga, Ayurveda, and the Kundalini yoga. Hatha yoga is the process of meditating in order to attain self-awareness (Cush & York, 2008). Hatha yoga provides the oldest form of Hinduism that enabled individuals to achieve their objectives in life through the process of profound concentration.
Ayurveda constitute the ancient traditions of Hindu whereby individuals received treatment and healing. In the contemporary societies, many individual have incorporated the practice into their religious practices especially in the West. Kundalini yoga enables an individual to unlock the psychic energy that exists at the root of the spine allowing it to diffuse to the upper parts of the spine, hence a heightened level of relaxation (Cush & York, 2008).
Three religious practices in Buddhism
Having undergone radical changes in its traditions, Buddhism retains specific ancient religious practices that incudes meditations, Mudras, and prayer wheels. Meditation is common in various sub sects of the religion. To achieve ultimate goals through meditations an individual engages in rigorous concentration. This helps the individual to attain detachment thereby developing ones reality. Mudra involves gestural symbols that an individual systematically performs using hands (Gwynne, 2011). This ancient religious practice followed a session of relaxation and meditation. The prayer wheels involve the frequent repetitions of prayers as the wheel makes it turns. In every turn of the wheel, the Monks recite the mantras in unison.
How Hinduism and Buddhism is practiced in different in different parts of the world
United States and Europe has ingrained Hindu practices such as guru or the spiritual teachers in Hindu, yoga, and Hare Krishna cult especially the youths. Most youths in Europe engages in numerous activities that adhere to Hindu religion practices for instance the dress code, shaved heads for boys and braids for girls. Buddhism prevails in many countries that include Thailand, Cambodia, China, Sri Lanka and many more countries (Gwynne, 2011). In Thailand the Buddhist observe three core ideas that entails, Sila representing the moral growth of an individual, Samadhi that represent a purified mind and Panna that encompasses an individual’s cognitive abilities.
References
Gwynne, P. (2011). World Religions in Practice: A Comparative Introduction. New York N.Y: John Wiley & Sons.
Wilke, A. (2011). Sound and Communication: An Aesthetic Cultural History of Sanskrit
Hinduism. New York N.Y: Walter de Gruyter.
York, M & Cush, D. (2008). Encyclopedia of Hinduism. Philadelphia, P.A: Psychology Press. Read More