Comparison: Buddhism And Jainism

Comparison: Buddhism And Jainism 1) There are many similarities and many differences between Buddhism and Jainism. To begin, we will start by discussing the similarities in both. In Jainism and Buddhism rather than having a God or creator there is a teacher. Both religions do not accept the permanent power of God as the creator of the world. Buddha and the last of the 24 thirthankaras (mahavira) spread their experience of finding liberation to communities and people began to follow. In Buddhism there was the development of sangha through Buddhaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s early disciples it allowed anyone to adapt to his teaching and as for Jainism it does not formally recognize the caste system. Therefore, followers came from all castes and levels of society. Another similarity is the concept of living in a nonviolent way. The first teaching of Buddhism is to abstain from violence and protect all life. All things have a living spirit. In Jainism, nonviolence is not just about being abusive or to people rather it is to not b e destructive toward nature and all living things. Like Buddhists, Jains believe that our actions influence the future course of our current life, and of our lives to come. Both religions agree that death is a natural process of life and want to reach a state of nirvana or liberation. However, there are differences in both religions. For instance, in Jainism the soul exists everywhere, not only in living beings, but in inanimate objects as well. The soul in Jainism reaches it s highest state when the soul liberates itself from the bondage of karmas. But Buddhism holds completely dissimilar views. Karma in Buddhism, defines our actions of body and speech, and mind. Things we choose to do or say or think set karma into motion. The law of karma is a law of cause and effect. According to Buddhism, soul is not a permanent; it is ever changing. Therefore, a person must follow the noble eightfold path to reach liberation. Jains believe that karma is a form of matter which is not simply the effect of ones actions, but a real substance that runs into each individual body. When particles of karma attach to a life it will affect that soul. This karmic substance remains with a being until good conduct and self purification eliminates them. Another difference between both religions would be the choice of food. In Jainism you must be a vegetarian and Buddhism it is a choice you can make whether or not you can be carnivore or be a vegetarian. Hence, there is similarities in Buddhism and Jainism where there is no creator or god but rather a teacher. In addition, there are no caste systems in both religions, there is a concept of living in a non-violent way and want to reach liberation. Nevertheless, both religions have a different perspective on soul and karma. 2) There are many differences between Buddhism and Hinduism. Buddhism is a non-theistic religion which means that they sense spiritual reality without a personal deity or deities. There is a single founder in Buddhism which was known as Siddhartha Gautama also known as Buddha. Buddha does not identify on images of unseen reality. In other words only believe in what you can physically see. Buddha is a teacher not a god. Unlike Hinduism, which is theistic religion that practices the worship of many gods, Hinduism is formed of various traditions and has no single founder. The feeling is that the celestial has innumerable forms. Buddha taught by accepting how we build distress for ourselves we can become liberated. When he first experienced the world he became disheartened and went on to preach that life is full of grief and suffering. He wanted to find liberation for suffering and emphasizes on sufferings in the existing world. The Hindu last scriptures Upanishads recognize that sufferi ng is a natural part of the human state. It takes the suffering in human life and places it to previous karma or actions of the human being. Hinduism does not stress suffering as much as Buddhism rather they set greater stress on the bliss enjoyed on experiencing on a coming together with God or the Self. Since we are all an emergence of God, bliss is a fundamental part of our nature. The Upanishads stressed on this experience of bliss to inspire the Hindu devotees to experience Moksha- liberation. In addition, Buddhism does not follow the Brahmanic tradition like Hinduism. Buddhism withdraws the ideas of eternal self or soul (Atman) and eternity or transcendent reality (Brahman); this condition separates it from Hinduism. The goal to Buddhism is to reach nirvana, enlightenment and the end of suffering. Buddhism believes in reaching nirvana through the four noble truths and eightfold path. Unlike Buddhism there are many ways like yoga (Jnana, Karma, Raja and Bhakti) to reach liberat ion in Hinduism. Reincarnation is another factor in Hinduism and Buddhism. In Hinduism, it is said that the soul continues after death and goes into another body. The soul can rebirth into animals or plants depending on the karma. Unlike, In Theravada Buddhism, there is the principle of anatta, or no soul, which states there is no continuing being that carries on from one life to the next. Therefore, rebirths are not handed out but are simply the natural results of good or bad endeavors.