FREE ESSAY ON HINDU AND BUDDA

HINDU AND BUDDA

Hinduism and Buddhism The idea of "religare" or binding oneself back to one's religion is
key to many religions. In Christianity, we bind our selves back to the truth unveiled
through scripture, myths, tradition, and the church's teachings. Hinduism, however has a
much different interpretation of the idea of binding oneself back. There really is not a
whom or what that I can put my finger on. We all came from one God and we must get back
to God. But how can one go about doing that? A Hindu would say to free ourselves from the
desires and illusions present here on Earth. To free ourselves from the material
possessions and pleasures would be to obtain Moksha. Moksha, for Hindus, would be the
point of freedom and the attachment to Brahman. In a way this is extremely ironic, for in
the act of binding oneself back, a Hindu would obtain liberation. To me, these terms seem
directly contradictory, however, this is proof to the fact that our minds cannot
understand certain aspects of religion, and that we are limited. The goal of a Hindu is
to release themselves, but also to gain a complete understanding of life. By doing this,
they are freed from the continuous cycle of reincarnation. There are, as Huston Smith
tells us, four paths to the goal. The yogas are the specific direction taken to unleash
the human potential of Moksha. The goal of the yogas is to come in to and remain in touch
with Brahman. The first way to God is through knowledge. The three steps taken on this
path is learning, thinking, and the third, a little more complex, consists of separating
one's material ego form one's Atman. The second way to God is through love. The love we
show to others can be translated into a love for God. The third path to God is though
work. Through a devotion to one's work, God can be seen through the highest rewards if
done so wisely. The final Hindu path to God is through Psychophysical Exercises. In this
way, a Hindu experiments with mental exercises and observing their effects. Not all
Hindus take the same path to God, but the goal is identical. The Buddha made much reform
to the path to God. Well, not so much a reform as perhaps an alternate route. He called
this the Middle Path. A way between sensuality and asceticism, the Middle Path lay
through intelligence. The main revolutionary idea behind the Buddha's teachings was that
he rejected asceticism, which at that time had been a popular belief and a socially
approved route to salvation. Not only did he reject self-denial, but the worship of gods.
In his renowned Eightfold Path, there is never any mention of worship. Also, he refuted
the idea that one had to pass through countless rebirths to reach the Brahmin caste
before being able to obtain salvation. For this very reason, Buddhism ultimately failed
in India, because of the widespread control by the Brahmins. The most challenging concept
for the Hindus to except was that the Buddha taught that the soul did not exist. Hindus
thought that the Atman, or soul, was actually God. The Buddha reasoned that if the soul
is purely God, the it is not individual and therefore is an An-Atman, or no soul. The
achievement of liberation then for Buddhist takes form in Nirvana. Nirvana occurs when
people release their yearning for a false selfhood, which is similar to Hinduism.
Paradoxically, as with Hinduism, the act of extinguishing this yearning occurs
simultaneously with an enlightenment. Studying Hinduism and Buddhism has been surely an
enlightenment for me. To my amazement, Hinduism actually addresses a few questions I have
had before. I've wondered about the way life is connected and how life is a flowing
circle of life and death. Hinduism is based primarily on the idea of Brahman and that
everything is one. The idea that material positions are basically meaningless is
something that I dread to think about, because I am most certaintly a victim of todays
society based on wealth and power. It infuriates me to think that my possessions are
meaningless, but for some reason I am drawn to these teachings of Hinduism. The majority
of teachings of all the religions we have studied so far has made sense to me, and this
is the most puzzling conclusion I am faced with. What does this mean? I have found
something here and I am utterly confused. How the heck can more than one religion make
sense to me? It is almost as though I could draw parts form different religions and form
something new and rounded. This of course is a ludicrous idea, for thousands of years of
traditions stand in my way. I just wish there would be some way to wipe the slate clean
and rework the idea of God in a complete universal sense. I sometimes have the tendency
to view our ancestors and traditions to be inhibiting us from reaching some far off
realization that no Buddha or Brahmin or anyone has ever obtained. In Conclusion, I do
wish to continue studying religions beyond high school maybe it will lead me to some
discovery.