How Different Is Buddhism And Hinduism From Jainism

How different is Buddhism and Hinduism from Jainism?

How different is Buddhism and Hinduism from Jainism?

Religion remains of primary importance to the life of each person in the world. It makes them think, worship and stand different compared to other people. Most religions in the Eastern part of the World evolved from the remains of previous religions or teachings of some scholars. One such example of this is Jainism which evolved as a result of the reform movement in Hinduism. Similarly, Buddhism evolved as an alternative to Hinduism. It is therefore right to argue that Hinduism remains of basic importance to both these religions. Since they have evolved from one another, therefore, they have more similarities and lesser differences. In their religious aspect, all three share many commonalities ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"qzl0OunP","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Heim, 2004)","plainCitation":"(Heim, 2004)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1786,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/9DJCTWXR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/9DJCTWXR"],"itemData":{"id":1786,"type":"book","title":"Theories of the gift in South Asia: Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain reflections on dana","publisher":"Routledge","source":"Google Scholar","title-short":"Theories of the gift in South Asia","author":[{"family":"Heim","given":"Maria"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2004"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Heim, 2004). They share dissimilarities with the religions which have been based on the teachings of these religions. For example, there is some religion in the world who uses the conceptualization about death, life, heavens, and rituals offered by these religions.

The primary notion about any religion which remains under discussion is it's being a divine religion, such as it must revolve around a God, Goddess, both or in some cases around nobody. In Hinduism, there are many Gods, perhaps thousands and millions of Gods. This is where it shares a sharp contrast with Jainism and Buddhism. Different from Hinduism, Jainism has no God. The follower of Jainism can enter into it during any phase of their life. There are also no specific teachings of it, to which once can be bound. This is the reason Jainism is also known as Atheism. Similar to Jainism, Buddhism has no special religious set of devotions, which one needs to follow. The only different aspect of Buddhism to Jainism is the presence of a founder named Buddha. Also, in many religions portrayal of God is important. This can be done through images or by any other mean ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"XPtypNXp","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Sharma, 2002)","plainCitation":"(Sharma, 2002)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1787,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/877JEMQR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/877JEMQR"],"itemData":{"id":1787,"type":"article-journal","title":"On Hindu, Hindustān, Hinduism and Hindutva","container-title":"Numen","page":"1–36","volume":"49","issue":"1","source":"Google Scholar","author":[{"family":"Sharma","given":"Arvind"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2002"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Sharma, 2002). For example, by making their statues. In Buddhism, God can be represented in any way. They normally do so by making beautiful and eye-capturing pictures of them. In Hinduism, each God is represented by an image. They even make statues (Mortis) of their God.

Among the masses, religion is specified by its teachings. Its devotees follow a specific set of rules in order to achieve their goals and objectives. In Hinduism, the ultimate purpose of one's life is to merge it with one's atman. They have classified their goals into four categories which are dharma, moksha, karma, and artha. Different from Hinduism, the ultimate goal of Jainism is moksha. Moksha is considered as double to the ultimate goal of religion, which is released from reincarnation. In Buddhism, the ultimate goal of life is the liberation from earthly wishes. Buddhism urges its followers to adopt a life as a pure being. Its fundamental objective is to find a purpose or enlightenment before one departs from this world. With respect to the goal of life, there are many similarities between these all religions ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"clj5w2Db","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Sharma, 2002)","plainCitation":"(Sharma, 2002)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":1787,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/877JEMQR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/s8f0QVnP/items/877JEMQR"],"itemData":{"id":1787,"type":"article-journal","title":"On Hindu, Hindustān, Hinduism and Hindutva","container-title":"Numen","page":"1–36","volume":"49","issue":"1","source":"Google Scholar","author":[{"family":"Sharma","given":"Arvind"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2002"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Sharma, 2002). Since the ultimate goal of these religions is reformation and affirmation to its teachings.

The dissimilarity in these three is where the life of an individual ends. On one hand, Moksha is the central principle in Buddhism and Hinduism, Enlightenment is the central part of Buddhism too. Despite such minor dissimilarities, their ultimate purpose of life is to find an escape from the cycle of reincarnation. Since all of these religions pay emphasis to the importance of liberation from reincarnation, each has its own death rituals. Hindus cremate their deceased ones, and put their ashes near to the flowing water, Jains put the body of the passed person in a casket and cremate that on wood with fire. Jains place the remains of their deceased one into a hole dug in a fertile land. Buddhists are also cremated, but after the cremation, they are buried in a cemetery. Despite much similarities and difference, Buddhism, Jainism, and Hinduism are followed all over the world. They are not just a way of life for many, but a source of inspiration too.

References:

ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Heim, M. (2004). Theories of the gift in South Asia: Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain reflections on dana. Routledge.

Sharma, A. (2002). On Hindu, Hindustān, Hinduism, and Hindutva. Numen, 49(1), 1–36.