ENDREI MIGUEL KASILAG
COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF HINDUISM, THERAVADA BUDDHISM AND MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
Religion Hinduism
Origin First developed from the religion
that the Aryans brought to India
with them in about 1500 BC. Its
beliefs and practices are based
on the Vedas, a collection of
hymns (thought to refer to actual
historical events) that Aryan
scholars had completed by about
800 BC.
Morality The Indian term for ethics or
morality used in Buddhism is
Śīla (Sanskrit: शील) or sīla
(Pāli). ... It has been variously
described as virtue, right
conduct, morality, moral
discipline and precept. Sīla is an
internal, aware, and intentional
ethical behavior, according to
one's commitment to the path of
liberation.
Theravada Buddhism
Theravada literally means
“Teaching of the Elders”.
Theravada Buddhism is the
dominant form of Buddhism in
Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia,
Laos, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Historically, it was also important
in South India and had a wider
presence in South and Southeast
Asia, including Indonesia.
Buddha is the most prominent
example of the “perfect life”. He
had a life of luxury from the day
he was born into a royal family,
then getting married and had a
son. In fact, he had never
experienced the pain of suffering
until the day he went out of the
palace and witnessed the human
suffering such as age, sickness,
and death. The tough facts of life
had encouraged him to discover
the pathway for humanity to get
escape from all suffering.
HUMSS-12
Mahayana Buddhism
The precise origin of Mahayana
Buddhism is unknown. It appeared
sometime between 150 BCE and
100 CE in India and quickly spread
throughout Asia. It came about with
the introduction of new sutras, or
authoritative teachings of the
Buddha. These teachings drew on
but modified earlier Buddhist
thought.
From the Buddhist perspective, an
act is also moral if it promotes
spiritual development by
conforming to the Eightfold Path
and leading to Nirvana. In
Mahayana Buddhism, an emphasis
is made on the liberation of all
beings and bodhisattvas are believed
to work tirelessly for the liberation
of all.
 Purpose According to Hinduism, the
meaning (purpose) of life is
four-fold: to achieve Dharma,
Artha, Kama, and Moksha.
However, it is considered the
most important meaning of life
and offers such rewards as
liberation from reincarnation,
self-realization, enlightenment,
or unity with God.I feel that
religion provides its followers a
set of goals to achieve in life,
and in doing so, provides a
meaning to each follower’s life.
Without such guidance, one
would likely conclude that life is
ultimately meaningless.
Destiny The destiny of Hinduism is to
lead a life according to your
Dharma. Your Dharma is your
purpose of life. To find your
purpose in this life there are
rules set in Hinduism.Once you
find that purpose then you have
to fulfill that purpose in this
lifetime. Hinduism teaches you
the way to lead your life and
how to prepare for death.
Views on Women
Regarded as the belief closest to
the one taught by The Buddha
himself, it is based on the
recollections of The Buddha's
teachings amassed by the Elders
—the elder monks who were
Buddha's companions.Theravada
Buddhism stresses spirituality, the
enlightenment of the individual,
self-discipline, the importance or
pure thought and deed, the
importance of the monastic life
and the strict observance of the
ancient Vinaya code Theravada
Buddhism believes that it has
remained closest to the original
teachings of the Buddha.
The destiny of Theravada
Buddhism or Nirvana means to
"blow out". This was the last way
to strive in humanity. This
explains that it has no pain, no
desire and no rebirth but it is
transcendental. They call it "Final
Destiny or Liberation." It consists
of three Jewels : Triratna of sîla,
Samâdhi and Pannâ. Human
destiny focus on the positive state
of eternal peace.
Mahayana teachings regard the
cycle of birth and death as eternal
and inescapable, hence the goal of
practicing Mahayana is to lead
practitioner to attain Buddhahood
through practicing the Bodhisattva
way.In other words, the aim of
practice in Mahayana is to
transform one’s life of sufferings
into a life of enlightenment through
the Bodhisattva practice, basically
helping others do the same.
Mahayana Buddhist believe that the
right path of a follower will lead to
the redemption of all human beings.
The Mahayana believe that each
person is responsible for his own
fate.They believe they can achieve
enlightenment through following
the teachings of the Buddha . The
goal of a Mahayana Buddhist may
be to become a Bodhisattva and this
is achieved through the Six
Perfections .
Women’s bodies are often used as
Women in Hinduism are no
different. Women traditionally
would live the life of a mother
and a wife following the
footsteps of their ancestors.
Women’s roles were laid out in
Hindu law books such as the
Dharma-Sastras, however basic
rules in the Laws of Manu (200
C.E.) lays out how a woman or
wife should behave in the
household and towards her
husband. Nevertheless women’s
roles have evolved over time
and women are going against the
social norm of their tradition and
even their way of life.
Though monks hold superiority
over nuns this was more to keep
the monk hood going into
perpetuity than a reflection on
women’s ability. In those days it
was acceptable for a man to leave
home to live a meditator’s life.
Ladies didn’t do this, they were
the mainstay of family and social
life. As unfair as it feels to me
now this seems to have been
recognised by the Buddha. Also
you may be told that monks
cannot touch ladies or even sit
next to them. Like priests today
Monks are celibate and though I
haven’t seen this written, it would
seem to me that the rule is there
to avoid temptation, not in any
way to denigrate women.
metaphors for desire. The story goes
that the Buddha himself was
tempted by women to turn his
thoughts away from liberation and
to sensual pleasures instead. In fact,
the purest heavens in Mahayana
Buddhism are only populated by
males, suggesting that the absence
of women means the absence of sex,
as well as all of the negativity that
Mahayana Buddhism believes
comes from sex. Mahayana
scriptures often talk of spiritual
attainments by nuns and laywomen,
and they also portray women in all
of the roles.