INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

THE ISLAMIC WORLDVIEW

UNGS 2030
SEM 2, 2013/2014

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT:
BUDDHISM AND HINDUISM

NAME

: NUR FARHANAH ZAINAL

MATRIC NO.

: 1310062

SECTION

:8

LECTURERS NAME

: DR. ABDULHAMID MOHAMED ALI ZAROUM

Buddhism
Basically, Buddhism is a religion which was founded by Gautama
Buddha who was born as Prince Siddhartha. It was originated in Nepal, India
as Prince Siddhartha was born there. Buddhists mean those who follow the
teachings of the Buddha and some said that Buddhists do not believe in the
existence of God. In the meanwhile, there are others who said that Buddhists
believed in God, but they do not know how to explain it and this situation can
be known as agnosticism. Furthermore, some called it as a middle way. This
is said because Buddhism rejects being extreme in having the worldly
pleasure and denial of the pleasure and wealth.
The goal of this religion is to attain enlightenment, so that the
Buddhists can be released from the cycle of birth and death or also known as
Samsara. The enlightenment is also called as Nirvana. The Buddhists also
believe that if they do not attained Nirvana, they will be reborn over and over
again due to their Karma. In order to attain the Nirvana, there are certain
religious laws that need to be followed by them which are also known as the
Dharma. The Dharma is determined by the Gautama Buddhas teachings.
Besides that, the Buddhists believe that life is about suffering. They
believe that people must practice selflessness and cannot think about one
self and desire in order to escape from these sufferings. The Threefold
Training and The Eightfold Path are some of the doctrines that they must
follow in their lives to achieve their goals. The Threefold Trainings are virtue,
mind and wisdom while the Eightfold are the right speech, action, livelihood,
effort, mindfulness, concentration, view and intention. In the meanwhile, the
scripture for Buddhism is known as Tripitaka. It is a vast volume of 3 main
sections, the Discourses, the Discipline and the Absolute Doctrine.
Buddhists also believed that the Gautama Buddha was the teachers
that showed them the four noble truths and the Eightfold Path. Moreover,
there was no prophet for this religion, but there are monks and nuns who

united and exactly followed the teachings of the Buddha. They are under a
group called Sangha. However, Buddhists do not need the assistance from
the Sangha if they want to do some worship rituals.
Hinduism
Hinduism is a religion that is closely related with the Caste system and
it is believed to be originated in Indian subcontinent. The goal of this religion
is to escape from the cycle of death and rebirth (Samasara) and become one
with Brahman (Moksha). This religion also has its own law which is known as
Dharma shastra. In order to attain salvation, one needs to do good deeds
and righteousness as well as following the Dharma.
The Dharma is different according to the caste system. There are
Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras. For instance, the Brahmins need
to perform religious rituals while the kshatriyas need to protect the country.
Everyone has their own responsibility according to their class (varna). If they
follow the Dharma, it will lead them to being born into a higher social class.
The Hindus also believed in Karma and Samsara just like Buddhists. Karma is
the action while Samsara is the result of the action.
The Hindus believe in God, which is Brahman. They believe that
Brahman is the power that supports everything and it is identified with the
self (atman). Most Hindus believe on Brahman, but they do not worship it as
they are worshipping particular deity or deities which are the manifestations
of Brahman. Some of them are Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva which are also
known as Trimurti. There are others who being believed as Tridevi. They are
Saraswati, Parvati and Lakshmi. Each of the manifestations has different
roles. For example, Brahma is the creator. Since Brahma has already
completed his job in creating the world, hence they do not worship him. In
the meanwhile, Vishnu who is the preserver and Shiva who is the destroyer
are usually being worshipped by the Hindus. Besides that, some Hindus
claimed that Buddha was actually one of the avatars of Vishnu.

This religion does not have any prophet and there is no significant
founder for this religion. However, there are many scriptures believed by the
Hindus. They are Vedas, Upanishad, Puranas and Bhagavad Gita which has
been using the Sanskrit language. The Hindus usually practice meditation
and yoga as that is one of the ways they worship their gods. The existence of
Rishis is also accepted by the Hindus as the one that holds high position in
that religion.