The Concept Of Karma In Hinduism And Buddhism

The dictionary defines karma as, “an action, seen as bringing upon oneself inevitable results, good or bad, either in this life or in a reincarnation. ” Karma is the process of cause and effect. That implies the belief that our present and past actions dictate the result and fate of the rest of one’s life. Karma is accepted to be an essential idea in a range of Vedic religions and cultures including Hinduism and Buddhism. The question in this essay is, how does the Hindu and Buddhist concept of karma relate to the larger religious world view? Karma is a universal principal that is linked to the concept of reincarnation. Hindus believe that very action, harmful or humane, has an effect on this life and on future lives. While Buddhists believe that karma is not just about activities, it is additionally about perspective, desire and psychology. However, the doctrine of karma has been lauded as a rational and morally illuminating informative reaction to the presence of evil and apparent foul play in both religion. This paper plots the ideas, examines the beliefs, and features the similarities and differences both Hinduism and Buddhism share in Karma.

Hinduism is a vast religion. It is the “oldest” and the third largest religion in the world. (2013). It stands for the faith and the way of life for the people around the world. Individuals who rehearse the faith of Hinduism participate in different rituals, utilize distinctive names and images for the god they worship, read diverse sacred books and hold diverse beliefs. They believe that the individual soul of all living beings, including animals, is loaded with an interminable soul and is a part of the creator spirit, Brahma; first god in hindu triumvirate, who is responsible for creation, and destruction of the world. Brahma is unadulterated and the way towards getting to be plainly unadulterated is so difficult that no soul can end up plainly unadulterated in just a single lifetime. They believe the soul is constrained to live many live until the point when it is sufficiently unadulterated to come back to Brahma because everything comes down to Brahma at last. Along with Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are equally important and are powerful in Hinduism.

Vishnu is “the pervade and maintainer of the universe. ” Vishnu is known as a peaceful and compassionate supreme lord. Vishnu is often pictured with four arms, each holding an emblem of his divinity: the conch, wheel, mace and lotus. Each of his divinity has a meaning. The conch is a symbol of “the origin of existence”, the wheel represents “the cycle of the seasons”, the mace represents “the power of knowledge”, and lotus symbolizes “purity. ” Like seen in the image above, he is usually depicted with a dark complexion. One of the most important aspects of Vishnu is that he is known for his ten avatars (incarnations).

Shiva is a celestial power of decimation. He is not a negative destroyer; he is the quintessential destroyer. He destroys with a specific end goal to restore and recoup living things and energize the change. He wrecks one’s flaws, illusions, desires and ignorance. He destroys detestable and negative nature, impurities, wrong doings and the impacts of bad karma. Like shown in the image above, Shiva personifies magnificence, peacefulness and steadiness. Unlike Vishnu who is depicted as dark, Shiva is white in color. “The main object of Shiva worship is Linga, which means “sign”. The Shiva Linga is considered sacred and housed in temples or houses for worship. While Brahma is the creator, Vishnu is the preserver and Shiva is the destroyer in Hinduism. Brahma being the most powerful one among the three, does not punish or reward anyone because Brahma believes that every soul creates their punishment and reward on their own through karma. The idea of karma is highly believed in Hinduism because karma determines the quality of next life through the persons good and bad deeds in this life.

Buddhism is classified as one of the largest religions in the world. “The concept of Buddhism was created about three centuries ago to identify what humans now know to be a Asian religious tradition that dates back some twenty-five hundred years. ” Buddhism is a path of practice and profound development that demonstrates the genuine idea of life. The quintessence of Buddhism is contained in the founder: Gautama Buddha’s teaching of Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Buddhism has a solid moral dimension that backers bliss and inspiration in ways that are useful to oneself as well as other people. While in the meantime, admonishing against activities that provoke one’s own affliction or the anguish of others. Which is accepted as the concept of karma in Buddhism. Just like Hindus, Buddhists believe karma can influence this life and can persist into the following. They believe that karma is not an authority or a reward from god. Those with negative karma might be stirred in hell while those with positive karma will reborn in heaven.

Buddha was the founder of Buddhism. Buddha’s journey to find truth, spirituality and learn how to solve the problems of suffering, led him to meditations. Over the period of time, on the verge of death due to fatigue, he reached the state of enlightenment. While doing so, he found the four-noble truth and the eightfold path. “The four noble truths are:

1. All existence entails suffering.
2. The cause of suffering is desire, that is, the thirst for pleasure, prosperity, and continued life.
3. The way to escape suffering, existence, and rebirth is to rid one's self of desire.
4. To be emancipated from desire, one must follow the eightfold path.

The noble eightfold path consists of:

• right understanding
• right resolve
• right speech
• right conduct
• right livelihood
• right effort
• right attention
• right concentration.

Buddhism, overall is a religion that holds a special aspect and urges the need for humanity to become humane again. To let go of selfish desires, and negative intentions. It is the embodiment of serene presence in a world that has become wrought with despair and suffering. Hinduism and Buddhism are equivalent from various perspectives. Hindus and Buddhists are to a great degree, revolved around nature, the things around them and however they have a few contrasts, they share similar convictions in reincarnation, karma and the common belief in Moksha and Nirvana; freedom. While reincarnation expresses that each living thing has a soul, it is likewise trusted that the cycle of reincarnation continues until the point when one achieves Moksha or Nirvana.

Another comparative concentration of both religions is peace and non-violence towards all living things. Moreover, they both believe in the presence of a few hells and heavens. They believe that desire is the fundamental reason of suffering and doing actions promoted by desire would prompt subjection and suffering. However, performing actions without desiring anything would result in freedom. Alongside that, the two religions likewise take after otherworldly practices like contemplation, focus and positive perspective. The two religions may contrast as it were, but at the end of the day, they both offer same convictions.

In conclusion, both Hinduism and Buddhism have a similar essential conviction on a conclusive target of their religion. Through the ideas of karma and reincarnation, both religions could elucidate how life is controlled not by others, but rather by one’s own particular actions. More than persecution and execution, there has been additional time of peace and comprehension between the two religions.