Malavolta 2
Buddhism and Hinduism, Nature of the Divine
Marcus Malavolta
Mr. Morelli
December 18 th
2013
Malavolta 2
Buddhism and Hinduism, Nature of the Divine
Buddhism and Hinduism are both very intriguing religions that are similar in many ways,
and are almost identical in their belief of the afterlife. Both religions believe in reincarnation,
reincarnation is the reappearance or revitalization of someone or something in another form
(Thefreedictionary 1). Buddhists and Hindus believe that after death, the human body returns to
earth in another form, however, this form is not completely random. There are five different
forms that a person can be reincarnated into; the lowest, is the untouchable form. To move into
the next form, a person must fulfill their dharma throughout their whole life. If they do in fact
fulfill their dharma, they will be reincarnated into the next highest form after their life is over.
Once the person has fulfilled their dharma in each caste they will achieve moksha or nirvana, a
greater state of being.
In Buddhism the goal of one's life is to achieve moksha, this can only be achieved once a
Buddhist passes through each of the castes. The five castes are from lowest to highest are
Untouchable, Sudras, Vaishyas, Kshatriyas and Brahmans. A person in the untouchable caste has
jobs such as having to kill or dispose of dead cattle or pursuing activities that bring the
participant into contact with emissions of the human body (Britannica) all in all, it is the worst
caste to be in. The caste above the untouchable caste, is the Sudra caste; most people that are In
this caste are very poor, they have jobs such as washing and shoemaking (Britannica), both the
untouchable caste and the Sudra caste are not great castes to be...