Milani 1

Monika Milani
Professor Pritchard
History 5A
25 April 2019
Midterm 2

Pt. 1: 1. Compare Buddhist, devotional Hindu and Christian ethics and salvation goals. Explain

the similarities and divergences between these belief systems.

There are multiple divergences and similarities between Buddhist, Hindu and Christian

ethics and salvation goals. The biggest divergence is the worship of gods. Christianity is centered

around monotheism, Hinduism centers around polytheism, and Buddhism has no godly worship.

Buddhism holds beliefs that that the root of human suffering is desire. To reach Nirvana, one

must deny themselves of all material indulgences. There is reincarnation and meditation

involved. Hinduism holds beliefs that virtue is rewarded and bad behavior is punished through

karma and reincarnation. It holds very family-centric ideals. Christianity holds beliefs of a

heaven and hell, dark and light, and that one must follow their God’s word to be permitted into

heaven after death. There is no reincarnation involved. While forgiveness or reparation is

generally involved in each of these religions, each holds different weights towards what is the

most punishable and what one must do to be forgiven. All three involve paths to salvation and a

life after death.

According to The Human Journey by Kevin Reilly, Hindus and Buddhists tend not to

pursue political power or glory. “The Buddhist manual’s answer to this question is equally

revealing: people desire rank and wealth most of all, but if they cannot obtain them in a moral

way, they should not obtain them at all.” (Reilly 122)

 Milani 2

Pt. 2: 1. Pick on document from p. 198-212 to explain either Hindu or Buddhist basic beliefs.

Hinduism: Svetasvatara Upanishad, c. 400 B.C.E.

According to this text, Hinduism spirituality revolves around the wheel of Brahman: life,

death, and rebirth. Once an individual realizes their natural unity with Brahman and follow the

principles of Hinduism, they can stop the cycle and ascend into, in the text’s own words,

immortality. Brahman is considered the ultimate reality of all that exists and in some accounts is

explained as the supreme God amongst Gods, or the ultimate reality within everything that

exists. One is always part of Brahman, but meditation is seen as a key to unify and be able to

consciously control the mind, matter, and Maya and truly and consciously become one with

Brahman and thus, ascend into the soul’s immortality.