Buddhism, a religion that originated in India, uses meditation to connect with its creator. Buddhism is believed to be one of the earliest religions that existed on earth and have spread across Asia. While the two words “Hindu” and “Buddhist” are often used interchangeably, they have distinct meanings and are used differently.
Hindu is the Sanskrit word for ‘The followers of a particular religion’, whereas Buddhist refers to one who practices meditation. Buddhism has developed many different forms, including meditative yoga asanas, sitting meditation or zazen, chanting mantras with candlelight, touching their bodies in key places after praying or studying shastra texts, absorbed in the thought of God and nature.
The Hindu monks peep out as they have a one-piece look while congregating with fellow devotees each day. It is essential to understand that when you pray at any temple or listen to any monk’s prayers, yours too will be answered by putting your hands together and praying like them.
Hindu Vs. Buddhist Meditation
Hinduism originated in the Indian subcontinent. Buddhists consider it to have been transmitted from India through Nepal, China, Burma, and Tibet. Hinduism was practiced for nearly 5,000 years before Buddhism arrived on the Indian continent around 1500 BCE. The use of mala beads and bells has probably evolved from Hindu philosophy (devotion) combined with the belief that sounds emanate from objects under certain conditions when they are malleable.
It is thought that the concept of multiple forms of yoga might have an older link to the Hindu yogis and Buddhists than formerly known, as both cultures seem to originate in India. However, there are differences when considering Buddhist groups such as Vipassana meditators, who often neither chant nor burn incense during their sessions, which last around 10 hours a day several times each week due to previously mentioned chanting or praying. Vipasso atitsana holds another belief system: meditation, attention to body sensations (body awareness), and silence as a significant practice component.
What is Hindu Meditation?
Hindu meditation involves a lot of mantras (prayers) believed by many cultures to have a very spiritually beneficial result in helping people be more relaxed or calm. Mantras also help create loving feelings for oneself and others, with the familiar keywords encouraging all experiences such as happiness, love, and blissful awareness within themselves. Hindu Meditation is also very popular as it helps one reach higher states of spiritual consciousness or enlightenment. It creates a deep sense of inner stability and peace in mind.
Mantras hold particular importance in Hindu Studies being used extensively by Buddhists, Christians, and Jews for their religious purposes. Numerous forms follow different philosophies mainly dedicated to becoming enlightened through these means. Whether via chanting mantras or insight practices such as meditating on a critical idea or chanting certain words that are very powerful in helping one become enlightened states of spiritual consciousness.
What is Buddhist Meditation?
Buddhist meditation may be the most similar and common type of meditation with Hindu Meditation in terms of intention. Buddhist meditators also tend to focus on maintaining concentration as well as insight practice that involves concentrating exclusively on one nameless thought for a specified length of time, which is called “mindfulness” (awareness).
The primary goal here is to become aware or mindful through whatever means possible, including spiritual practices, whether chanting mantras, such as mantras, or insight practices with meditating on a critical concept for specific lengths of time.
To attain sainthood in Buddhism, one must become an Arhat (Enlightened One), which involves attaining complete enlightenment. Many different monasteries and teachings have lineages based on particular Indian traditions to discern the way to Buddhist Enlightenment. Still, they all look more alike than others, and some commonalities between the various traditions.
Difference Between Hindu and Buddhist Meditation
- “Rural India was Buddhist while urban India was Hindu….”Aldisert et al., 2005:262.” The Encyclopedia of Hinduism” (2011)
- Buddhist terminology is generally more symbolic than the Hindu equivalent.”Keown and Prebish (1999) “The Rediscovery of Meditation”.
- The Buddhist monk is more concerned with attaining peace and enlightenment than the Hindu monk, whose main concern was to live a life of faith.
- Hindus believe in reincarnation whereas Buddhist monks believed there is an afterlife where one will be reunited with their soulmate.
- Buddhist Masters are more concerned with meditation practices and clearing negative karma (actions) than conserving energy. While Masters are never resting (activity), they are very aware of their energy.
- Hindu sages spent a great amount of time idealizing solitude, contemplation, and mystic states while Buddhist monks were high-profile socialites who partook in worldly pleasures such as gambling games and indulged their temporal desires.
- The Hindu monk generally leads a more inactive lifestyle to the Buddhist meditator. In contrast, in Hindu belief, monks have a set roleplaying their lives and social situations based on Dharma (last millennium BC) rules or Rama Rajya.
- Hindu groves, except Vaishnavism, are more closely connected to nature-based religions. At the same time, Buddhist meditation and chanting have a strong focus in general embedded with nature but are also placed within concrete structures, such as temples.
Conclusion
Buddhism and Hinduism are two sister religions that have grown together in a similar trajectory but with different ideologies. Buddhism inspires one’s due to its teachings of mindfulness, non-attachment, and extreme detachment (anatman).
Because through it goes all the wrong done towards getting rid of ego hunger while stimulating energy into illumination breaking your cycle of sinful behavior destroying karma from which can deliver blissfulness as the pain on all pleasure eventually will end. Hinduism is a communal religion and teaches one to live life as beneficial for the entire community, not being self-centered but conveying a generous way of living, removing karma from past generations, and giving it over to future deliver blessing instead.