Buddhism and Hinduism are two of the most well-known religions in the world. With Christianity, Islam and Sikhism; Buddhism and Hinduism are among the five major world religions. Buddhism is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha), born Hindu. He achieved Nirvana at the age of thirty-six and was no longer a Hindu follower. Hinduism is believed to have begun around 4000 BCE, a religion combining a few other religions and many laws and ways of life. Although Buddhism and Hinduism teach similar principles, the path they use to teach these principles is different. The founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama. He lived from 565 to 483 BC. In 563 BC, no gods were worshiped in Buddhism. Gautama, having been brought up as a Hindu, still believed in certain Hindu ideas. Because he rejected the caste system, he retained the ideas of meditation and performing good works to achieve enlightenment. Buddhism was born from the decline of Hinduism. Hinduism was complex in many ways, especially in terms of rituals and daily lifestyle. Gautama had enough and broke away and started a new lifestyle in the hopes that others would follow. All the final and ultimate goals of Buddhism are to achieve Nirvana. Nirvana is a state of perfection, ending the process of reincarnation and beginning rebirth. There is a significant difference in the way Buddhists and Hindus view rebirth. Buddhists believe in rebirth, meaning neither the soul nor the person is transferred, while Hindus believe in reincarnation where the soul travels from one body to another (the same person but in different bodies). different). However, both believe in Samsara as well as their views on suffering and that everyone will even...... middle of paper... govern different aspects of Hindu daily life. The three main gods of Hinduism are Vishnu, who is the sustainer; Brahma is the creator and Shiva the destroyer. Hindus pray to natural sources such as the sun and trees, while Buddhists only pray to Buddha. Today, there are an estimated six hundred million Buddhists and approximately eight hundred and twenty-eight million practicing Hinduism. Both believe in an ultimate spiritual reality beyond the physical world, both practice meditation and other forms of yoga, and both religions originated in India. Although there are many similarities between Buddhism and Hinduism, they both have notable differences. The small differences have a huge impact on the two religions because they are two distinct beliefs. They share a particular history, which is normal since they come from the same region..