MELISSA

= __Hinduism and Buddhism Development__ = Hinduism is a collection of religious beliefs that developed slowly over a long period of time, there was no one founder with a single set of ideas. Buddhism developed out of the same period of religious questioning that shaped modern Hinduism and Jainism. One of the beliefs of Hinduism were reincarnation (rebirth),an individual soul or spirit is born again and again until //moksha// is achieved. What is //Moksha//? It's a state of perfect understanding of all things. When a person understands the relationship between Atman and Brahman, that person achieves this perfect understanding. Another belief was karma-good or bad deeds. Hindu ideas about karma and reincarnation strengthened the caste system. The founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Guatama, seeked enlightenment. Enlightenment (wisdom) was seeked by Siddhartha after he wandered through the forests of India for six years. He debated with other religious seekers in search for something similar, he fasted, eating only 6 grains of rice a day. He continued to suffer because these methods brought him nothing. The Four Noble Truths, were the ideas Siddhartha laid out and he came to understand. The Eightfold Path was like a staircase. It was a guide to good behavior. In order to climb this staircase, you had to master one step at a time. And by this, you could then reach nirvana, which the Buddha found was the release from selfishness and pain.