Subject and subject type:
Religious system-Beliefs
Religion/spiritual tradition, culture and culture area:
Hinduism and Buddhism
Topic:
Caste system in Hinduism and Buddhism-a comparison
The caste system is a religious as well as a social hierarchy system in the Hindu religion. Traditionally, the caste of a person is identified at birth, and the person is channelled to the occupation of his/her caste. Under the system, Hindus are divided into four major groups which are Brahmins, Shudras , Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas (Michaels, 2004). The caste system is founded on the beliefs of karma which means works and dharma meaning duty/religion. The Brahmins are placed at the top of the system, and they comprise of priests and different religious intellectuals. Kshatriyas come in second, and they are warriors or those who rule followed by the Vaishyas who are mainly traders (Divya & Ankur, 2019). Shudras are at the bottom, and these are the people who do menial work.
Buddhism, whose origin is Hinduism, has a different perspective when it comes to the caste system. The main reason as to why Buddha formed Buddhism is mainly related to the caste system. According to Buddha, regardless of a person’s caste at birth, the person’s caste in the next birth after dying is based in the karmas in the past lives/births (Keown, 2013). Buddhists believe that a person should follow the eightfold paths and the four major noble truths to achieve nirvana (Kumar, 2020). Buddhism proposes that a person can get enlightened in the present life, and caste is not a punishment as a result of the actions done in previous lives. Therefore, although Hinduism and Buddhism are based on the same religious foundation, and Buddha was a Hindu, their perspective of the caste system is different. Both share basic beliefs related to the goals of religion, yet they are different.
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References
Divya, V., & Ankur, D. (2019). Caste and contemporary Hindu society. The Oxford History of Hinduism: Modern Hinduism , 216-243. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198790839.003.0013
Keown, D. (2013). Buddhism: A very short introduction . Oxford University Press.
Kumar, B. (2020). Buddha’s attitude towards the caste system as available in Pali texts. Classical Buddhism, Neo-Buddhism and the Question of Caste , 29-39. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003045090-3
Michaels, A. (2004). Hinduism: Past and present . Princeton University Press.
