They have four things in common:

1. They are derived from the same areas which is the Indian subcontinent.

2. Their first dispersion was through East Asia.

3. They share many of the same concepts.

4. They belong to the major religions and continue to influence other world civilizations.

Hinduism is believed to have been formed around 1500 BCE.

Hinduism has approximately 1.2 billion followers.

Buddhism appeared after 500 BCE.

Buddhism has approximately over half a billion followers.

About 90% of Hindus live in India with smaller numbers in Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bali. In addition, there are some converts overseas. Although originating in north central India, the Roma people cannot technically be considered part of the Hindu diaspora. In contrast, Buddhism is spread throughout East Asia. It affected every country including China and Indonesia, the two largest in population. It can be said that Buddhism is currently the most extensive religious element in Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Tibet, South Korea, and Mongolia. Being nominally Buddhist, Japan simultaneously professes Shintoism and emperor worship. Both religions spread throughout the region, but Buddhism is more messianic (recruits through missionaries) while Hinduism is a religion in which a series of steps for conversion must be undergone. None of these two religions spread through military means.

Polytheistic means belief in many gods.

Monism is belief in one universal force.

The primary goal of release from the cycle of existence in Hinduism is Moksha and Nirvana in Buddhism.

The Supreme Court defined Hinduism as follows: “Unlike other religions in the world, the Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet, does not worship any one god, does not believe in any one philosophical concept, does not follow any one act of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not satisfy the traditional features of a religion or creed. It is a way of life and nothing more”

The birthplace of Hisduism is the Indus River Valley, which encompasses both Punjab (now in both India and Pakistan) and Sind (in Pakistan).

An important difference between Hinduism and the other main religions is that they are basically monotheist and Hinduism is polytheistic with overtones of monotheism.

Sanskrit is the equivalent of Latin for Rome. It is the language of sacred texts or Vedas, the Epics of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, the Puranas, and the Upanishads. The modern descendant, Hindi, is the most widely spoken language in India today. The Islamic version is called Urdu. The present version of Hinduism dates from the Gupta Period (ca. 320-550B CE).

Varrna has a ritual and ideological rationale while caste deals with socio-economic status. Theoretically Varna had its origin in the sacred texts of the Vedic Period and the Epic Period, dated from before 1000 BCE to 200 BCE. During this long era, the ritualistic aspect was formulated.

The original three-caste structure was as follows:

1. The Brahmins symbolized the head of an organism. This group consisted of people who were priests and scholars with knowledge of the sacred texts.

2. The second group the Kshatriya represented the heart which symbolized defenders of society . They were politicians, soldiers and administrators.

3. A separate Sudra group peasants did not exist at that time, but all belonged to Vaisya grouping occupied with worldly matters.

4. Also, there were already people -mostly nonAryans- who were not included in this system. These people were later called members of the Scheduled Castes or better known as Untouchables

The Epic Period was 800-200 BCE.

The sacred Varna system emerged after the late Vedic Period and the Epic Period (800-200 BC)

During the Epic Period the two higher castes searched for more power .The Brahmins purveying sacred knowledge gained influence, became hereditary and imposed rules on the others.

During the Mauryan Era (322-184 BCE) the Brahmins encountered a setback when Emperor Ashoka, one of its most famous members, became a Buddhist and tried to make India a Buddhist state.

During the Gupta period (320-550 CE) the Brahmins succeeded in staging a comeback. Brahmanism and the caste system were strong again. Sudras were punished if they insulted Brahmins.

In the Gupta Period the Untouchables were forced to live separately and do unclean jobs like butchering.

The Rajputs were Asian invaders who were absorbed into the Kshatriya caste.

During the British period (1857-1947) civil and criminal courts replaced the caste courts. The Caste Disabilities Removal Act abolished caste penalties.

Organizations and movements against the caste system were: the Brahmo Samaj movement, the Arya Samaj, Prarthana Sabha and the Lingayat Movement.

The country gained independence in 1948.

After indepence, legislative reforms and reforms to forbade caste discrimination were made. In spite of this, a kind of caste system stratification continued. Therefore, quotas were established in the employment and education for lower castes especially for the Untouchables -- officially known as the Scheduled Castes or Dalits.

The changes which weakened the caste system were: Industralization, urbanization, developments in transportation and communication which attracted people to the urban areas. This resulted in newly arrived migrants mixing with different castes, sharing houses or meals and working together in factories. Mass education played also an important role, because it affected the Brahmin’s monopoly of knowledge.

Today, group membership still exists and marriage between castes is uncommon.

Culture can be divided into popular (diet, dress, housing, mass entertainment, sports) and formal culture (literature, arts, philosophy, education and higher education).

The recommendations to promote physical and spritual well-being based on the Vedas and other sacred scripts from the past.

According to the Vedas meals could be divided into the following groups:

1. Sattvic or ascending meals (fruits, vegetables and grains) for the higher castes to promote transdence associated with the Brahmins.

2. Food for the middle caste (onions, garlic, mushrooms,fish and eggs)to encourage intellect and passion at the expense of meditation.

3. Tamasic (e.g.meat, fermented alcohol) for the lower castes. The food was linked to dullness and inertia.

A dhoti kurta is an outfit often worn by married Hindu men. It consists of a generously cut cotton shirt called a kurta covered by the dhoti which is a long piece of material that ties around the waist and spreads down to cover most of the legs.

Many Hindu women wear a sari, a word of classical Sanskrit origin meaning “cloth.” Those who do not and have not adopted western-style clothes sometimes will wear a pair of loose-fitting trousers and a long tunic. This outfit is called a salwar kameez. Women who cover their heads might wear a chunni or a shawl.

The red dot in the middle of the forehead or between the eyes is a visible sign of Hindu influence. It is called bindi in the Hindi language, bindu in Sanskrit. However, in the largest language of the Dravidian south, Tamil, it is called pottu. The dot is a religious symbol and is meant to signify the world beyond the physical. It implies spiritual wisdom that goes beyond the world around us and encourages the individual to understand the forces beyond the immediate environment.

According to Hindu beliefs, structures in this shape favor the entrance of positive currents instead of negative ones.

Directions play an important role in Hindu belief. The northeast is the closest to spirituality, as the sun rises in the northeast on the longest day of the year. For example, a family may put a shrine – the most essential part of a house -in that area. The southwest is the lowliest part of the house where the bathroom is often located.

Family worship may involve various Hindu deities. Worship can include the burning of incense, as well as gifts of flowers and fruits. It is believed that worship or “Puja” assists the family in the striving of inner tranquility. If space is available, gardens are planted for positive energy. Individual plants and trees believed to facilitate this purpose include jasmine, saffron, lemon and almond trees.

Hindus believe that music is essential to worship; it facilitates feelings of spirituality. Chanting repetitively is also a link to spirituality and may include the word “om” as used in yoga meditation; this is “I am” and is part of the link to mankind. Hindus often play the sitar, an instrument similar to the guitar in the Western civilization.

The largest production of films in the world is found in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), known globally as “Bollywood.” These films frequently use Hindu themes and often are based on the lives of deities and saints. The most popular Vishnu reincarnation, Krishna, is the central character in many films

Hindu high culture includes art and architecture, philosophy, literature, and learning. Although Indian high art has regular visitors -- such as the Buddhist cave art at Ajanta and Ellora, and the architecture of the Moghul empire culminating in the Taj Mahal at Agra -- Hindu inspired architecture has not received as much attention worldwide.

In its history, India had hundreds of kingdoms and many empires in both northern and southern regions of the Indian subcontinent. Each princely state had at least one capital. In this capital were many temples to be found. The Hindu temple was also a key part of the infrastructure, because it served the basic spiritual purpose. Its structure, and sculpture are designed to portray specific deities.

Despite external walls, internal halls, inner chambers or reserved niches, architecture in the Hindu civilization is oriented to the deeds of the gods. Also, all frescoes, sculptures, and murals reflect the works of a high god such as Shiva or Vishnu or their offspring such as Ganesh and Krishna, respectively. These representations are supposed to symbolize the omniscience and omnipotence of the deity. As temples remain centers of community activity, they have long been essential to Hinduized activities of Indian life.

Sanskrit is the ancient Indo-European language, which dominated high culture between approximately 1,000 BCE and 1,000 CE. It is considered to this day a classical tongue along with classical Arabic, Persian, Greek, and Latin and is performed at various ceremonies. It served as a key to learn about Indian history, especially among Brahmin and those of other castes who wished to serve in government.

Sanskrit was used in classical literary, religious, and philosophical texts. The earliest of these works are the Vedic Scriptures, dating back to before 1000 BCE. There are four of them and they constitute hymns to various aspects of the deity. They were accompanied by the Brahmanas, which are commentaries on the Vedas.

The classical period of Hinduism began by 400 BCE and ended about 500 CE and was characterized by two great literary epics: the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Additionally, there were everyday sayings present in the voluminous Sutras and Puranas.

The Mahabharata was built around the notions of karma (past deeds can determine future destiny), moksha (release from the cycle of existence), and samsara (the cycle of existence). However, its main theme is Dharma, duty; the path to dharma conveys the right way of living, righteousness.

The other great epic is the Ramayana which recounts the life of Rama, a legendary prince who, among other tasks, sets out to rescue his wife Sita from a demon king. This epic is centered on the various aspects of bhakti-devotion, faithfulness, determination, and loyalty. 

The Sutras are huge volumes, extensive collections of sayings and considerations of human actions. Probably the most famous sutra is the Kama Sutra, the study of love; it depicts intimate sexual positions

During the Mauryan and Gupta eras between 300 BCE and 500 CE, with an interregnum of roughly three centuries, the civilization developed iron and textile industries based on scientific breakthroughs. In addition, planners used astronomy to calculate both lunar and solar years in order to help farmers. As in the case of China, the availability of iron and other applied aspects of metallurgy enabled the strengthening of roads

India’s most lasting contribution to applied technology was in mathematical sciences. In addition to the application of astronomy to plot the seasons for agricultural purposes, India developed coinage based on weights. and measures for trading purposes. It also developed the concept of zero and developed the decimal system further for practical purposes. The rudiments of algebra were imported from India via the Middle East as were aspects of geometry.

One of India’s most important achievements was the creation of ordinal numbers from 1 to 9. These numbers which form the basis for numeracy today were originally called Indian numerals. When transferred to the Middle East and then to Europe, they were named as Arabic numbers. This export from India to the rest of the world has had an enormous effect on commerce and business everywhere. Notably, as a replacement for the Roman numeral system, it facilitated the rise of central procedures in other civilizations, for example, the emergence of transactions such as double-entry bookkeeping in the West.

Every major city had a body of water connected to a system of tanks, canals, and dams essential to agricultural productivity, the prevention of flooding, and the alleviation of droughts

Some of the most significant temples, especially in capital cities, had large squares attached where public business was conducted -- malls which sold fruits and vegetables, pastures for cows, and shops that sold a variety of items from everyday household items to exotic jewelry. These squares often have been centers for the arts.

Outside of the sub-continent, the island of Bali has been the most influenced territory. Even today, it remains an overwhelmingly Hindu territory.

Currently, there are over 10 million Hindus in Indonesia.

The following countries/areas were influenced by Buddhism: Burma, the rest of Southeast Asia, Thailand, Indochina, the Champa civilization (SouthCentral Vietnam), the Khemer Empire in Cambodia, parts of Vietnam, Malaysia,sultanate of Brunei, Singapore, the Philippines, Fiji, Mauritius, Trinidad, Tabago and Guayana.

One group associated with the spread of Hinduism is the Hare Krishna movement established in America in 1965. In the 70s, it began to operate communes, some of which became controversial. The Hare Krishna movement worships Krishna, a reincarnation of Vishnu, as the one Supreme God.

The father of Indian independence is Mohandas Gandhi, the Mahatma, who used the principle of ahimsa, non-violent resistance, in his struggle against colonialism. His tactics set the pattern for civil rights workers in other countries, including South Africa and the United States.

The Hindu put emphasis on vegetarianism as a gesture of respect to all life forms and as part of the process of being one with nature and as part of spirituality that has spread as well.

RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh)is an organization which was established in 1925 to promote Hindu organizations and provide services.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, came to complete power in India in 2014. The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who was supported by the Hindutva movement, with the tacit support of the RSS, has aimed to balance Hindu feeling with continued efforts in modernization

Buddhism was named after Siddhartha Gautama, who, although born of a princely family on the borders of what is now India and Nepal, was moved by the poverty and suffering of people with whom he came into contact. As a result, he renounced his status and spent half a century wandering and teaching. He lived between 560 and 480 BCE. Gradually, he became known as the “Enlightened One,” or the Buddha, and his followers were called Buddhists.

The religion spread after his death and reached a height in the third century BCE when the Emperor Ashoka declared it the state religion. After his death, the religion moved away from its original simple populist appeal and began to decline.

It spread throughout Southeast Asia, but also through East Asia to China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, and Mongolia. It was able to do so by land and by sea. It was spread by missionaries along the Great Silk Road, the name for several roads between China and Europe and lands along the way which had been opened by the third century BCE. Buddhism also spread through the Indian Ocean system which connected Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia in one vast network.

The original goal of Buddhism was to correct abuses by the Brahmins within Hinduism, but it evolved as a separate faith with 500 million people. Today, it is the fourth largest world religion ,but because of the similarity of principles and practices, some scholars consider it as a variant of Hinduism

The components of the eight-fold path an individual must follow are right activities, right concentration, right effort, right intentions, right livelihood, right mindfulness, right speech, and right views. In this way, one can escape the cycle of birth and re-birth. By this eight-fold path, one can avoid materialism and its attendant problems.

The main difference is that Buddhism is open to all. It was not and is not the monopoly of upper castes. It was not based on the revelations of one person such as the founder. Ultimate salvation and enlightenment could be worked out by everyone in society regardless of social status.

They emphasize the commonality of man. First, pain is universal; second, desire causes pain; third, ceasing to desire relieves pain; and fourth, right conduct provides escape from pain.

 Buddhism is still overwhelmingly present in East Asia and Southeast Asia: (China alone -- with only 18.2% of its population defined as Buddhist -- had over 244 million in the last census). Buddhism is the majority religion in Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Japan, Laos, and Mongolia. There are significant numbers of adherents in Nepal, South Korea, Vietnam, China, and Malaysia. The United States has almost four million followers. Even in the closed society of North Korea, there are about 400,000 followers.

Famous Buddhist monuments can also be found outside of India. Japan alone has over 80,000 temples. Indonesia has the largest Buddhist monument on earth — Borobudur in central Java, built during the rule of Buddhist dynasty between 750 and 800 CE. Other prominent monuments built by Buddhists are the Wono Tat Sun Temple in Hong Kong, the Samye Monastery in Tibet, the Beomeosa temple in Korea, the Snake temple in Malaysia, the Song Lim temple in Singapore, the Wat Xieng Thong monastery in Laos, and the Guanghua temple in China. Among the great variety of Buddhist monuments in Asia are those carved from cliffs and rock walls. The most famous of such cave structures are Ajanta and Ellora in India and Dunhuang and Tun-Huang in China, plus pagodas such as Mahamuni in Myanmar/ Burma, and beautiful assorted temples and monasteries throughout the region.

The best known item in popular culture of Buddhist origin is the Laughing Buddha figurine. It comes in many forms. He symbolizes contentment, joy, and mirth. It is believed that the “Happy Buddha” statue brings good luck and fortune to the owner. It is a universal figure

Zen Buddhism has had the most global impact and entered global civilization as a permanent fixture. It has a unique appeal within Buddhism. Unlike other schools, it can be experienced by anyone. Second, it does not require specialized knowledge or study, simply meditation. It is meant to reduce stress and so is attractive to people with high-powered positions. It can be observed by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. To reach enlightenment through a higher state of mental consciousness is the goal of Zen teaching. Further, there are no specific physical requirements such as the assumption of the “lotus position.” Zen Buddhism focuses on the achievement of awareness through clearing the mind of distractions.

There are two main reasons: 

• It is able to incorporate local belief systems. 
• It is divided in almost three separate religions. Buddhism has evolved to such an extent that its major branches have little in common beyond Buddha and his fundamental teachings.

There are four primary reasons for grouping Hindu and Buddhist civilisations civilizations together. vFirst, they are derived from the same area - the Indian subcontinent; second, their first dispersion was through East Asia; third, they share many of the same concepts; and fourth, as two of the major religions, they continue to influence other world civilizations.

Unlike other religions in the world, the Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet, does not worship any one god, does not believe in any one philosophical concept, does not follow any one act of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not satisfy the traditional features of a religion or creed. It is a way of life and nothing more. Therefore, as a religion it appears amorphous or unclear and often contradictory. There is no actual given date of origin or even a range of years. This is because there is no single prophet such as Jesus Christ in Christianity or Prophet Mohammed in Islam. 

Many Hindus recognize that there is a universal divinity, even though Hindus worship many gods in various forms. Followers of yoga chant “om” -- I am -- as a symbol of one divinity. Hinduism is polytheistic with overtones of monotheism. It thus differs from Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, all of which are basically monotheist.

Hindi, is the most widely spoken language in India today. The Islamic version is called Urdu.

The Indian social structure is often considered rigid because the caste system still exists even if it is outlawed by the Indian Constitution and despite the set-asides for lower-level groups in recent years. The terms Varna and caste are different. The former has a ritual and ideological rationale while the other deals with socio-economic status.

• The Brahmins symbolized the head of an organism. This group was composed of those with knowledge of the sacred texts and who were, therefore, the priests and scholars.
• The second group was the Kshatriya who represented the heart. They symbolized defenders of society and were politicians, soldiers, and administrators. 
• There was not yet a separate Sudra group or peasants, but all were of the Vaisya grouping, occupied with worldly matters. 
• Finally, there were already people -- mostly non-Aryans -- who were excluded from the system. These later became known as members of the Scheduled Castes or Untouchables.

Brahmins received a setback in their influence during the Mauryan Era (322-184 BCE) its most famous member, the Emperor Ashoka, who united almost all of India, became a Buddhist and attempted to make India a Buddhist state.

The Brahmo Samaj movement rejected caste distinctions and stood for the brotherhood of man. The Arya Samaj also opposed the caste system and pressed for its abolition. Other organizations that pressed for caste reform and caste abolition were the Prarthana Sabha and the Lingayat Movement.

Traditionally, according to the Vedas, meals could be divided into three groups:

• Sattvic or ascending meals, meant for those of higher castes equivalent to their stage of spiritual development. These consisted of fruits, vegetables, and grains, and they were thought to promote transcendence associated with Brahmins.
• Next was the food of the middle castes. They were to consume onion, garlic, mushrooms, fish, and eggs, considered to be less spiritual and to encourage intellect and passion at the expense of meditation. •
• Finally, there were foods for the lower castes, called Tamasic, such as meat and fermented alcohol, supposed to be linked to dullness and inertia.

A dhoti kurta is an outfit that is often worn by married Hindu men. It is composed of a generously cut cotton shirt called a kurta covered by the dhoti. The latter is a long piece of material that ties around the waist and spreads down to cover most of the legs. Many Hindu women wear a sari, a word of classical Sanskrit origin meaning “cloth.” Those who do not and have not adopted western-style clothes sometimes will wear a pair of loose-fitting trousers and a long tunic. This outfit is called a salwar kameez.

The largest production of films in the world is found in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), known globally as “Bollywood.” These films frequently use Hindu themes and quite often are based on the lives of deities and saints. The most popular Vishnu reincarnation, Krishna, is the central character in many films.

The classical period of Hinduism begins by 400 BCE and ends about 500 CE and is characterized by two great literary epics: the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. 

In addition to the application of astronomy to plot the seasons for agricultural purposes, India developed coinage based on weights and measures for trading purposes. (Dani, 2016.) It also developed the concept of zero as well as the decimal system. Although the use of the latter does date back to the Babylonians, India developed it further for practical purposes.  The rudiments of algebra were imported from India via the Middle East as were aspects of geometry.   Perhaps the most long-lasting achievement of India during this period was in the creation of ordinal numbers from 1 to 9. These numbers which form the basis for numeracy today were originally called Indian numerals. When transferred to the Middle East and then to Europe, they were named as Arabic numbers. This export from India to the rest of the world has had an enormous effect on commerce and business everywhere. Notably, as a replacement for the cumbersome Roman numeral system, it facilitated the rise of central procedures in other civilizations, for example, the emergence of transactions such as double-entry book-keeping in the West.

Outside of the sub-continent, no territory has been more influenced or continues to be as influenced by Hinduism than the island of Bali. Even today, it remains an overwhelmingly Hindu territory.

The independent sultanate of Brunei, although Islamic, has a Hindu title for the ruler.

Buddhism is the religion named after Siddhartha Gautama, who, although born of a princely family on the borders of what is now India and Nepal, was moved by the poverty and suffering of people with whom he came into contact. As a result, he renounced his status and spent half a century wandering and teaching.

The Buddha initially maintained that there were three truths about life in this world: sickness, old age, and death.

To eliminate this suffering and achieve nirvana, an individual must follow an eight-fold path: right activities, right concentration, right effort, right intentions, right livelihood, right mindfulness, right speech, and right views. In this way, one can escape the cycle of birth and re-birth. By this eight-fold path, one can avoid materialism and its attendant problems.

One may argue that Buddhism has continued to be a vibrant part of culture in East and Southeast Asia for two reasons. • First, it did not arrive on the backs of the army, and although trade was relevant, its main spread was through its messengers and the message that these missionaries spread. • Second, it has survived because it has amalgamated with local customs in a highly successful manner.

Various schools of Buddhism have found favor on a global level by emphasizing meditation as a stress reducer for the frenetic pace of modern times. It is Zen Buddhism, however, that has had the most global impact and entered global civilization as a permanent fixture. It has a unique appeal within Buddhism. Unlike other schools, it can be experienced by anyone. Second, it does not require specialized knowledge or study, simply meditation. It is meant to reduce stress and so is attractive to people with high-powered positions. It can be observed by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. To reach enlightenment through a higher state of mental consciousness is the goal of Zen teaching.