it is also the self of man. - Hopkins - Hindu Religious Tradition. To realise ones brahman, leads to the cessation of action (karma) which essentially leads to the liberation form the rounds of rebirth. This is because Karma affects the rounds of rebirth and ones position in the cosmos. All this is articulated in the Upanisads. The topics are first seen in the earlier writings of the Brahmanas and the Aranyakas and later developed in the Brihadoranyaka and the Chandogya. In the later texts of the Upanisads this ideaalogy is fully developed. To mention another of the few renouncer traditions; Buddhism, Jainism, Materialism and Skeptism. Buddhism was a contemporary of the Upanisads ideology (as were the above). It remains ambigious, however, who was influenced by who. Buddhism influences the Brahmanical renouncer religion, and Brahmanical religion influences Buddhism. - Hopkins - Hindu Religious Tradition. Buddhist and Brahmanical renouncer idealogy were very similar, there was, however, differences in practice and in some cases doctrine. Buddhism followed the same individualistic teaching guide, where a member of the sangha (Buddhist monastic community) would supervise their students study. Buddhism had developed this monastic community which the Brahmanical renouncer religion did not seem to have. Part of the doctrine that says all life is suffering was in fact the first noble truth of the Buddhists elevated teaching. Meditation was at the forefront of importance, just as the Brahmanical renouncer had the four levels of knowledge (jnana), so did Buddhism (Four Jhana), one rose to these different levels through meditation, once they had reached the fourth Jhana, they had come to the transcendent path that lead them to nibbana. However, one could not come to this stage of meditation before they had prepared themselves. This was done through the study and understanding of the step-by-step discourse ( Dana, sila, Karm...
