get released from the existence with its suffering and to attain nirvana, which is an enlightened state in which "the fires of greed, hatred, and ignorance have been quenched." Nirvana is a state of consciousness beyond that which has a definition.Buddhism had spread rapidly throughout India, as did Hinduism. Mahayana, a form of the Buddhist religion, and Hinduism began to influence Cambodia by the end of the 2nd century AD. Buddhism was carried to central Asia and spread especially in China then carried into Japan and Korea and flourishes in Tibet. New sects of Buddhism developed over the years including, Ch'an, or Zen, and the Pure Land, or Amidism.By the 6th century BC, Buddhism began to make its mark in India and what was to be more than a millennium of interaction with Hinduism. Classical Hinduism found an expression under the Gupta Empire. In the 16th century in Bengal, a sect of erotic mysticism was founded. This celebrated the union of Krishna and Radha in a Tantric theology heavily influenced by Tantric Buddhism.In the 19th century many reforms have taken place to bring traditional Hinduism to reconcile with the social reforms and political ideals of the day. Leaders of these reforms are greats such as Mohandas Gandhi and Sri Aurobindo Ghose. Bhimrau Ramji Ambedkar even revived the myth of the Brahmans who fell from their caste and the tradition that Buddhism and Hinduism were once one in order to "enable Untouchables to gain self-respect by 'reconverting' to Buddhism."Today both religions are still greatly worshiped and have millions of followers. Buddhism and Hinduism are connected in many ways and still continue to flourish after many, many centuries. Hinduism and Buddhism have different similarities and are in some ways connected to each other. Some of the practices of the two religions are similar in various ways and there are several examples to show this.Hinduism first started in India around 1500 BC. The wor...
