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Hinduism has many gods, and varying beliefs, rituals, and philosophies from region to region. The religious text of Hinduism, the Vedas, are made up of poems, hymns, prayers and rituals that provided some commonality within the religion. In response to the challenge of Buddhism, Hinduism abandoned some of its sacrificial practices which made it more accessible to the common man.
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Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) lived sometime between the 6th and 5th Century BCE. His main goal in life was to end human suffering and to reach enlightenment or Nirvana. For many years he tried different techniques such as meditation and fasting, but decided that "Middle Way" worked best because it intertwined meditation with morals. He believed that to end suffering, people must practice good morals and practice a lot of meditation because suffering came from bad desires and attachments.
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Buddhism was a religion that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama who was later seen as their Buddha or “enlightened one”. Buddhism has many of the same teachings that Hinduism had, but they rejected the idea of a “religious authority”. Buddhists were big believers in karma and reincarnation; they believed that everything should be done through compassion and that suffering showed your strengths.
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In the event of his father’s death, Ashoka inherits the throne. He would quickly prove to be a great leader, crushing many revolts against his rule and eventually introducing Buddhism into India.
