The Religion of India
Hinduism taught people that human beings live many lives until they reach spiritual perfection. The souls lives after death and comes back to live in a new body. It was called Recarnation. The people believed that if you obeyed Hinduism, you would be reborn into a higher caste than you were before. In time, you could be reborn in the highest position there is, Moksha. Hindus believed that all animals have souls, so all Hindus were vegetarians. The Hindus had a tradition of writing down stories to help people understand the ideas expressed in the Holy Book the Aryans read, called Vedas.
Siddhartha Gautama, who became known as Buddha, founded Buddhism. Gautama thought he learned the meaning of life, love, truth, the joy of knowledge, and a calm mind. People learned of this and called him the "Enlightened One". Buddhism rejected Vedas and the authority of the Brahmans, because of this, it became popular throughout India. Buddha taught people that suffering is part of life, wanting things brings suffering, and people can find peace by giving up their wants. He also taught that following eight basic rules called The Eight Fold Path, can end a person's cycle of Recarnation and lead to Nirvana. Nirvana is free from all passion, desire, and suffering. Buddha didn't write Holy Books, instead, he tried to set an example using peaceful behavior.
Siddhartha Gautama, who became known as Buddha, founded Buddhism. Gautama thought he learned the meaning of life, love, truth, the joy of knowledge, and a calm mind. People learned of this and called him the "Enlightened One". Buddhism rejected Vedas and the authority of the Brahmans, because of this, it became popular throughout India. Buddha taught people that suffering is part of life, wanting things brings suffering, and people can find peace by giving up their wants. He also taught that following eight basic rules called The Eight Fold Path, can end a person's cycle of Recarnation and lead to Nirvana. Nirvana is free from all passion, desire, and suffering. Buddha didn't write Holy Books, instead, he tried to set an example using peaceful behavior.