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%Aug 19
%https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-kWP580Xy6HMjgwaWlmZENuSVlyMnFjR1Q0M2s3R2VlMlJB/view (Passage on Buddhism)
Like the textbook talked about some, Hinduism wasn't exclusively patriarchal; women played some roles in society and had more rights than in many religions of the same era. In Hinduism, there are also numerous methods (extended study, detachment from the world, working without considering consequence, devotion to a deity, or extended meditation) to achieve moksha or rest, teaching what is valued by Hindu society.
As Hinduism was being developed, the competing tradition of Buddhism emerged with a different founder---Siddhartha Gautama, given the name Buddha later. He ``became `enlightened,'\thinspace'' having learned how to achieve personal peace and started to teach it to his followers.
\term{Buddhism}{a religious tradition partially adapted from Hinduism which seeks nirvana---a death of ego, ``greed, hatred, and delusion.''}
It implemented many Hindu elements, but the Buddha's six-year search for enlightenment brought with the idea that suffering is intrinsic to human life, and happiness can be achieved by losing desire through a modest and moral life. Its founder also imagined {\it nirvana}, that state which creates a sense of internal peace and great ``compassion for all beings.'' The Hindu implements it used include reincarnation, karma, meditation, and a moksha-like concept---but it deliberately rejected the parts which made Hinduism so inaccessible: Brahmin religious authority, rituals, sacrifice, and the utility of a God of any sort.
Buddhism also differentiated itself by its egalitarianism. Women as Buddhist nuns and lower caste groups were liberated from their limiting roles in Hindu/Indian society. They were mostly able to run their own affairs in monasteries instead of being socially restrained. Buddhism wasn't perfectly egalitarian, however; the Buddha needed to be convinced by his attendant to allow the existence of nuns as part of Buddhist organization.
\term{Monasticism}{the lifestyle characterized by life in monasteries, typically by monks and nuns practicing strong religious discipline}
As Buddhism spread, modified forms developed because of the intense effort necessary to practice the Buddha's original form, {\it Theravada}, which was mostly psychological, describing a set of practices helpful in achieving enlightenment. The most common modified form was Mahayana (Great Vehicle), which is similar to Abrahamic and Hindu religion in its Heavens and Hells, its reintroduction of religious piety and devotion, and {\it bodhisattvas}.
\term{Bodhisattvas}{spiritiually developed people who postponed their own entry into nirvana to assist those who were still suffering}
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