Hinduism and Buddhism have been around for many years and are comparable in most aspects of the beliefs of there followers. One of the major elements in these two practices is the way that one reaches the ultimate goal of life. Hinduism and Buddhism share many of the same concepts to reaching this goal, but use them in very different ways. Buddhists believe that there ultimate goal of life is reached through nirvana and sunyata, whereas Hindus believe that there ultimate goal is reached through yoga. Hinduism and Buddhism are two different ideas with the same goal in mind: to be released from the unreality that is the created world. In Buddhism, the ultimate goal of life is to reach nirvana. In order for one to reach nirvana, they must go through the path of enlightenment. The way that this is attained is through understanding. One must have an understanding of the four noble truths. The first truth is that everything in the world in dukkha. Dukkha originates from cravings for objects that will cause attachment to those objects. However, dukkha can be removed when one understands the true nature of all things. The last truth is the eight-fold path. This path is what all Buddhists must follow to become enlightened and reach nirvana (www.geocities.com).
The first two folds are to have right views and right aspirations. These two can be summed up as having the right attitude in life. The next four folds are considered to be moral behavior. They include, right speech, right action, right means of livelihood, and right effort. The last two folds include right awareness and right concentration. These two can be categorized under contemplative life. Once one goes through and attains the eight-fold path, they can than reach the point of Sunyata. Sunyata is realizing the impermanence of all existence. When one reaches Sunyata, they are than freeing themselves from dukkha, or the miseries of life. Sunyata literally means "emptiness", meaning emptiness from all that existed including ones self (www.
