Thanks a lot for this great clip. It happens to be just what I was wanting to say in a couple of other discussions of clips.

The first clip talks about the world's fastest growing religions, of which "Hinduism" is one. This is problematic in many ways. One is that Hinduism is an external (Arabic) term that simply describes the religion of Indians, irrespective of belief. Thus saying Hinduism is growing just means that the Indian population is growing.

But it also raises questions of conversion. Many westerners think that to become a part of a religion, all they have to do is say "I believe it is true." Many westerners are surprised...

Thanks a lot for this great clip. It happens to be just what I was wanting to say in a couple of other discussions of clips.

The first clip talks about the world's fastest growing religions, of which "Hinduism" is one. This is problematic in many ways. One is that Hinduism is an external (Arabic) term that simply describes the religion of Indians, irrespective of belief. Thus saying Hinduism is growing just means that the Indian population is growing.

But it also raises questions of conversion. Many westerners think that to become a part of a religion, all they have to do is say "I believe it is true." Many westerners are surprised when they are turned away from Hindu temples in India or Nepal because even though they "Believe in Hinduism" that does not make them a "Hindu."

Instead of being about belief, it seems like many eastern religions are focused on actions. The translation of philosophical ideas into ways of living. The second clip discusses a review of Christopher Hitchens' latest book, where in he discusses Hindu myths. However, he presumes that Hinduism as a "religion" functions along the same model as the Abrahamic ones - that it demands its adherents acknowledge the factuality of its legends and maintains a single dogma. However, this is to make the mistake of imagining Hinduism through the lenses of Western Religion, which is to say the Hinduism he criticizes exists only in the minds of Westerners who know very little about Indian religion.

Although one should also not fail to appreciate that in the roughly 2,600 years since they separated, both Buddhism and Hinduism have changed a lot.

Another common myth about religions is that they don't change (a myth in many cases fostered by the religion itself.) Much of the modern ideology which we call Hinduism has developed after the rise of Buddhism, not before, so it now reflects responses and even influences of Buddhism, just as Buddhism reflects responses and influences of Hinduism.

As they currently stand, I would say that they have many key theological differences, but share a common culture, in some cases. In this west this would be grounds for them being mutually exclusive, ...

Although one should also not fail to appreciate that in the roughly 2,600 years since they separated, both Buddhism and Hinduism have changed a lot.

Another common myth about religions is that they don't change (a myth in many cases fostered by the religion itself.) Much of the modern ideology which we call Hinduism has developed after the rise of Buddhism, not before, so it now reflects responses and even influences of Buddhism, just as Buddhism reflects responses and influences of Hinduism.

As they currently stand, I would say that they have many key theological differences, but share a common culture, in some cases. In this west this would be grounds for them being mutually exclusive, but in the east, where practice is valued over dogma, they can become intermixed, and the cultural influences become more important.

Actually, Nepal provides some fascinating examples of ways that Hindu and Buddhist practice have become intermixed. (Violent conflicts have prevented this from happening in other Hindu-Buddhist societies, such as Sri Lanka.) There are also some interesting examples of the interplay between Hinduism and Buddhism in Thailand.

On the other hand, because cultural context is so important (more so than scriptural dogma) in East Asia the Buddhist-Hindu affinity has been replaced by a Buddhist-Taoist affinity in China, and a Buddhist-Shinto affinity in Japan.Prior to the Meiji Restoration in Japan, it was common for Buddhist priests to also administer the Shinto Temples.

Thus, for anyone interested in learning more about any of these religions, I suggest we not take history to seriously. Just because Hinduism and Buddhism spring from a common ancient source, doesn't mean they are bound by those historical ties. Instead, they are recreated in every generation by the people who practice them. Sometimes these converge, sometimes they diverge.