Yoga and Buddhism: Similarities between the doctrine and the religion
The ancient sport of yoga has become very popular recently; it has always been around but now it seems to have gotten many more people excited about it. Buddhism is also an ancient religion which has numerous similarities to yoga. It is interesting that a religion and an activity could be so similar, but a lot of people have found similarities between the methods and practices of the two disciplines. It seems that both these things are activities for living a healthy spiritual life; one as a religion and the other through pursuit of a healthy body. With the increased popularity of yoga spreading all over the world, more people will try it and lead healthier lives because of it.
The origin of yoga predates recorded history and it is so old that drawings of yoga poses were found in ancient texts and stone seals. People have placed these texts and seals at around 3000 years old, but archaeologists claim that the discipline is even older than that. Yoga started out as a semi-religious activity akin to shamanism that helped communities lead healthier lives. Having started out as a community activity, it slowly turned inwards and started to focus more on the individual than on the outside world. The whole point of yoga is to enable individuals to focus on freeing their minds from stress and relaxing their bodies and in turn this will make them healthier and fitter. Yoga hones in on breathing exercises and on poses and postures. These postures are meant to relax the body and help a person lead a better life. Many have thought that yoga is meant as an escape from life, but it is a way for people to accept their lives and enjoy the life they have.
Many people have noticed similarities between yoga and Buddhism in the words used and the processes followed. The key difference between the two is that yoga is not a religion but it is a form of exercise that helps a person live a healthier life. Buddhism, on the other hand, is a religion and a way of life for its followers. Both yoga and Buddhism use the same Sanskrit inspired words to describe various aspects of each discipline, and they both have a very spiritual feel having originated in ancient India. Many religions in ancient India used breathing techniques and poses, and at the time, all of these were referred to as yoga collectively. Even Buddha used to implement many of yoga’s breathing techniques in his lengthy meditations. Both disciplines place great emphasis on meditation and losing the sense of ego in a person. Both practices place a lot of importance in reducing arrogance and thinking that people are the greatest creatures on the planet; yoga does this through postures and meditation, and Buddhism does it through a whole way of life.
The biggest similarity between yoga and Buddhism is in meditation. Yoga simply means meditation, and the religion places a huge level of importance on different forms of yogic meditation. The interesting question is that did yoga influence Buddhist meditation or was it the other way around? It could be that both disciplines evolved and grew at the same time with one borrowing from the other and vice versa.
A lot of people have been critical of yoga and have stated that it cannot be a sport because there is no physical activity involved, but that misses the whole point of yoga. Even though the discipline does not have physical activity in it, it is a complete solution to a healthy lifestyle; from a healthy body to a healthy mind to eating a proper diet to living a stress-free life. Not many physical sports can claim that. As people see the physical benefits of practicing yoga in their daily lives, it will only grow in popularity. The rise in popularity in yoga might also give rise to a similar increase in the popularity of Buddhism.
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