New Questions and Ideas

1. Buddha taught that life is full of sufferings and unhappiness caused by our cravings and desires which often cannot be fulfilled.
2. He asked to follow moderation in everything and to remove constant craving or thirst (tanha)
3. He taught people to be kind and respect the lives of others, including animals.
4. He believed that the results of our actions (karma) affect us both in this life and the next.

He encouraged the people to think for themselves and just not accept what he said.

Upanishad literally means 'approaching and sitting near', as pupils used to sit near a guru in the ashrams.During the times of Buddha and in earlier times, many thinkers tried to find answers to some difficult questions. Their ideas about the concept of the atman or the individual soul, and the Brahman or the universal soul and ideas about life after the death were recorded in the Upanishads. Upanishads were a part of the later Vedic texts.

The Upanishadic thinkers were men especially Brahmins and rajas. Occasionally, there is a mention of women thinkers such as Gargi, who was famous for her learning and participated in the debates in the royal courts. Poor people rarely took part in these discussions.