The Hindu-Buddha Bromance

Well, back in the day, Hindus believed in a very rigid and strict religion that initially defined who you were born as, who you are, and who you will be in the future. This wasn't a very appealing idea if you were to be born on the bottom of the Hindu ladder. The caste system allowed no movement in one lifetime to upgrade to first class, so to say, and to be considered 'Untouchable' was an inevitable life long curse for many. The good news is there was a way out; the cycle of Samsara, where you are born again into a new living being depending on your kharma from your past life. The bad news; it gives a whole new meaning to "Waiting your entire life" for something. So when Prince Siddhārtha Gautama came round and offered a new way of life that freed them from their castes and god's, it seemed like a good option for the lower hindu society.

Buddism still maintained a belief of ascetics which ledup to the enlightenment of one's self and transending into Nirvana. One major difference is when you get there, there is a much lower population of Godly people. Actually, there were no gods to greet them. Rather than following the way of a celestial savior, Buddhists worshiped the all mighty Buddha  with his grand knowledge of life. By sacrificing the life of worldly desires and live an ascetic life, one would reach a state of enlightenment known only to the Buddhas and be freed of the samsara cycle. This sense of Nirvana is very similar to the Hindu ways of reaching Moksha in that you must release yourself to live for a higher power in order to end the sufferinf of samsara. By omitting the gods from their beliefs, Buddhists called this new way 'Dhamma'.