High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The practices and goals of Buddhism and Hinduism have similarities and differences. The Theravada Buddhism is relatively conservative, and generally closest to the early form of Buddhism. The Mahayana and Vajrayana beliefs developed later. It appears that later schools of Buddhism developed a variety of other rituals and devotional practices that were inspired or influenced by existing religions and cultures of India, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Tibet. However, the more historical or beginning forms of Hinduism and the teachings of Buddha have pronounced differences, as evident in the recorded materials of the Pali Canon of the Theravada school of Buddhism.