The Buddha lived in India from about 563 – 483 BCE. At this time, the main belief system in India was Brahmanism. Times began to change as many of the Indian beliefs of Brahmanism slowly turned into a religion called Hinduism. Hinduism continued on with the main beliefs of Brahmanism and expanded those beliefs over time. But there were people in India who did not believe in Brahmanism. They did not approve of the complex rituals and animal sacrifices of Brahmanism that continued in Hinduism. So at the same time that Hinduism expanded, the people of India who did not believe in Brahmanism formed their own religions. One of these ways was Buddhism. Buddhists did not believe in the Hindu gods and goddesses or in any godlike being. Neither did they agree with the caste system.
