Buddhism in India

The interesting part about Buddhism in India is the way it caught on and spread. Hinduism allowed for social cohesion with the caste system but it did little to improve the lives of lower dharmas. The idea of rebirth and reincarnation seem to be a way of giving the lower class hope of a better life. But it is the idea of Moksha that buddhism begins to seem appealing to lower class Indian Hindus. The real goal in Hinduism is to be released from the rebirth cycle and in doing so achieve moksha. Anyone can follow the 8 fold path of Buddhism and could possibly achieve nirvana in this life. This is what made it such a popular religion to the lower castes because there was no caste system i  Buddhism. Instead of doing something unfulfilling with your life for the order of the word Buddhism says that fulfilling oneself leads to the order of the word; and that is a really attractive idea to an untouchable.