oa [‘Niet alle boeddhisten mediteren, niet alle hindoes zijn vredelievend’: Het beeld van hindoeïsme en boeddhisme in schoolboeken voor het voortgezet onderwijs in Nederland, Not all Buddhists Meditate; Nor are all Hindus Peace-Loving the view of Hinduism and Buddhism in Dutch Secondary School Textbooks]

This article presents the image of Hinduism and Buddhism as presented in textbooks that are generally used in the Netherlands for secondary education. In general, we observe that where Hinduism is imagined, the presentation tends to be on the negative side. Hinduism is above all associated with the unchanging caste-system and with the repression of women. The image of Buddhism tends to be much more positive. Often Buddhism is not seen as a religion, but rather as an ideal philosophy or way of life that is considered to be in accordance with modern science. Moreover, Buddhism is often seen as ‘rational’, and ‘modern’.