Meditation vs. Contemplation

I've often wondered why the eternal religions, the ones that believe that the universe has always been and always will be, like Hinduism and Buddhism and the like, have "meditation," whereas the eschatological religions, which have an existential persona at their core, have "reflection" and "contemplation" as their core values.

The obvious is answer is that those with a persona have something to compare themselves to, to mirror in thought or deed, and to "reflect." They also have stories to "contemplate." Buddhism has the Buddha, of course, and the more tribal Buddhism has the various enlightened ones of its stories, but Buddhists aren't called to contemplate their lives or attempt to emulate them-- enlightenment is a very personal pursuit, and if you aren't in it for yourself, you're not in it at all.